Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department begins deepest well project in State History

(MIAMI, February 13, 2015) - The Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department (WASD) may not be digging to the center of the Earth, but the department is definitely going where no deep injection well has gone before – a depth of 10,000 feet.

“WASD has recently begun drilling the largest deep injection well in the State of Florida, possibly the country for a water resource purpose at our Central District Waste Water Treatment Plant (CDWWTP),” said WASD Director Lester Sola. “We will be drilling to a depth of 10,000 feet and as a result needed a special drill to be built to accommodate this project.”

The purpose of the deep injection well is to comply with future state laws that will prohibit the disposal of treated wastewater into the ocean by 2025. The new disposal method at CDWWTP has already been successfully implemented at the South District Waste Water Treatment Plant.

“Injection wells usually cap at a depth of 3,500 feet – well beneath the Biscayne Aquifer, our drinking water source,” said Sola. “While that depth provides a sufficient distance to mitigate impact to our drinking water, we are interested in exploring whether there are additional injection zones even further removed from the aquifer at deeper depths to establish additional safeguards.”

The project began in January and has already reached a depth of 1,000 feet. Depending on drilling conditions and rock formations, it is expected to be completed by September.

Information about the drill mast and drill bit: Built by Youngquist Brothers Inc., the mast height is 130 feet above the platform, a Gross Hook Load of 1,080,000 pounds, the drill bit has a diameter of 72.5 inches, weighs 120,000 pounds and a horsepower of 2,500. It is operated by electricity rather than diesel fuel, so there are no diesel fumes and its operation is very quiet so as not to impact surrounding properties. See attached photos.