Apex designs, installs and runs land dewatering systems that keep excavations dry so foundations can be built. Wellpoint, deepwell and open-sump methods, sized to your ground conditions, operated around the clock by our own crews.
Dewatering division — quick facts
| Service | Land dewatering for construction excavations |
|---|---|
| Methods | Wellpoint, deepwell, progressive, multistage, French drain, open-sump |
| Operating since | 1995 — land dewatering added to licence 07/2004 |
| Areas served | Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain |
| Workshops | Al Aweer, Dubai and Ajman |
| Authority approvals | Dubai Municipality (DM), Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA), Federal Electricity & Water Authority (FEWA), Ajman Municipality (AM) |
| Site cover | 24 hours, with a mobile repair team |
Methods
The method is chosen from ground permeability, the area to be dewatered and the drawdown required — not from a catalogue. Most sites use one primary system with a secondary measure for residual seepage.
For shallower excavations over smaller areas.
A wellpoint system uses closely spaced small-diameter wells connected to a common header main and drawn down by a vacuum pump. Spacing and staging are set by the depth and width of the excavation.
For deeper excavations over larger project areas.
Individual bored wells each carry a submersible pump. Deepwell requires a higher standard of design and installation expertise, and is preferred on congested sites because it involves fewer surface components to obstruct construction.
For low inflows and shallow formation levels.
Water is allowed to collect in a sump below formation level and pumped away. Simple and quick to deploy, and often used alongside a wellpoint or deepwell system to handle residual seepage.
Design inputs
Every dewatering design comes back to ground permeability, the extent of the area to be dewatered, and the drawdown required below formation level. Those three set the well depth, the spacing, the pump duty and the generator sizing.
Apex works from your soil investigation report. Where the strata change across the plot — common on UAE coastal sites where sand overlies cemented sandstone — the system is zoned rather than applied uniformly, which is where experience with local ground pays for itself.
Method statements and layouts are produced by our own AutoCAD staff, and the system is monitored continuously by our engineering wing for as long as it runs.
How it runs
We start from your soil investigation report, borehole logs, excavation extent and formation level. Where a report is not yet available we advise on what is needed.
Method, well depth, spacing, pump duty and generator sizing are calculated from permeability, area and required drawdown. Drawings are produced by our AutoCAD staff.
Drilling, casing, well installation, header mains, pumps, control panels, diesel and water tanks are delivered and installed by our own crews.
The system is run up and drawdown monitored until formation level is dry and stable, ready for excavation and foundation work.
Levels are monitored continuously by our engineering wing for as long as the system runs. Our mobile repair team covers breakdowns around the clock.
Once the structure is out of the ground and no longer at risk of uplift, the system is shut down, stripped out and removed from site.
Plant & machinery
Apex develops its own dewatering pumps under the Apex brand — piston, centrifugal and submersible — and holds the supporting plant in its own workshops.
Dewatering plant and machinery held by Apex
| Equipment | Specification |
|---|---|
| Dewatering pumps | Centrifugal and piston type |
| Submersible pumps | Single and multistage |
| Generators | 30–400 kVA, high capacity |
| Jetting pumps | For wellpoint installation |
| Drilling machines | For deepwell boring |
| Electrical control panels | Pump control and protection |
| Diesel and water tanks | Site fuel and jetting supply |
| Steel and PVC casing | Well construction |
| Suction hose | Heavy duty black, 3", 4", 6" |
| Layflat hose | Discharge, 3" to 8" |
| Dewatering fittings | Miller and Bauer type couplings, elbows, Y and T joints |
| Pickups and mobile vans | Emergency and repair response |
Related capability
Apex carries out micropiling alongside its dewatering and anchoring work, using the same drilling and grouting plant.
Project references
Approvals
Apex International Construction & Land Dewatering L.L.C. is an approved contractor under Dubai Municipality and Roads & Transport Authority guidelines, including work on Right of Way and municipality corridors and gullies. Apex is also an approved dewatering subcontractor for DEWA, FEWA, Dubai Municipality and Ajman Municipality, and has executed trench dewatering on 132 kV and 11 kV cable-laying projects and municipality drainage lines.
Questions
A single stage of wellpoints handles shallower excavations. Greater depths are reached by staging — a multistage wellpoint system installs successive rings of wellpoints as the excavation advances downward, each stage drawing the water table down further. Where the excavation is deep or the area large, a deepwell system is normally the better choice because it draws down from individual bored wells rather than from the surface.
Wellpoint uses many closely spaced small wells connected to a shared header main and a surface vacuum pump, suited to shallower excavations over smaller areas. Deepwell uses fewer, deeper individual bored wells, each with its own submersible pump, suited to deeper excavations over larger areas. Deepwell is also preferred on congested sites because it leaves fewer surface components in the way of construction.
Dewatering is priced per project. The cost is driven by the drawdown required, ground permeability, the area and depth of the excavation, how long the system must run, and the discharge route available. Send the excavation dimensions, formation level and a soil investigation report and Apex will return a method statement and a price.
Until the permanent structure is heavy enough to resist uplift from groundwater — usually from the start of bulk excavation through to completion of the basement raft and lower floors. The duration is a major cost driver, so it is worth agreeing the shut-down point with the structural engineer early.
Discharge of abstracted groundwater is controlled by the relevant municipality and utility authority, and the route and quality of discharge must be agreed before work starts. Apex is an approved contractor with Dubai Municipality, RTA, DEWA, FEWA and Ajman Municipality, and works to their guidelines, including on Right of Way and municipality corridors and gullies.
Apex works across all seven emirates from workshops in Al Aweer, Dubai and in Ajman. Completed dewatering projects include Business Bay, Al Barsha, Al Qusais, Dubai Health Care City and Dubai Media City in Dubai; Al Nahda and Al Majaz in Sharjah; Al Musherriff, Al Sawan and Al Helio in Ajman; and Al Sharia in Fujairah.
Enquiry
Send the excavation dimensions, formation level and your soil investigation report. We will come back with a method statement and a price.
Reach us directly
Call, WhatsApp or email — all three reach the same team, and we reply within one working day.
Call +971 4 320 4120WhatsApp +971 55 221 9418Email apex@eim.aeSite owner: set NEXT_PUBLIC_FORM_KEY to enable the enquiry form.
Next step
Excavation dimensions, formation level and a soil report are enough to price most dewatering jobs. We reply within one working day.
