Dewatering at Neutrino Day

Since its inception, Neutrino Day has always been about making the science of SURF accessible, fun and engaging for all ages in the wonder of science. Every year the summer festival features new experiences, new interactions, and new ideas. In 2023, one team at SURF really made a splash.

The interactive dewatering board at the Handley Recreation Center began as many good ideas do — with a problem. Industrial Electrician Dale Curran explained the project’s birth.

“We had some thermal temperature devices, and this new screen I couldn’t get to work. I realized I have this little screen that doesn’t work for that purpose, but I could use it for something else. Maybe I could make a demo of the water system,” said Curran, and an idea was born.

Curran approached Chad Ronish, science education specialist at SURF, and pitched his idea. “Neutrino Day is all about the science that happens here, but I kind of wanted to take that opportunity to show the other aspects of the support system that it takes to keep that going.

“One of the big components here is the dewatering system. The hoist room, the dewatering, and ventilation— those are our babies. That’s kind of what we do. Of those, this seemed like the easiest one to demonstrate and show off.”

CAPTION: Left to right, Dale Curran, Jason Connot, Luke Lichtenberg, Jackson Busch, Kyler Pietzyk, Al Stratman, and Bryce Pietzyk designed, built, and staffed SURF’s dewatering display at Neutrino Day 2023.

SURF interns expand the project

While Curran was converting his idea into a design, two summer interns, Luke Lichtenberg and Jackson Busch, were tasked with coming up with something for Neutrino Day. They also brought their ideas to Ronish, who brought the two teams together.

Engineering intern Luke Lichtenberg included the dewatering display as part of his overall experience at SURF. “This project was a great hands-on experience because we got to see it from start to finish through the design and fabrication processes. This included brainstorming the layout, reworking our design to fit a budget, and then optimizing it for our target audience and getting feedback.”

Dewatering has been a critical part of the underground infrastructure for generations, but SURF has one distinct benefit in its system, according to Curran. “Back in the day, Homestake was down to 8,000 feet and they had to keep that dewatered all the time. They had people down there. They had resources down there. They had machinery down there. We have the luxury that we can use that space as a big, deep reservoir, or a deep well.”

Curran said during Neutrino Day, people with prior knowledge of the dewatering system were often amazed that SURF utilized that space to manage its current system. The deepest science facilities at SURF are on the 4850 level and the deep well rises to around the 5900 level. Around Neutrino Day 2023, the water level was at 5,880 feet.

To illustrate this to Neutrino Day visitors, Curran used a level map of the entire drift system at SURF. “I didn’t realize how instrumental that was going to be. I taped that to a table and had a blue Sharpie and I drew where the water is.”

“There are millions and millions and millions of gallons of water down there and all these levels are flooded,” Curran said. “I think people are shocked. They don’t realize that half this mine is submerged.”

CAPTION: At Neutrino Day, an old print of the entire Sanford Underground Research Facility drifts called attention to the deep well by highlighting the average water level near the 5900L.

Making family-friendly fun

Transforming the reality of the miles of drifts deep below the surface in a way that can be engaging for Neutrino Day visitors, especially kids, was the final piece in Curran’s Neutrino Day plan. What was his design going to look like and how were people going to interact with it?

“The kids thought it was fun and cool to be able to route the water. From a learning aspect, when they saw water going in directions they didn’t expect, like water going up because of hydraulic pressure pushing it different routes, they definitely took that away.”

SURF’s mission to inspire learning across generations certainly is a big part of Neutrino Day. “From the adult side,” Curran said, “I really tried to emphasize what we do at the lab — we have all these research institutions that come in. At the end of the day, we supply them with power, and we make sure the front door works, and it’s all these things, and one of those things is dewatering. That’s one of our big jobs here.”

Curran also credited his team for their input and support to make the entire project come together. “Obviously Jackson and Luke, and Al Stratman [engineering director] and Jason [Connot, underground operations engineer]. To Tim [Baumgartner, surface operations and utilities director] and Jake [Davis, surface operations and utilities deputy director] for giving me the freedom to develop this. Jake was my right-hand man for the demonstration.”

So, what about Neutrino Day 2024?

“I want to build something to offer to all the electricians as a troubleshooting or learning tool because it has all the little facets of a small automation system,” Curran said. “It’s got analog, it’s got digital, it’s got ins and outs and flow switches. It’s got lots of things you can play with.”

Curran’s curiosity for development and design may likely inspire future generations of SURF electricians. “You can conjure up your own ideas and then implement it and test your ideas against it. It’s a good tool for the design of the system.”

To learn more about the dewatering system and the waste water treatment facility, visit sanfordlab.org, or join us for the unveiling of the H₂O Workshop sponsored by SURF at the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.