Municipals
The Emergency Deep Dewatering Well (DDW) Project in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, is a critical stabilization initiative aimed at slowing and stabilizing land movement within the Portuguese Bend Landslide Complex (PBLC). Hout Construction Services, Inc., DBA Hout Engineering (HCS) is serving as the City’s Program Manager for various landslide mitigation projects, including this emergency dewatering effort. HCS helped City staff present to City Council for a local emergency declaration; procure the appropriate engineering, environmental, and well-drilling contracting firms; and implement the project under a fast-tracked, emergency timeline. In addition, HCS prepared and submitted on behalf of the City a FEMA Grant application and secured $23.3 million for the program. Our on-site Construction Manager and his support team from HCS worked on behalf of the City with the contractor and has installed 11 deep dewatering wells, test boreholes, and monitoring wells throughout the landslide area to extract artesian groundwater—a primary driver of slope instability and root cause of the landslide. The wells varied in depth and complexity of instrumentation, such as piezometers, shape arrays, and inclinometers, and extended the wells to depths of more than 450 feet below ground level. As of January 27, 2025, the system was extracting approximately 755 gallons per minute (1.1 million gallons per day). As of March 2025, DDWs were extracting water at 540 gallons per minute and have removed more than 170 million gallons since inception. The ground water was tested, treated, and mostly discharged to the ocean as clean water. Early results from weekly GPS monitoring indicate that land movement has either ceased or significantly slowed in areas, such as the Seaview Neighborhood and the Portuguese Bend Beach Club, with reductions in both horizontal and vertical displacement falling below instrument error. Additionally, groundwater pressure has measurably decreased in the vicinity of the DDWs. While the newer wells near Abalone Cove are still being evaluated, initial data suggests a positive trend correlating groundwater extraction with reduced ground movement, supporting the project's overall goal of stabilizing the landslide complex. The PBLC has been the largest and most active landslide in North America for the last 68 years. HCS is extremely proud of the collective efforts led by the City and our Program Management Team to substantially slow down the Landslide in the Rancho Palos Verdes peninsula.
As the Landslide Program Manager, HCS is responsible for various project management and construction management projects throughout the City of Rancho Palos Verdes. The Landslide Program consists of four (4) projects:
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Landslide Monitoring Program
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Portuguese Bend - Environmental Impact Report Oversight and Development
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Palos Verdes Drive South - Roadway Repair Program
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Altamira Canyon Project Oversight
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HCS provides comprehensive engineering and support services (staff augmentation) in the areas of program management, construction management, geotechnical support, environmental documentation, civil engineering and surveying, project controls and coordination (cost and schedule management) and full electronic program documentation.
Landslide Program Manager
City of Rancho Palos Verdes
HCS is performing PM/CM services for the City of RPV on the E1-E2 Emergency Hydraugers Project. The Project consists of many deep exploration vertical borings of 8”diameter steel casings, geotechnical instrumentation such as shape arrays, inclinometers, and piezometers and vary in depth from 225’ to 355’. The purpose of the vertical borings is to determine landslide failure plans, deformation and the detection of artesian ground water that needs to be extracted out.
In addition, the project installs horizontal and directional hydraugers with multiple batteries to extract artesian water and discharge it to the ocean after testing. Multiple resource agencies are involved with the project and our team is obtaining necessary permits to conduct this unique project to slow down the landslides in RPV. Heavy equipment is being utilized on the project such as drilling rigs, water trucks, pumps, storage tanks, excavators, and other equipment needed to perform construction. This one-of-a-kind project is implemented as an emergency measure to deal with the largest active landslide in North America.