Project pathway
The quickest route to the right decision.
Explosive ordnance assessment for waterworks and wastewater treatment plants
A new pump foundation or altered utility may extend into ground not covered by an earlier explosive ordnance report. FONTANA-EOD clarifies the investigation needed for the planned work with you. The installation plan, ground disturbance depths and existing reports form the basis. Results are assigned to the areas actually investigated.
Compare planned structures with earlier reports.
Clarify working areas and access with the operator.
Plan explosive ordnance assessment and water engineering separately.
Context
Compare the planned extension with earlier investigations
For a project at a waterworks or wastewater treatment plant, the precise ground disturbance matters. An earlier investigation may be helpful but must apply to the new area, depth and construction activity. First show what will remain, what will be dismantled and where new earthworks are planned. Mark the affected structures and working areas on the plan.
Investigation task
Define the volume of ground affected by the water engineering works
Show the extension and its earthworks
An extension at a waterworks or wastewater treatment plant may involve buildings, basins, technical installations and connecting utilities. Show the location and depth of the earthworks actually planned. FONTANA-EOD relates available evidence to these areas of ground disturbance. Naming the whole installation does not define an investigation scope. Include small connections outside the extension area itself where they affect ground not previously described.
Select services for the planned groundworks
Account for existing structures and dismantling
For an alteration, explain which structures remain and which are removed. Dismantling may affect different ground from the new installation that will later be visible. Add working space and temporary construction conditions accordingly. Available as-built documentation helps identify known installations and utility locations. Mark unclear information so that specialist preparation does not treat it as already established conditions.
Document existing structures and dismantling conditionsCoordinate the investigation with its task
Selection of a technical investigation depends on the specific specialist question and local conditions. Surfacing, reinforcement and existing utilities may be relevant during preparation. Describe not only the area but also the accessible working space. Prescribing one method for the entire installation would overlook differing conditions. What can be established and any further work needed are clarified for the intended ground disturbance.
Adapt methods to the investigation taskProject types
Distinguish construction tasks at waterworks and wastewater treatment plants
Basins and adjacent structures
For a new basin or extension, show the excavation, foundation and necessary working space together. Differing levels and depths may require additional sections. Keep the spatial relationship to existing structures identifiable. Read earlier reports to establish which of these areas they actually address. An investigation of a neighbouring traffic area is not applied to the new excavation merely because it is nearby.
Clarify investigation tasks for basins and structures
Pumps, units and foundations
Technical installations may involve local ground disturbance deeper than the surrounding works. State the location and planned depth of each foundation. For replacements, the design explains whether the existing foundation will be reused or the ground disturbed again. The unit's technical function does not replace this construction description. The actual construction activity governs the explosive ordnance assessment.
Investigate foundations with their depth references
Pipelines and connection pits
Describe new utilities together with their routes, connection points and local deeper excavations. A short connection to an existing structure may affect ground not previously addressed. The responsible bodies provide utility information and operating status. The explosive ordnance assessment answers a separate specialist question. Its preparation brings these documents together with the planned construction task without confusing their different findings.
Assess pipeline routes and connection pits
Access routes and site facilities
Temporary equipment areas, access routes or utility alignments may lie outside the final structure. Describe whether ground will be removed, surfaced or anchored for them. Distinguish this ground disturbance on the plan from merely using existing areas. Organisational provision of an area does not, by itself, establish its specialist investigation status. Include access and the specific groundworks together in preparation.
Coordinate access routes and site facilitiesPrepare the decision
Relate the initial enquiry to the intended extension
Structures
Show basins, foundations and utility routes with their respective groundworks. Include dismantling and temporary working space. The specialist scope can then be derived from the actual construction activity.
Existing knowledge
Provide reports with all their attachments and the plan revision to which they originally relate. Compare the current works with this scope. An earlier contract title alone does not describe an investigation automatically applicable to the new task.
Operating conditions
Identify access arrangements and the responsible operator contact. Provisional information remains identifiable as such. The specialist contractor can then coordinate the scope needed with the working areas actually available.
Project-specific tasks
Show foundations, basin extensions and utilities on the plan
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Foundations and installation extensions
If an additional pump is to have a new foundation, for example, show its dimensions and depth. The same applies to other installation components in contact with the ground. Mark existing underground structures that restrict working space, and identify where information in the as-built plan is missing or unclear.
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Extensions to basins and structures
For a planned extension, describe ground disturbance outside, beneath or within the area of an existing structure separately. Old foundations and structural remains may affect the investigation. Work in a filled basin or inside a tank requires a separate scope and suitable specialist services to be clarified separately.
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Short utilities between installation components
Record connections within the operational site, including chambers and connection points. A route may pass between several areas already investigated. Check whether the intervening ground was covered too. For longer water and wastewater pipelines the route planning information is compared with the current connection; at the installation site, relating it to the respective structure is particularly important.
Project documents
Bring preparation documents together
Ground intervention plan
A current plan shows boundaries, depths and connection points. Distinguish several construction phases. Additional sections show structures whose spatial extent is not sufficiently clear from the plan view alone.
Existing installations and information
Bring available information about utilities and structures together with the planned ground disturbance. Keep known uncertainties identified. The responsible contacts are available for further information.
Results documents
The report remains linked to its spatial attachments. The project file shows the scope actually completed. For later groundworks, compare this documented position with the new design.
Documentation
Assign results plans to structures and working areas
Identify the survey scope
Identify investigated structures and areas clearly. Results plans, location and level references, and areas still open support later allocation. This matters for smaller replacement works too: if a new excavation is made beside an earlier one or taken deeper, check whether the documented investigation scope covers the new work. Assign necessary follow-up investigations or exposure work to the affected area. Recovery of confirmed explosive ordnance is coordinated with the permitted scope of activities, local responsibilities and documentation requirements. Following actual exposure or clearance work, include the corresponding findings and clearance records.
Coordinating further work
Bring explosive ordnance reports, water engineering documents and operational decisions together in the project file, each with its actual subject identified. The responsible specialists assess drinking water quality and wastewater treatment performance. Those responsible decide their respective next steps using the necessary documents.
Technical assessment
Technical foundations: BFR KMR: Clearance planning and clearance concept – introduction · BFR KMR: Geophysics · BFR KMR: Documentation · § 13 TrinkwV: Requirements for planning, construction, maintenance and operation of water supply installations · § 60 WHG: Wastewater installations · DGUV: Explosive ordnance clearance FAQ · § 8 ArbSchG: cooperation between employers
The Federal Guidelines on Explosive Ordnance Clearance contain requirements for historical and technical investigation, clearance concepts, procurement and documentation within their defined federal remit. Their application to the specific installation alteration, together with locally applicable requirements and responsibilities, is clarified separately.
Next steps
Coordinate investigation and evaluation with the installation alteration
Identify the construction phase and access
State which part of the installation is affected and which routes are available for preparation and investigation. Describe planned groundworks at temporary diversions or working areas too. Identify which steps take place entirely above ground and which alter the ground.
Clarify tasks and protective measures before starting
The operator, construction management and specialist contractors must know their respective tasks for the specific work. Where employees of several employers work at one workplace in Germany, the employers cooperate on occupational safety under § 8 ArbSchG. Provide operational requirements, the activity's risk assessment and the explosive ordnance assessment separately for this purpose.
Agree the survey method
Existing reports and historical evidence are related to the ground disturbance. Ground conditions, utilities, retained foundations and accessible working areas determine which technical investigation is suitable. Methods, occupational safety and necessary preparatory work are coordinated with the operator and construction management before work proceeds.
Carry out the investigation
The commissioned investigation is carried out in the agreed basin, foundation and connection areas. Survey data, findings and limitations are recorded with location, depth and plan references.
Assess results
Data and findings receive specialist interpretation. Unresolved areas, follow-up investigation and the next decision are identified for operators, designers and site management.
Compare results before the next construction section
Before the next construction section, record which areas were investigated and which questions remain open. If a chamber depth or connection location changes, compare it with the earlier result. A completed partial investigation is not a blanket certificate for the entire operational site.
Technical assessment
Coordinate dismantling and investigation
Identify remaining foundations and utilities
Surfacing, reinforced concrete, metal utilities and existing foundations can affect geophysical surveys. For investigation planning, specify which structures and surfacing remain. An area shown as clear on the plan is not necessarily free of underground installations.
Clarify investigation requirements before dismantling
Describe which dismantling work is planned before an investigation and which ground disturbance still needs clarification. Also establish whether and what explosive ordnance investigation is needed for the earlier dismantling work itself. The approach is defined using the suspected hazard, construction sequence and investigation conditions. Visual observation of excavated material alone does not constitute ordnance surveying during construction. Whether this method is suitable for the planned ground disturbance is assessed by specialists. Necessary investigations and protective measures are planned before ground disturbance during vegetation clearance, surface breaking or creation of access routes and working areas. Areas becoming accessible later are investigated before the respective subsequent ground disturbance.
Have water quality and installation engineering assessed separately
The specialists responsible assess water characteristics, installation engineering or the condition of a tank. Coordinate their findings with the construction design. The explosive ordnance report documents the agreed areas of ground as a separate document.
Method selection
Select survey methods for basins, utilities and excavations
For replacement and extension works, describe the affected structures with their actual groundworks. Specialist assessment distinguishes wider areas, utility alignments and individual deep points.
Historical records and aerial photographs
Historical aerial photograph assessment and other old records help place the basis for suspicion in its spatial context. The available images, their evidential value and the limits of the area considered matter. The absence of an identifiable indication must be distinguished from a technically surveyed ground area. The assessment is considered together with the planned intervention and other available findings. It can support the choice of a survey, but is not a measurement of the present-day subsurface or confirmation for all future works.
Understand aerial photograph assessmentMagnetometric survey
Magnetometric methods detect magnetic anomalies. Whether they can address the specific survey task depends, among other things, on the expected objects, ground conditions, interference and required survey area. Fences, utilities or existing structures may affect interpretation. A measurement signal is therefore not described as ordnance solely because of its strength. Method, interpretation and any further investigation are planned as a connected specialist task.
Understand the scope of magnetometryElectromagnetic methods and TDEM
Electromagnetic surveys may be suitable for particular metallic targets and site conditions. TDEM detects the time-dependent electromagnetic responses of electrically conductive bodies. Suitability is justified for the particular task, not inferred merely from the availability of equipment. Interfering installations, accessible areas and the required conclusion must also be considered. Results are documented with location and survey conditions. Whether a complementary method is needed follows from the specialist assessment and remains a specific project decision.
Understand electromagnetic surveyingGround-penetrating radar
Under suitable conditions, ground-penetrating radar can provide information about subsurface structures and reflections. Ground conditions, moisture, installations and the particular survey task affect interpretability. An anomaly is not automatically ordnance, and an area with no apparent anomalies is not general evidence for arbitrary depths. The specialist interpretation and its limits are documented with the instruction. A survey for another purpose is not adopted without checking as ordnance evidence.
GPR and limitationsDeep-ground and downhole surveys
For deeper ground disturbance, it may be necessary to assess whether investigation from the surface can establish what is needed or whether another approach is required. For individual pump foundations or chambers, compare the volume of ground to be investigated with achievable survey coverage before defining a borehole grid. Necessary investigations and protective measures are determined before drilling. Location, depth, borehole layout and existing utilities then form part of preparation. Access for investigation must also be planned in a technically appropriate way. A general depth figure or standard grid does not replace this task. Results remain limited to the areas actually investigated and the method used. For investigations from survey boreholes, casing, borehole depth and documentation are also coordinated with the task and local conditions.
Prepare deep interventionsSurvey during construction
If a necessary preliminary survey cannot be completed in full, the suitability of a technically planned approach during construction is assessed. Each working layer is technically surveyed and evaluated before controlled removal in layers with supplementary visual inspection follows. The steps are repeated to the agreed excavation formation. Excavation layers, stop signal, authority to give instructions, reporting channels and documentation are agreed with site management and specialists before work starts. Pure visual observation of the excavation cannot simply replace a necessary instrumental survey. Site management needs a clear description of when specialist works take place, how new findings are handled and which areas remain outstanding.
Agree the approach during constructionWorking approach
Link specialist work to the installation alteration
Agree a traceable partial task
FONTANA-EOD coordinates the explosive ordnance specialist work with the intended ground disturbance and available evidence. The current plan revision provides the spatial basis. Operator information adds organisational conditions. The agreed scope remains identifiable during the work and in the documentation. Results can then be assigned to a particular construction phase later, even if further alterations at the same installation follow at different times.
Discuss the investigation taskName technical and operational contacts
The construction design team explains locations, depths and changes. The operator describes access and conditions in adjacent areas still in use. Additional specialists may be responsible for water engineering questions. Name contacts according to their tasks. Project coordination brings the information together; specialist decisions remain with the named responsible parties. Details still open thus have a clear route to clarification.
Check accessible working areas
Before work proceeds, check whether the agreed area is available under the described conditions. Changed utility routes, site facilities or access arrangements may require renewed coordination. Areas not addressed remain identifiable in the documents. They are not assigned to a completed result merely because they share the same installation name. For later work, describe the scope still open specifically.
Handle plan changes traceably
If a foundation moves or a deeper connection pit is planned, provide the specialist contractor with the new plan revision. Identify the change against the earlier version. Existing results are then compared with the actual new ground disturbance. Retain the earlier documentation. Assign additional requirements as a separate specialist task rather than extending the original findings indiscriminately to the changed design.
Pass on results for each construction phase
Hand over the report and plan attachments together to those responsible for the project. Areas addressed, relevant conditions and open questions remain identifiable. Construction management can compare the documents with forthcoming work. They provide a traceable basis for later extensions. A short completion notice without spatial attachments, by contrast, is insufficient to assess the earlier investigation scope for a new connection or deeper foundation.
Construction phases
Place specialist assessment within the alteration sequence
Early extension options
If the basin location or utility route is not yet final, show the options distinctly on the plan. Known depths and available evidence can be related to the next design decision. Initial coordination establishes which information is still missing. This does not automatically entail investigation of every possible option. The specific service scope is related to the selected construction task and its actual ground disturbance.
Preparing individual construction stages
Phased construction requires clearly named areas. Add the planned sequence, access arrangements and respective groundworks. Existing specialist reports are compared with these sections. Connection points still open remain identifiable even if neighbouring areas have already been addressed. The project team coordinates investigation with the construction sequence and records which prerequisites must be clarified before the next ground disturbance.
Work beside installation areas still in use
For alterations during ongoing operations, the operator explains conditions applicable to the working area. The specialist contractor describes the requirements of its intended activity. A specific sequence is agreed on that basis. If access or operating conditions change, reassess the effects on the specialist work that can actually be carried out.
Additional connection after completion
For a later utility or local foundation, read the earlier results documentation together with the new ground disturbance plan. Location, depth and the documented technical scope are decisive. A familiar site may still contain new areas of ground. Use available findings where applicable. Give a supplementary task its own traceable reference without retrospectively reinterpreting the earlier documentation.
Project site
Identify the installation and working area clearly
Site plan with clear names
State the locality, installation and affected construction section. Link internal names for basins, buildings or technical installations to the plan. Add an available project contact and intended access route. The regional overview provides orientation. The specialist enquiry additionally requires the specific groundworks; a postal address alone does not describe their boundaries and depths.
Include existing information
Provide existing decisions, specialist reports and project-specific requirements in full with their attachments. Identify the works and area to which they relate. Documentation for the original installation may have a different scope from the current extension. Keep the respective responsible bodies named for queries. Available evidence and local requirements can then be related to the same current plan revision.
Understand the results
Read documents with their technical scope
Assign water engineering questions and groundworks to their respective tasks
Water engineering tasks in Germany have their own regulations: § 13 TrinkwV governs, among other things, planning, construction and operation of water supply installations. § 60 WHG contains requirements for wastewater installations. The operator and responsible specialists clarify water law and hygiene matters, together with any necessary authority decisions, for each project.
Project planning links different specialist tasks. The explosive ordnance assessment requires descriptions of the specific ground disturbance and available ground-related evidence. Water engineering and hygiene requirements remain assigned to their respective subjects. Bring the documents together for construction preparation without confusing their findings. Results remain assigned to the respective technical, water hygiene or explosive ordnance tasks investigated.
Explore results and terminologyCompare an investigated area with the new depth
An area figure alone does not establish whether a new excavation or deeper chamber is covered. Read the report with its corresponding plans and documented limitations. The new construction work must be relatable to these findings. If a boundary is unclear, clarify the question before using the result. A general site name does not replace this spatial comparison.
Compare documented areas and new depthsDetermine the specialist service from the open question
The enquiry may initially describe the construction project and the conclusion it requires. Document evaluation, technical investigation and specialist supervision during construction serve different purposes. The services overview helps identify them. FONTANA-EOD then coordinates the appropriate scope for the specific ground disturbance. Naming a single method should obscure neither local conditions nor available evidence or connection areas still open.
Select appropriate specialist servicesWorking together
Assign the parties' tasks
Design
The design shows location, depth and construction activity and records changes traceably. Smaller connection pits also remain identifiable. They may be important when comparing the works with an earlier investigation.
Operator
The operator describes access and organisational conditions at the installation. Other specialists address their respective water engineering tasks. Project coordination links this information to specific preparation of the groundworks.
Specialist company and competent bodies
The specialist contractor addresses the agreed explosive ordnance question and documents the scope actually completed. The report and attachments record its spatial extent. Other specialist decisions remain with the responsible bodies.
In Germany, state ordnance disposal services and locally competent authorities carry out hazard response and find management. Their involvement and public-order or building-control tasks are established for the project location. Outside Germany, local responsibilities apply. Contacts, requirements and reporting are assigned to the specific works.
Requirements
Record responsibilities within the installation project
In Germany, a possible ordnance find is reported immediately to the police on 110. Authorities arrange hazard response and involve the public ordnance disposal service under local procedures. Outside Germany, the local emergency procedure applies. Operating processes and private specialist work are assigned separately in project organisation.
Operator and water engineering specialists
The operator explains installation operating conditions and names responsible contacts. The specialists responsible address water engineering requirements. For the explosive ordnance assessment, this provides the specific groundworks and organisational conditions. Specialist documents retain their respective subjects. The respective responsible parties make further decisions needed for operation or alterations.
Construction design and contractors
The design describes structures, locations and depths for the intended work. Construction management provides the relevant results documentation. If construction changes, compare the new ground disturbance with previous specialist findings. This also applies to additional work within an already familiar construction section. An available appointment or the small size of a connection does not replace specialist allocation.
Explosive ordnance specialist documentation
FONTANA-EOD documents the explosive ordnance specialist work agreed and carried out. Spatial limits and relevant conditions remain traceable. The project team brings these results together with the other documents. Open requirements are identified explicitly for the next construction decision. That decision can then refer to the specialist findings actually established, while other technical and operational responsibilities remain with the bodies responsible.
In Germany, the requirements for permission, competence and responsibility under the Explosives Act and the 1. SprengV are clarified for the planned activities. § 7 SprengG concerns the commercial permit for activities requiring permission, while § 20 SprengG concerns the certificate of competence for responsible persons. Under § 1b SprengG, searching for found ammunition also constitutes handling. The DGUV Information 201-027 supports the task-specific risk assessment. The DGUV Rule 113-003 is taken into account for relevant activities within its remit of dismantling or destroying explosives or corresponding objects and disposing of found ammunition. The BFR KMR contain requirements within their defined federal remit; their application to the specific installation alteration and site-specific requirements are coordinated with the responsible bodies.
Documents and execution
Consider plans, views and results together
Assign historical information
Older plans and aerial photographs may show the installation at a different stage of development. Provide available documents in full and identify known changes. Specialists assess the spatial relationship to the current construction task. A single image extract is not used as a complete assessment of all current extension areas. The further scope follows from available evidence and the groundworks actually planned.
Explore the historical basisDescribe current views clearly
Photographs can illustrate access routes, surfacing and visible installations. Relate the photographed area to the site plan and explain which area should be accessible for the planned activity. The images supplement preparation. Underground utilities, ground disturbance depths and specialist investigation results cannot be determined from them alone. The respective as-built, design and results documents are used for this.
Understand documentationRetain documentation for later alterations
Keep reports and attachments together in the project file. A later reviewer should be able to trace the plan revision, area and actual scope of specialist work. Areas not addressed remain identifiable. For a later extension, compare the documentation with the new construction task. Its value is retained without inadvertently applying its original scope to other groundworks.
Documenting results clearly
Further technical topics
Assess related utility infrastructure tasks
Installation operation and construction design
Waterworks and wastewater treatment plants combine technical equipment, utilities and traffic areas. The critical infrastructure overview helps identify the organisational context. Individual areas of ground disturbance remain decisive for the explosive ordnance assessment. The shared function of an installation does not automatically entail a single investigation scope. Describe individual tasks traceably with their locations, depths and existing documentation.
Assess critical infrastructure requirementsSpecialist services for the current section
The services overview explains preparation, investigation and documentation tasks. Provide the current ground disturbance plan and existing reports so that open questions can be assigned specifically. The assignment can then be given a concrete, describable scope. Work relates to areas actually accessible; a general description such as installation assessment does not establish all technical or water law prerequisites.
Compare servicesTechnical information
Critical infrastructure: brochure
Work at critical infrastructure requires careful coordination with operations and construction design. The brochure explains preparation, suitable investigations and traceable result documentation.
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Questions from planning
Questions about waterworks and wastewater treatment plants
Does an earlier report cover the entire installation?
This can be assessed only from the documented investigation scope and its limits. For an extension, compare the new area, depth and construction activity with it. The same installation name or property address is insufficient to apply earlier findings.
Does the explosive ordnance contract include water quality testing?
The assignment concerns explosive ordnance investigation of the agreed areas of ground. Water quality investigations and relevant water engineering tasks are addressed separately with the bodies responsible for them.
Can investigation take place only after dismantling?
Whether investigations are useful and possible, and in which sequence, depends on the specific construction task, suspected hazard and accessibility. Before starting, it is also clarified whether the dismantling work itself requires an explosive ordnance investigation.
Is work in a filled basin included?
The agreed explosive ordnance investigation concerns groundworks at the installation site. Investigations in water or activities within a tank require a separate scope and suitable specialist services to be clarified separately.
Which documents help with a small extension?
The affected extract of the installation plan, the planned structure with its location and depth, and existing explosive ordnance reports are needed. Details of old foundations, utilities, dismantling conditions and available access help specialist preparation.
What determines investigation costs at the installation?
Costs depend on the area and depth of the planned groundworks, ground conditions, available evidence and the suitable method. Reinforced structures, utilities, surfacing and dismantling conditions affect the investigation. Access and construction sequencing beside installation parts still in use also matter. The quotation covers the agreed investigation scope, including specialist evaluation and documentation.
How do areas not addressed remain identifiable in the documentation?
Areas not addressed or inaccessible are identified as open in the documents. They are not assigned to a completed result merely because they share the same installation name. For later work, the scope still open is described specifically and compared with the new construction task.
What should be done if a suspicious object is found during earthworks?
If an unexpected suspicious object is found, stop work in the affected area immediately. Do not touch, move or further expose it. Leave the immediate area, keep your distance and keep others away without putting yourself at risk. In Germany, notify the police immediately on 110; outside Germany, use the local emergency reporting route. The responsible authorities decide the next steps. Inform installation operations, construction management and the client; internal reporting must not delay the emergency call.
Project enquiry
Discuss documents for the installation alteration
Construction task and plan revision
Send the affected extract of the installation plan with the intended groundworks and planned construction conditions. Identify differing depths and construction phases. The enquiry can then address the next specific project decision.
Reports and local conditions
Include existing investigation documentation in full and name contacts for access and installation operations. Keep open details identifiable so that they can be clarified specifically during initial coordination. We will clarify with you which investigations are required for the planned ground disturbance and which details are still missing for the quotation. Coordinate water engineering and operational decisions with the responsible bodies.
Discuss project documents
Submit a specific enquiryEnvironment and ground conditions
Distinguish explosive ordnance, contaminated land and ground conditionsPrepare a clearance concept
Structure and contents of a clearance conceptProject process
Prepare the investigation and handover
Have your project assessed
Whether historical aerial photograph analysis, explosive ordnance surveying, surface surveying using GPR, magnetometry or TDEM, deep-ground surveys, downhole surveys, excavation supervision, area clearance or ordnance recovery is needed depends on the location, ground disturbance, depth, ground and existing documents. An early ordnance assessment provides clarity for tendering, programming, occupational safety and construction.
FONTANA-EOD combines its Section 7 SprengG licence, specialists holding Section 20 SprengG certificates of competence, suitable survey and clearance methods, and traceable documentation. Send the site plan, depth of ground disturbance, construction phase and existing documents for an initial technical assessment.
