Groundwater doesn't stop at a wall, a tunnel lining, or an excavation edge, it finds a way through unless something blocks it along the full line.
Solutions for this Service
Active Water Intrusion
Tunnel Leaks
Soil Loss
Sinkholes
Related Industries
Water and Wastewater
Marine and Coastal
Need a Site Assessment?
800-240-7868
Groundwater doesn't stop at a wall, a tunnel lining, or an excavation edge, it finds a way through unless something blocks it along the full line. Curtain Grouting creates a continuous, trenchless barrier by injecting grout in a sequenced pattern so each treated zone overlaps the next, forming one impermeable plane rather than isolated spots. Engineers, public agencies, and facility owners use it wherever groundwater intrusion threatens an excavation, tunnel, vault, or retaining structure along its entire length.
Groundwater doesn't respect a single sealed point. Here's what it leads to if a continuous barrier isn't in place.
Groundwater intrusion along the full length of an excavation, tunnel, or below-grade structure
Hydrostatic pressure buildup that stresses walls, liners, and buried structures
Soil piping, the progressive internal erosion that happens when water keeps finding a path through soil
Ongoing degradation of pits, drains, and outfalls exposed to sustained water intrusion
Groundwater problems along a structure's full length usually show up gradually. Watch for these.
Water seeping along an extended section of a tunnel liner, retaining wall, or excavation face, not just one spot
Rising hydrostatic pressure readings behind a below-grade wall or structure
A planned excavation that needs to stay dry throughout construction
Soil erosion tracking along a defined line behind a structure, a sign of soil piping in progress
A drainage structure, pit, or outfall showing long-term degradation from sustained water exposure
A floodwall or coastal structure with gaps or discontinuities where water gets through
Why engineers and agencies choose Curtain Grouting when a continuous barrier is the goal.
Extends the service life of major structures. Curtain Grouting is used to extend the life of tunnels, vaults, and retaining walls, and to waterproof liners in transit and utility corridors.
Prevents a specific, serious failure mode. A continuous barrier stops hydrostatic pressure buildup and soil piping, the progressive internal erosion that can undermine a structure well before surface signs appear.
Keeps adjacent structures and operations undisturbed. On a deep excavation in Pelham, New York, next to an occupied three-story building, the work resulted in no recordable settlement at the adjacent structure.
Performance is verified, not assumed. Rising-head permeability testing before and after grouting confirmed a 95% reduction in groundwater infiltration on a project near Lake Erie, Ohio.
Forms one continuous barrier, not a series of separate patches. Injection holes are sequenced so each treated zone overlaps the next, creating a single impermeable plane along the structure's full length.
Curtain Grouting is the right call when groundwater needs to be blocked along the full length of an excavation, tunnel, vault, or retaining structure, not just at one joint or leak. It's built for continuous barrier work: deep excavations, transit and utility corridors, floodwalls, and coastal structures where water intrusion is a line-length problem, not a point problem.
It's not the right tool when the issue is a single, isolated joint or leak; Chemical Grouting is the more precise fit for spot-treating that condition, even though the same acrylate material is often used in both. It also isn't the fit when the goal is increasing soil density or bearing capacity rather than blocking water, which Ground Densification or Soil Stabilization address directly.
Curtain Grouting is often paired with Chemical Grouting on the same site when a project needs both a continuous groundwater barrier along an excavation line and targeted sealing at specific joints or penetrations within that same footprint.
1
Evaluate
A URETEK project manager reviews the groundwater conditions and the line the barrier needs to follow, not a salesperson working from a standard package.
2
Deploy
Crews mobilize on the schedule the site needs, including nights, weekends, or holidays, in a self-contained unit.
3
Drill
Holes are drilled in a sequenced pattern along the barrier line, spaced so each treated zone will overlap the next.
4
Inject
Grout is injected at each point, forming overlapping treated zones that join into one continuous barrier.
5
Clean Up
There's no excavation to backfill and no trench to restore, so cleanup is minimal.
6
Validate
Barrier performance is confirmed, often with rising-head permeability testing, before the crew leaves.
URETEK has installed groundwater barriers for wastewater plants, floodwalls, and urban excavations nationwide, with results confirmed by real testing.
Performance is verified with rising-head permeability testing before and after grouting, not assumed from the injection volume. On a coastal service building in the Bronx supporting a major bridge, treated areas stayed fully dry through observed tidal cycles. On a wastewater treatment excavation near Lake Erie, Ohio, the grout curtain achieved a 95% reduction in groundwater infiltration with zero recorded settlement.
Holes are drilled in a sequenced pattern so each injection point's treated zone overlaps with the next, forming one continuous plane rather than a series of separate spots. That continuous coverage is what allows the curtain to block groundwater flow along its full length, rather than leaving gaps between individually sealed points.
It depends on the site, but on the Lake Erie wastewater project, jet grouting was evaluated and ruled out in favor of a curtain grouting approach that avoided the vibration, access, and equipment costs jet grouting would have required. A site-specific comparison is the only way to confirm the number for a given project.
Yes. On a deep urban excavation in Pelham, New York, next to an occupied three-story building, URETEK's grout curtain and underpinning work resulted in no recordable settlement at the adjacent structure. On the Lake Erie project, the adjacent aeration tanks stayed operational throughout.
Curtain Grouting is used along deep excavations, behind retaining walls, around tunnels and vaults, in transit and utility corridors, and at floodwalls and coastal structures, anywhere a continuous barrier is needed to block groundwater along a defined line.
Get a continuous groundwater barrier evaluated for your excavation, tunnel, or structure. URETEK crews respond fast, including emergencies.
Request a Curtain Grouting Evaluation
URETEK
Ground improvement solutions engineered for performance.
Contact Us
Find Local Experts
13900 Humble Road, Tomball, TX 77375
Services
Solutions
800-240-7868
