Coffer Dams are temporary dams that are installed primarily to allow the dewatering of a shallow water portion of a project to allow the work to be done dry. Coffer Dams consist of sheet pilings that are driven into the soil to form the temporary dam, then pumps are installed and the interior of the structure is pumped dry. Typically divers will be employed to assist in sealing any leaking joints in the sheet pile wall. On the rare occasion that a Coffer Dam fails, the divers may be brought in to determine the cause of the failure and possibly burn to remove any bent members to allow new sheets to be driven back in place.
