Malcolm Drilling subcontracted Landau Associates to assist it with value engineering an alternative shaft construction method that deviated from the “wet construction” method specified in the contract documents. The 120-ft deep launching shaft penetrated and was underlain by multiple confined aquifers. Malcolm Drilling proposed a construction method that required depressurization of the underlying confined aquifers to ensure integrity of the base of the shaft during construction. Complex alluvial subsurface conditions along with stringent drawdown and settlement restrictions required development of a three-dimensional groundwater flow model to demonstrate to the owner’s design team the hydrostatic pressure gradients across multiple soil units and potential drawdown effects in the upper unconfined aquifer. Based on our analyses and groundwater model, Malcolm Drilling was allow to implement its construction method, which provided the project owner with an improved final product while significantly reducing the driller’s construction costs.