The water level at the Sanford Underground Laboratory at Homestake remains at 5,022 feet underground, at approximately the same level that has been maintained for the past month.

Sanford Lab crews are rehabilitating the 5,000-foot level of the former gold mine in order to install two additional pumping stations.

The current pumping system can draw water down to about 5,200 feet underground, but technicians will install a new deep-water pump at the 5,000-foot level that will reach the lowest level at Homestake, 8,000 feet underground. That pump could be in place as early as January.

In addition, refurbished Homestake pumps will be reinstalled at the 5,000-foot level to lift water directly to the 3,650-foot level, bypassing a series of smaller pumps currently being used.

The new system will speed dewatering of the rest of the mine. Until then, the water level will be maintained between 5,000 and 5,200 feet underground in order to keep a steady stream of water flowing through the treatment plant.

The South Dakota Science and Technology Authority is pumping water out of Homestake to reopen it as a deep underground laboratory.