Pumping projects can seem easy on paper. Water arrives at a specific location and must be pumped to another. In reality there are a variety of variables that affect the distance between two points such as elevation as well as flow rate solids, pressure storage capacity, and access for maintenance.

Romtec Utilities’ strategy for designing a pump station is to first establish the operational requirements. This is accomplished prior to selecting the equipment. Then, the initial design and budgetary details could be developed based on what is required by the project.

Image credit: romtecutilities.com

Begin with a simple question: How are we doing?

The answer immediately changes the process of engineering.

There could be a significant fluctuation in the rate of flow of wastewater that is used for domestic use. A wastewater lift station must move that wastewater reliably when gravity conveyance is unavailable or insufficient. Engineers therefore need to consider the expected flow, the conditions of peak and pumping capacities, wet well behavior, discharge requirements as well as how the facility will be operated and maintained.

Many challenges can be encountered by industrial water. Fluids that are caustic, oily or have high temperatures or pressures might be required by a processing or manufacturing facility. Romtec Utilities creates industrial systems which are used in various applications ranging from data centers to oil and gas facilities, food processing power generation, pharmaceutical waste.

Rainfall may create a completely distinct operating cycle

Stormwater systems may have long periods of time absorbing little activity and then face substantial volumes during a storm.

For example, a stormwater lift station that is associated with a basin of detention must be compatible with the overall drainage plan for the site. When the runoff flows into the basin for detention, and the temporary storage manages the immediate volume and the pumping system transports the water collected to a discharge point that is approved.

Romtec Utilities supplied this type of solution for a company park development in Norco, California. The pumping system was needed to empty the detention reservoir and discharge it into the stormwater system. The station needed be designed as part of the development’s drainage infrastructure, not as an isolated piece of equipment.

“Package” Doesn’t Need to be Off-the-Shelf

Many believe that a package-pumping system is simply a collection of parts.

Packaging can be used to organize the primary elements into a system designed specifically for the project. Meters, valves, pumps, controls, communications, structural components, and other equipment can be arranged according to the necessary duty requirements.

This strategy is especially useful when the system is required to be connected to an existing infrastructure. Industrial plants and established municipal facilities rarely offer unlimited space or completely clean installation conditions. Equipment might need to be positioned around existing piping, structures, electrical systems, and operating schedules.

The Real Consequences of Capacity Planning

If facilities grow in size, undersizing becomes a significant expense.

Romtec Utilities, a Portland International Airport utility company, has designed and constructed a sewer interceptor lifting station for the PDX Next project. The new station was developed to double the capacity for peak-flow of the existing system as airport facilities expand.

This illustration illustrates an important engineering principal: Design conditions should not be limited by the limitations of what a building can manage on a typical afternoon. Engineers should be aware of what happens during peak demand.

The job isn’t done until the Equipment Arrives

Drawings and calculations eventually turn into an operating system. Installation coordination as well as startup and testing, documentation and comprehension are all essential for long-term efficiency.

In the years following construction, the effectiveness of an engineered pumping system can be determined. The choices made in the initial design are clearly visible when equipment needs maintenance as flows rise or when an event occurs.

For Romtec Utilities, integrating those decisions into a complete specific pumping program helps turn each piece of equipment into infrastructure that is designed to meet the demands it’s likely to encounter.