On paper, a pumping project may seem simple: water must be pumped from one area to another. In actuality, the distance between these two points could be affected by elevation differences as well as pressure requirements, solids, and other factors and storage capacity, control electrical equipment, site restrictions as well as changes in the rate of flow.
Romtec Utilities’ approach to creating a pump station is to first determine the operational requirements. This is accomplished prior to selecting equipment. The project requirements can be used to create initial designs and budgetary figures.
Image credit: romtecutilities.com
Start With One Question How are We Moving?
The technology changes instantly.
The flow of household sewage is subjected to significant daily variations. A wastewater lift station must move that wastewater reliably when gravity conveyance is unavailable or insufficient. Engineers should therefore take into consideration expected inflow, peak conditions and pumping capacities, wet well behaviour, discharge requirements and how the equipment will be operated and maintained.
The water challenges faced by industrial facilities are diverse. The fluids used in manufacturing or processing plant may require caustic, oily, or heated to high pressure or temperature. Romtec Utilities creates industrial systems which are used in various applications that range from data centers to installations of oil and gas as well as food processing, power generation, and pharmaceutical waste.
Rainfall creates a completely different Operating Cycle
Stormwater systems might be able to endure long periods of a lack of activities, only to face huge amounts during a storm.
A stormwater lift station associated with a detention reservoir, for instance, has to work in conjunction with the larger drainage plan. Runoff enters a basin. Storage temporarily regulates the volume immediately. A pumping system transfers the water into an approved outlet.
Romtec Utilities offered this type of solution to an Norco, California business park. The pumping system was needed to empty the basin and then discharge it into the stormwater system. The station therefore had be constructed as a part of the development’s drainage infrastructure rather than treated as isolated equipment.
The term “package” doesn’t have to be used to mean off-the-shelf
A lot of people think that a system for pumping packages is just a predetermined set of components.
In the scenario of engineered infrastructures packaging could be a way of ensuring that all the major components are incorporated into a single system. Controls, pumps and meters, as well as components for structural construction and equipment, are able to be picked according to the duty conditions.
That approach becomes especially useful when a brand new system needs to connect with existing infrastructure. In municipal and industrial buildings, there is rarely enough space or a perfect environment to install. Equipment may need to be adapted around existing structures, piping systems, electrical system, and operating schedules.
Capacity planning has real consequences.
If facilities grow over the years, undersizing can be very costly.
At Portland International Airport, Romtec Utilities created and installed the sewer interceptor lift station to support the PDX Next expansion. The new station is designed to double the capacity for peak-flow of the current system because airport facilities are expanding.
This case illustrates a fundamental engineering principal: Design conditions should not be limited to what a facility can cope with on the typical afternoon. Engineers must know what happens when demand is high.
The Work isn’t Done until the Equipment arrives
Calculations and drawings will eventually become an operating system. Documentation and coordination of installation are crucial to the long-term success of.
After a few years, the efficiency of engineered pumping system is measured. The decisions made during initial design phase are evident when flows increase, major storms arrive, or maintenance is required.
For Romtec Utilities, integrating those decisions into a complete specific pumping program helps turn each piece of equipment into infrastructure specifically designed for the conditions it will actually face.