On paper, it may appear straightforward: the water is pumped to a different location. In real life, the distances between these two points can be affected by elevation variations or the pressure and solids requirements and storage capacity, electrical equipment, restrictions on site as well as changes in flow rates.

Romtec Utilities’ way of designing a pump station is to define the operating conditions. This is done prior to selecting equipment. Initial design and budgetary details could be designed based on what is required by the project.

Image credit: romtecutilities.com

The first step is to ask How are We Moving?

The engineering is immediately changed.

The flow of wastewater in the domestic system is subject to substantial fluctuations in the course of a day. A wastewater lift station must move that wastewater reliably when gravity conveyance is unavailable or insufficient. Engineers need to be aware of the following factors: expected inflow and peak conditions, pumping capacity, behavior of the wet well discharge requirements, and how the equipment is maintained and operated.

Diverse challenges arise from industrial water. A manufacturing or processing facility may require moving high-temperature, caustic or oily or high-pressure fluids. Romtec Utilities designs industrial systems to support a variety of applications, from food processing and power generation to data centers, pharmaceutical waste, and oil and gas plants.

Rainfall creates a completely different Operating Cycle

Stormwater systems are usually inactive for extended periods and then suddenly face the possibility of a huge volume in an event.

A stormwater lift station associated with a detention basin for example, must work in conjunction with the larger drainage plan. The runoff enters the basin for detention, and the temporary storage system manages the immediate volume, and the pumping system transports the water collected to a discharge point that is approved.

Romtec Utilities offered this type of solution to a Norco, California business park. This project needed a pumping system that would empty a reservoir into the stormwater system of the public. The station was been designed to function as component of the drainage infrastructure designed for the development, and not as an independent piece of equipment.

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

It is a common misconception that a pumping system used for packages is just a collection of predetermined elements.

Packaging can be used to coordinate the major components of a particular project. Controls, pumps and meters, as well as structures and other equipment can be chosen depending on the needs of the.

This approach is particularly useful when a new system must be connected to existing infrastructure. In municipal and industrial buildings, there’s rarely any space at all or a totally clean space for installation. Equipment may need to fit within existing structures, piping or electrical systems as well as operational schedules.

Capacity planning is a real issue

The cost of undersizing increases as the facility expands.

Romtec Utilities supplied a sewer lift station located at Portland International Airport for the PDX Next extension. The new station is planned to increase the capacity at peak flows of the existing system when airport facilities expand.

It illustrates a crucial engineering principal: design specifications shouldn’t represent only what a facility manages on a typical afternoon. Engineers must also be aware of the impact of the peak of demand.

The Job Isn’t Finished When the Equipment arrives

At some point, calculations and drawings need to be transformed into an operating system. Installation coordination with startup and testing, documentation, and operator understanding are all important for the long-term performance.

A well-engineered pumping system is largely determined by what happens in the years following construction. The choices made in the initial design are evident whenever equipment needs maintenance, flows increase or an event occurs.

For Romtec Utilities to integrate those choices into a comprehensive project-specific pumping strategy helps transform parts of equipment into infrastructure that is designed to meet the demands they will be facing.