Pumping projects may seem simple on paper. Water arrives at a specific location and must be pumped to another. In real life, the distance between those two points could be a matter of fluctuating flows, elevation changes, solids, pressure requirements storage capacity, and electrical equipment, access to maintenance and restrictions on the site.
For Romtec Utilities, the design of a pump station begins by defining those operating conditions rather than choosing the appropriate an item from a catalogue. Initial design and budgetary details could be formulated according to what is required by the project.
Image credit: romtecutilities.com
Begin with a simple question: What direction are we doing?
The solution immediately alters the engineering.
Domestic sewage is often contaminated with solids and may experience significant fluctuations in flow. A wastewater lift station must move that wastewater reliably when gravity conveyance is unavailable or insufficient. Engineers must therefore consider the anticipated inflow, peak conditions, pumping capacity, wet-well behaviour, discharge requirements as well as how the facility will be operated and maintained.
Industrial water poses a variety of challenges. A manufacturing or processing facility may require moving high-temperature, caustic and oily or high-pressure liquids. Romtec Utilities designs industrial systems for applications that range from food processing and power generation to data centers pharmaceutical waste, oil and gas facilities.
Rainfall is a completely different operating system
Stormwater systems can be inactive for long periods and then suddenly be required to deal with large volumes during major storms.
A stormwater lift station linked with a detention basin for instance, has to work within the overall drainage strategy. Runoff enters the basin temporary storage is responsible for the volume immediately, and a pumping system then moves the collected water towards an authorized discharge point.
Romtec Utilities provided this solution for the creation of a Norco business park in California. The development required a pumping station for emptying the detention system of the public stormwater drainage network. The station needed to be planned as a part of the drainage infrastructure that is part of the development, not as an independent piece of equipment.
“Package” Doesn’t Infer “Off the Shelf”
Many believe that a package-pumping system is simply a collection of parts.
For infrastructure that is engineered, packaging could mean coordinating all the major pieces into one specific project. Valve and pump components can be determined based on the duty requirements.
That approach becomes especially useful when a new system must connect to existing infrastructure. Municipal and industrial plants facilities usually do not provide a lot of space or even clean installation conditions. It may be necessary to adjust equipment around existing structures, piping, electrical systems and schedules.
Capacity Planning has real consequences
Undersizing becomes particularly costly when facilities grow.
In Portland International Airport, Romtec Utilities developed and built the sewer interceptor station for the PDX Next expansion. The new station needed be constructed to provide double the capacity of peak flow since the airport had expanded.
This illustration illustrates an important engineering principle: Design conditions must not be limited to the amount of work a facility is able to handle on a typical afternoon. Engineers must also be aware of what happens during peak demand.
The Work isn’t Complete 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.
The time between construction and the performance of engineered pumping system is assessed. The decisions made during preliminary design are very evident as flows rise when major storms occur or when maintenance is needed.
Romtec Utilities brings these two decisions together to provide a complete pumping solution for a particular project. It assists in turning equipment into infrastructure that is designed specifically for the conditions for which it is utilized.
