Pumping projects can seem easy on paper. Water enters at one location and needs to reach another. In reality, the distance between these two points could be influenced by elevation changes or the pressure and solids requirements, as well as storage capacity, electrical equipment, site restrictions, and fluctuations in flow rates.
Romtec Utilities initiates the design of a pumping station by defining these operating conditions, instead of selecting equipment from a catalog. Design concepts and budgetary information can be created based on what the project actually requires.
Image credit: romtecutilities.com
Start With One Question: What Are We Moving?
The engineering is changed immediately.
The flow of domestic sewage can be subject to significant variations throughout the day. If gravity conveyance fails, or is not sufficient an wastewater lift station will be required to move the wastewater. Engineers must therefore consider the expected flow, the conditions of peak, pumping capacity, wet-well behavior, discharge requirements, as well as how the facility will be operated and maintained.
Many challenges can be encountered by industrial water. The fluids used in a manufacturing or processing facility might require caustic, oily, or heated to extreme temperatures or pressure. Romtec Utilities designs industrial systems to support a variety of applications, from power generation and food processing to data centers pharmaceutical waste, oil and gas facilities.
Rainfall Creates an Entirely Different Operating Cycle
Stormwater systems may be off the grid for prolonged periods and then suddenly be required to manage large amounts during a major storm.
A stormwater liftstation connected to an egress basin needs to work, for example, alongside the overall drainage plan of the site. When the basin fills up, temporary storage controls the immediate volume and the pumping system moves the collected water towards an authorized discharge point.
Romtec Utilities offered this type of solution to a Norco, California business park. The project required a pumping system to drain a detention basin into the public stormwater system. The station was to be designed as a part of the drainage infrastructure for the development, not as a separate piece equipment.
The word “package” doesn’t necessarily be used to mean off-the-shelf
A common misconception is that a package pumping system is simply a predetermined collection of components.
Packaging is a method to organize the primary elements into a system designed specifically for the project. Meters, valves, pumps as well as controls, communications structural elements, and other equipment can be arranged according to the necessary duty requirements.
It is particularly useful in connecting a brand new system to the existing infrastructure. In the case of industrial facilities and municipal buildings, there’s rarely enough space or a complete clean environment for the installation. There may be a need to adjust equipment around existing structures, pipes electrical systems, schedules and schedules.
Capacity Planning Has Real Consequences
The cost of undersizing rises as the size of the facility increases.
Romtec Utilities supplied a sewer lift station in Portland International Airport for the PDX Next extension. The new station is planned to double the peak-flow capability of the current system as airport facilities expand.
This illustration illustrates an important engineering principle: Design conditions must not be limited to what a facility can handle on the typical afternoon. Engineers must be aware of what happens at peak demand.
The job isn’t done until the Equipment arrives
Drawings and calculations eventually evolve into an operating system. Installation coordination, startup, testing documentation, and user knowledge all affect long-term performance.
After a few years, the effectiveness of an engineered pumping systems is determined. The choices made during initial design phase are evident when the flow increases when major storms occur or a maintenance plan is necessary.
For Romtec Utilities, integrating these decision-making processes into a total project-specific pumping strategy helps transform the equipment pieces into an infrastructure designed for the conditions they’ll be confronted with.