On paper, it could seem simple: water is pumped to a different location. However there are numerous factors that can affect the distance between two locations including elevation as well as flow rate solids, pressure storage capacity, and access for maintenance.
For Romtec Utilities to design a pump station begins by delineating the operational conditions rather than choosing the appropriate equipment from a standard catalog. The requirements for the project are used to design preliminary designs and budgetary data.
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Start with a simple question: What direction are we doing?
The technology changes instantly.
The flow of domestic sewage can be subject to significant daily variations. If gravity conveyance fails or is insufficient or not sufficient, a wastewater lift facility is needed to move the wastewater. Engineers should be aware of the following aspects: expected flow as well as peak condition, pumping capacity, behavior of the wet well as well as the way in which equipment is operated and maintained.
Industrial water poses a variety of challenges. Fluids that are oily, caustic or have high temperatures and pressures could be required by a manufacturing or processing facility. Romtec Utilities creates industrial systems that are utilized in applications ranging from data centers to installations for oil and gas as well as food processing power generation, pharmaceutical waste.
Rainfall has a completely distinct Operating Cycle
Stormwater systems could spend long periods handling little activities, only to face huge amounts during a storm.
A stormwater liftstation connected to an detention basin must work, for example, in conjunction with the bigger drainage plan of the area. The runoff enters the detention basin, where the temporary storage handles the immediate volume, and the pumping system transports the water collected to an authorized discharge point.
Romtec Utilities provided this solution to develop an Norco business park in California. This project needed a pumping device to empty a detention basin into the stormwater network of the public. The station was designed to work as part of the drainage system used by a developer and not as a separate part of the equipment.
“Package” Doesn’t Have to Mean Off-the-Shelf
A common misconception is that a package pumping system is simply a predetermined collection of components.
For infrastructure that is engineered, packaging could mean coordinating all the main components into a specific system for the project. Valves and pumps are determined based on the duty needs.
This is especially beneficial in situations where the new system has to be connected with an existing infrastructure. Industrial facilities and well-established municipal facilities are not able to provide unlimited area or pristine installation conditions. The equipment may have to be modified in accordance with existing piping systems, structures or electrical systems as well as operating schedules.
Capacity planning is a real issue
When facilities grow, undersizing is particularly expensive.
Romtec Utilities supplied a sewer lift station in Portland International Airport for the PDX Next extension. The new station was constructed to provide twice the peak-flow capacity of the previous system, as the airport facilities expanded.
This illustration illustrates an important engineering principal: Design conditions are not limited to what a facility can cope with on an average afternoon. Engineers should also understand the impact of the times of peak demand.
The Work isn’t Complete until the Equipment Shows Up
At some point, calculations and drawings need to be transformed into an operating system. Coordination of installation and documentation are essential to the success of the long term.
A well-engineered pumping system is ultimately determined by what happens in the years following construction. The decisions taken during the initial design are apparent when flows rise when major storms occur, or maintenance is required.
Romtec Utilities combines these decisions into a solution for pumping that is specific to a particular project. This can help transform individual equipment into an infrastructure designed to handle the environment they face.
