Pumping projects can seem straightforward on paper: water arrives at a specific location and is required to move to another. In reality, the distance between those two points can be affected by changes in flow rates, elevation differences and solids, pressure requirements storage capacity, control electric equipment, access to maintenance and restrictions at the site.
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For Romtec Utilities, designing a pump station begins by defining those operating conditions rather than selecting equipment from a standard catalog. The project’s requirements can be used to develop sketches and budgetary details.
You should ask yourself: Where is our next destination?
The engineering is immediately changed.
There could be a significant fluctuation in the rate of flow of wastewater that is used for domestic use. A wastewater lift facility must be able to move the wastewater safely when gravity conveyance is unavailable or insufficient. Engineers need to consider the anticipated inflow and the conditions of peak, pumping capacity as well as wet-well behaviour and discharge requirements, as well as how equipment will be maintained and operated.
Industrial water presents different challenges. A processing or manufacturing facility might need to move high-temperature, caustic or oily or high-pressure liquids. Romtec Utilities designs systems for industrial applications, ranging from food processing to power generation, databases, pharmaceutical waste facilities and oil and gasoline facilities.
Rainfall could create a completely different operating pattern
Stormwater systems can be inactive for extended periods but then suddenly they have to handle large volumes in the course of a major storm.
A stormwater lift station that is connected with a detention reservoir, for example, must be in sync with the site’s larger drainage strategy. Runoff enters the basin and storage in temporary mode controls the immediate volume, and a pumping system moves the water that is collected to an approved discharge point.
Romtec Utilities supplied this type of service for a commercial park in Norco, California. A pumping system was required to empty the detention basin and then discharge it into the stormwater system. The station was designed to work as a component of the drainage system used by a developer, not as an isolated part of the equipment.
The word “package” does not necessarily be used to mean off-the-shelf
It is a popular misconception that a pumping device for packages is merely a collection of predetermined parts.
In the case of engineered infrastructure, packaging can instead mean coordinating the main components into a project-specific system. Pumps, meters and controls, as well as the structural elements and other equipment, can be chosen depending on the conditions of use.
This approach is especially helpful when the new system needs to be linked with an existing infrastructure. Industrial facilities and well-established municipal facilities rarely offer unlimited area or pristine installation conditions. The equipment could need to be modified in accordance with existing piping systems, structures or electrical systems as well as operating schedules.
Capacity planning can have real-world consequences
If facilities grow and expand, undersizing is a major expense.
Romtec Utilities supplied a sewer lift station in Portland International Airport for the PDX Next extension. The new station had been designed to have double the capacity of peak flow as the airport expanded.
This case illustrates a fundamental engineering concept: Design conditions should not be limited by the limitations of what a building can be able to handle during an average afternoon. Engineers need to be aware of the impact of demand spikes.
The job isn’t done until the Equipment Shows Up
At time, drawings and calculations must become an operational system. The coordination of installations and the documentation are vital to long-term success.
What happens after the building of a pumping unit determines its value. The decisions made during initial design are clear when equipment needs maintenance and flows increase, or the weather strikes.
Romtec Utilities combines these decisions to offer a complete pumping solution for a particular project. It helps turn equipment into infrastructure that is designed specifically for the conditions that it will be used.