On paper, a project for pumping may seem simple: water must be pumped from one area to another. However there are a variety of variables which can influence the distance between two points, including elevation, flow rate, solids, pressure, storage capacity and maintenance access.
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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. Then, preliminary design and budgetary details could be developed based on what the requirements of the project are.
Start with a simple question: What direction are we moving?
The technology changes instantly.
Domestic sewage may contain solids and may experience significant fluctuations in flow. A wastewater lift station must move that wastewater reliably when gravity conveyance is inaccessible or not sufficient. Engineers should be aware of the following aspects: expected flow and peak conditions, pumping capability, wet well behavior as well as the way in which equipment is maintained and operated.
Industrial water has its own challenges. Fluids which are caustic, oily or have high temperatures or pressures could be required by a processing or manufacturing facility. Romtec Utilities creates industrial systems that are utilized in applications ranging from data centers, installations for oil and gas, food processing power generation, pharmaceutical waste.
Rainfall is a completely different operating cycle
Stormwater systems are often inactive for extended periods and then suddenly encounter massive volumes during a storm.
A stormwater lift station that is connected with a basin for detention, for example, must be in sync in conjunction with the larger drainage plan. The water that flows through the basin for detention, and the temporary storage manages the immediate volume and the pumping system moves the water collected to a designated discharge point.
Romtec Utilities provided this solution for the development of a Norco business park in California. The project required a pumping device to drain a detention basin into the public stormwater network. The station was intended to work as part of a development’s drainage system rather than an individual part of the equipment.
“Package Doesn’t Mean “Off the shelf”
There is a widespread misconception that a pumping system used for packages is merely a collection of predetermined parts.
In the case of engineered infrastructure, packaging could refer to the fact that all of the main components are incorporated into a single system. Pumps and valves can be selected according to their duty needs.
It’s especially helpful to connect a new system to the existing infrastructure. In industrial plants and municipal buildings, there’s usually unlimited space available or a totally clean space for installation. There may be a need to modify equipment in order to fit into existing structures, piping or electrical systems as well as schedules.
Capacity planning has real consequences.
When facilities grow and expand, undersizing is a major expense.
Romtec Utilities, a Portland International Airport utility company, developed and built an sewer interceptor lift station for the PDX Next project. The new station is planned to double the peak-flow capability of the existing system when airport facilities expand.
It demonstrates a key engineering principle: design conditions should not reflect only the way a facility manages on a typical afternoon. Engineers must also be aware of what happens during the peak of demand.
The work isn’t complete until the Equipment Arrives
Drawings and calculations may eventually evolve into an operating system. Installation coordination starting and testing, documentation and operator understanding are all important for long-term efficiency.
In the years following construction, the performance of engineered pumping systems is determined. The choices made in the beginning of the design are obvious whenever equipment needs maintenance as flows rise or when an event occurs.
Romtec Utilities combines these decisions into a pumping system which is unique to a particular project. This allows us to transform each piece of equipment into an infrastructure built for the conditions they will have to face.