Wastewater Pump Stations 101: Working With Municipal Authorities
Romtec wastewater pump station completion
The design and construction of most wastewater pump/lift stations require review, inspection and approval by municipal authorities. In residential, commercial and industrial developments the municipal sewage agency will usually take ownership of the lift station after it is completed. As a result, communities don’t accept just any pumping system; there is often a lengthy specification with functional, structural, mechanical, electrical and communication requirements.
Fast design review, installation and approval help everyone. In the case of a residential, commercial or industrial development, the municipality probably won’t issue building permits until the lift station is completed. The challenge is to submit a design that meets all the community’s requirements and can be constructed quickly. To expedite approval by the agency, Romtec ensures that each lift station is designed, supplied and installed per the approved specification. Read more
Romtec Utilities to Exhibit & Present at WEFTEC 2010
Visit Romtec Utilities in New Orleans this October
This October 2 through 6, Romtec Utilities will be in New Orleans for this year’s WEFTEC, the Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference. If you are there, please stop by our exhibit booth #2571. As a WEF member, we have many good business reasons to network with other companies at WEFTEC. Read more
Liners & Coatings Save Pump Station Concrete
Corrosion of unprotected concrete
Romtec Utilities offers PVC and fiberglass liners and epoxy coatings for the interior surfaces of concrete wet wells and vaults in our wastewater pump stations. These treatments help prevent damage to the concrete from gasses and liquids that may be present in the sewage. The most common concern is hydrogen sulfide gas emitted from municipal wastewater and the sulfuric acid that forms through a bacterially mediated process. A description of the process that causes degradation of concrete from sewage gas is copied from Wikipedia at the end of this article. Read more
Valve assembly location – 3 options makes a difference
Valve assemblies in Romtec Utilities pump stations
Romtec Utilities pumping systems include the complete valve assembly between the pumps and force main. The basic valve assembly includes a check valve and a plug (isolation) valve in the discharge line from each pump. But that’s about it for basics, because each pump station has unique requirements for the valves and where they are located. Depending on various factors, the valve assembly can be located within the wet well, within a separate underground vault or above ground within an enclosure or right out in the open.
In-well valves – For submersible pump stations, reduced cost is an important factor in locating the valve assembly inside the wet well. Less pipe, fewer fittings and no underground vault or above ground enclosure are required, thus reducing cost.
Sufficient space inside the wet well can be a factor; the valves have to fit in the vertical pipe riser. The pre-assembled Read more
Gimme Shelter – pump station control shelters and buildings
Romtec pump station control shelters and buildings
Consider including a shelter or building in your pumping system design
Many lift stations need a weather/shade shelter or building to protect the control panel and to provide convenience and safety for operators.
Romtec Utilities partners with our sister company, Romtec, Inc. for design, supply and installation of steel shelters and solid concrete buildings to protect pump station controls. Together, the two companies provide a one-stop shopping approach to building a system complete with lift station and protective structure.
STEEL SHELTER - A Romtec powder coated steel shelter provides cooling shade for the pump station control panel and can be the most cost effective way to reduce the operating temperature inside the panel enclosure. It also gives weather protection to components anytime the enclosure must be opened. Operators don’t mind the shelter from blistering summer heat and winter precipitation either. Read more
Fiberglass Advantages
12' dia. prefabricated fiberglass wastewater pump station
Romtec Utilities’ complete sewage pumping systems are available with wet wells and vaults of either fiberglass or concrete. The high-quality Xerxes fiberglass underground tanks are delivered to the job site fully assembled and ready for pipe and pump installation. Here are some of the advantages of fiberglass:
- Complete one-piece structures require no field assembly. Pre-assembled fiberglass wet wells are ready to receive influent and discharge pipes, submersible or dry pit pumps and liquid level sensing devices.
- One-piece fiberglass vessels up to 12 feet diameter and 40 feet long can be shipped to any project location.
- Tanks have no joints to be sealed, so there is no potential for groundwater incursion.
- Unique rib design makes wet wells more resistant to uplift the deeper the tank is placed underground. Read more
Natural Treatment System Revisited
Edge of El Modena Park basin before plants grew in
Storm basin pump station performs during wet California winter.
Folks at Irvine Ranch Irrigation District (IRWD) in Orange County, Calif. are pleased with the performance of the El Modena Park storm basin, part of the San Diego Creek Natural Treatment System (www.naturaltreatmentsystem.org), a regional approach to treating urban runoff. In the first wet winter experience with the storm basin, some lessons have been learned while achieving nitrate removal.
During precipitation, runoff in the nearby flood control channel is diverted into the park’s man-made wetland. Besides reducing the direct flow into San Joaquin Marsh in the upper reach of Newport Bay, the constructed wetland is designed to naturally cleanse urban runoff before it reenters the channel. Plants at the perimeter of the basin help remove nitrates and other pollutants from the water. Keeping the water at just the right level for these plants to thrive, a key factor in biofiltration system’s success, is the job of the Romtec Utilities duplex submersible stormwater pumping system installed in 2008. Read more
Distribution warehouse gets submersible sewage pump station
Distribution warehouse pump station collects combined sanitary sewer, storm runoff and, potentially, water from the building's fire suppression sprinklers.
Pumping system handles combined sanitary sewer, stormwater and potential fire suppression system water.
Romtec Utilities recently supplied a sewage lift station to the new 750,000 square foot Ferguson Enterprises Regional Distribution Center built on the site of a former US Navy facility in Stockton, Calif. Thomas Graham Civil Design Group was the project engineer and pm2i was general contractor.
Romtec supplied all structural, mechanical, electrical andtelemetry systems in the station, which features a 6’ dia. pre-cast concrete wet well to collect the combined sanitary sewer and stormwater runoff, as well as potential drainage from the building’s fire suppression sprinkler system. Also included in the complete system are a pre-assembled valve vault and all ductile piping, U.L. listed electrical controls and SCADA, and two submersible pumps that discharge through a 4” dia. force main to the municipal gravity sewer.
Pump station odor & corrosion control with chemical feed system
Romtec Utilities chemical feed system for wastewater pump station
Sewage pumping systems are frequently fitted with chemical feed for odor and corrosion control plus worker safety.
Wastewater collection systems, including pump stations, can be subject to the build-up of hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S), frequently the source of unpleasant odor and a serious cause for concern due to potential corrosion of concrete exposed to the gas. Operator safety is an even more serious matter, since breathing high concentrations of H2S is potentially lethal.
Romtec Utilities supplies odor/corrosion control chemical feed systems in its complete pre-engineered wastewater pump stations. The chemical feed system allows various chemicals to be introduced into the pump station’s wet well or into the force main. Siemens BIOXIDE® solution is the chemical most frequently specified by Romtec Utilities for control of odor, corrosion and safety problems associated with hydrogen sulfide in wastewater collection systems. Read more
Flow metering – an important pump station addition
Complete flow metering vault with sensor, and readout/transmitter
Consider flow metering for accurate measurement – Pumping systems are frequently required to measure the volume of fluid being pumped over a period of time. This is often the case if a subdivision or industrial site is billed by the municipal sewer agency for the amount of wastewater it discharges to the sewage treatment plant.
Calculating the flow – An easy and inexpensive way to get a reasonable estimate of the volume of wastewater being pumped is to “calculate the flow.” This is done by multiplying the volume of water pumped with each pump start by the number of pump starts over a period of time. The resulting number, the total volume pumped during the period, is useful for estimating purposes.
Flow metering – Flow metering may be necessary for proving the discharge volume. Romtec Utilities supplies a number of flow metering systems from leading manufacturers as part of our complete wastewater submersible pump stations. Read more
