On paper, a pumping plan might appear straightforward. Water is required to be pumped from one location to another. In actuality, the distance between those two points may be subject to fluctuating flow rates, elevation differences and solids, pressure requirements, storage capacity, control and electrical equipment, maintenance access and restrictions on the site.
Romtec Utilities’ way of design a pumping station is to first determine the operational conditions. This is accomplished prior to selecting the equipment. Preliminary designs and budgetary information can be created based on what the project will actually require.
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Let’s start with one question What are we doing?
The technology changes instantly.
There are significant variations in the rate of flow of the domestic sewage. A wastewater lift station must move that wastewater reliably when gravity conveyance is unavailable or insufficient. Engineers must consider the expected inflow and maximum conditions, pumping capacities as well as wet-well behaviour and discharge requirements, as well as how equipment will be maintained and operated.
There are a variety of challenges that arise with industrial water. A processing or manufacturing facility might need to move high-temperature, caustic and oily, or high-pressure fluids. Romtec Utilities designs systems for industrial applications ranging from food processing to power generation, data centers, pharmaceutical waste, gasoline and oil facilities.
Rainfall has a totally different operating environment
Stormwater systems may be off the grid for prolonged periods until they suddenly need to manage large amounts during a major storm.
A stormwater liftstation associated with an egress basin needs to, for instance, work alongside the overall drainage plan for the site. Runoff enters the basin and storage in temporary mode controls the immediate volume and a pumping system then moves the collected water towards an authorized discharge point.
Romtec Utilities supplied this type of solution for a company park located in Norco, California. The pumping equipment was needed to empty the detention reservoir and discharge it into the stormwater network. The station was planned to be part of a drainage system in a development and not as a separate piece of equipment.
“Package” Doesn’t Denote “Off the shelf”
There is a widespread misconception that a pumping mechanism for packages is merely a collection of predetermined parts.
In the case of engineering infrastructure packaging may refer to the fact that all of the main components are linked into a system. Pumps, valves and meters, controls, communications, structural elements, and more equipment are able to be selected based on the requirements of the duty conditions.
This is especially beneficial for systems that need to be linked with an existing infrastructure. The industrial plants and the existing municipal facilities do not always have a lot of space for installation or well-maintained conditions. There may be a need to alter equipment to accommodate existing structures, pipes, electrical systems and schedules.
Capacity Planning Can Have Real Consequences
In particular, undersizing can be costly as facilities grow.
Romtec Utilities, a Portland International Airport utility company, created and supplied a sewer interceptor lifting station for the PDX Next project. The new station had to be designed to have twice the capacity at peak flow when the airport was expanded.
This illustrates an important aspect of engineering: design conditions should not only represent what an installation does during an average afternoon. Engineers also need to understand what happens during peak demand.
The job isn’t done until the Equipment Arrives
At some point, calculations and drawings need to be transformed into an operating system. Installation coordination, startup and testing, documentation, and operator understanding are all vital for long-term efficiency.
What happens after the construction of a pumping device determines its value. The decisions made during initial design are apparent when flows increase when major storms occur, or maintenance is required.
Romtec Utilities combines these decisions into a pumping solution that is specific to a specific project. This helps transform individual equipment into a system designed for the specific conditions it will encounter.