On paper, a pumping project might seem straightforward: water needs to be pumped from one place to another. In real life the distance between these two points could be a matter of fluctuating rate of flow, elevation differences and solids, pressure requirements, storage capacity, control electric equipment, access to maintenance, and restrictions on 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 requirements for the project can be used to create preliminary designs and budgetary data.

Start with a simple question: Where are we doing?

The engineering changes immediately.

The flow of wastewater in the domestic system is subject to substantial fluctuations in the course of a day. The wastewater lift station is required when gravity conveyance cannot or does not work. Engineers must therefore consider the expected inflow, peak conditions the capacity of pumping, wet-well behavior, discharge requirements and how the equipment will be used and maintained.

The water challenges faced by industrial facilities are various. The fluids used in a manufacturing or processing plant may need to be caustic, oily, or heated to high temperature or pressure. Romtec Utilities designs systems for industrial applications that range from food processing and power generation to databases, pharmaceutical waste and gasoline and oil-based facilities.

Rainfall can create a completely new operating cycle

Stormwater systems may be off the grid for prolonged periods and then suddenly be required to handle large volumes in the course of a major storm.

A stormwater lift station that is connected with a detention basin for instance, should work within the overall drainage plan. Runoff enters the basin temporary storage is responsible for the immediate volume, and the pumping system moves the water collected towards an approved discharge point.

Romtec Utilities offered this type of solution to an Norco, California business park. The pumping equipment was needed to empty the detention reservoir and then discharge it into the stormwater system. The station had to be planned as a component of the drainage infrastructure designed for the development, rather than as a separate piece of equipment.

“Package” Doesn’t have to Be Off-the-Shelf

The most common misconception is that a pumping system for package pumps is simply a predetermined collection of parts.

Packaging is a method to coordinate the major components into a project-specific system. Pumps, meters and controls along with the structural elements and other equipment can be selected depending on the conditions of use.

This strategy is particularly beneficial when a new system must be connected to existing infrastructure. Industrial plants and municipal facilities do not always provide a lot of space to install or maintain well-maintained conditions. The equipment could need to be modified in accordance with existing piping systems, structures electric system, as well as operating schedules.

Capacity Planning Has Real Consequences

The cost of undersizing is particularly high when facilities expand.

Romtec Utilities, a Portland International Airport utility company, designed and provided the sewer interceptor station to the PDX Next project. The new station is planned to increase the capacity at peak flows of the current system as airport facilities grow.

This demonstrates a crucial principle of engineering: the specifications for the design should not just represent what an installation does in a typical afternoon. Engineers need to know what happens during peak demand.

The work isn’t complete until the Equipment is delivered

At some point, drawings and calculations must become an operational system. Installation coordination, startup and testing, documentation and operator understanding are all important to ensure long-term success.

What happens following the installation of a pumping system determines its value. When flows increase or a major storm occurs, or equipment requires maintenance the decisions made in preliminary design are evident.

Romtec Utilities integrates these decisions into a pumping service that is specific to the project. This allows the transformation of individual equipment into an infrastructure that is designed for the specific conditions it will face.