On paper, a project for pumping might appear straightforward. Water is required to be pumped from one place to another. In practice, distances between these two points may be affected by elevation variations as well as pressure requirements, solids, and other factors and storage capacity, electrical equipment, restrictions on site as well as changes in the rate of flow.

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Romtec Utilities begins the design of a pumping station by defining these operational conditions, instead of selecting equipment from the catalog. The requirements for the project can be used to create sketches and budgetary details.

Consider: Where do we go?

The technology is changed immediately.

Domestic sewage can contain solids and experience significant variations in daily flow. A wastewater lift station must be able to move the wastewater safely whenever gravity conveyance isn’t available or insufficient. Engineers should therefore take into consideration the anticipated inflow and high-pressure conditions, pumping capacities, wet-well behaviour, discharge requirements, as well as how the equipment will be maintained and operated.

Industrial water presents different challenges. Fluids that are caustic or oily or that have high temperatures or pressures might be needed by a manufacturing or processing facility. Romtec Utilities designs industrial systems to support a variety of applications, from food processing and power generation to data centers as well as pharmaceutical waste and oil and gas facilities.

Rainfall creates a completely different operating cycle

Stormwater systems can be inactive for prolonged periods but then suddenly they have to deal with large volumes in the event of a major storm.

A stormwater lift station associated with a detention basin, for example, must work with the site’s larger drainage strategy. When the runoff flows into the detention basin, where the temporary storage handles the immediate volume and the pumping system transports the collected water to a discharge point that is approved.

Romtec Utilities provided this solution to develop an Norco business park in California. A pumping system was needed to empty the detention basin and then discharge it into the stormwater system. The station was therefore required be designed as part of the development’s drainage infrastructure, rather than being treated as a separate piece of equipment.

The word “package” doesn’t have to be used to mean off-the-shelf

A common misconception is that a package pumping device is just a predetermined assortment of parts.

In the case of engineering infrastructure packaging may be a way of ensuring that all the major components are coordinated into one system. Valves and pumps are chosen based on their use requirements.

It’s especially helpful to connect a new system with an existing infrastructure. In industrial plants and municipal buildings, there is rarely any space at all or a complete clean environment for the installation. Equipment could need to be fitted around existing piping, structures as well as electrical systems and operating schedules.

Capacity planning has real implications

Undersizing becomes particularly costly when facilities expand.

Romtec Utilities, a Portland International Airport utility company, designed and provided an sewer interceptor lift station to the PDX Next project. The new station had to be designed to accommodate twice the peak flow capacity as the airport expanded.

This example illustrates a key engineering principle: Design specifications shouldn’t be restricted by the limitations of what a building can handle on the typical afternoon. Engineers need to be aware of the impact of demand spikes.

The work isn’t complete until the Equipment is delivered

Drawings and calculations will eventually become an operating system. Installation coordination with startup and testing, documentation and understanding are all vital for long-term efficiency.

The outcome after the creation of a pumping system determines its performance. The decisions made during initial design are clearly visible when the pump needs to be maintained flow increases or the weather strikes.

For Romtec Utilities, integrating those options into a project-specific pumping system helps transform individual pieces of equipment into infrastructure designed to handle the conditions it’s likely to encounter.