On a Civil Plan create a box on the plan to indicate a lift station. It’s then easy to envision it as an independent piece of equipment.
The water actually comes from somewhere and then pumped to the facility. It also relies on the structural components as well as power, control systems, and access to the site.
One question that can be useful for project teams looking to select the ideal lift station design is whether they look at the interfaces or only what happens inside the station.
Image credit: romtecutilities.com
Start Upstream of the Wet Well
Take a look at a housing development. Wastewater is pumped through the collection system to the lift station. The site elevation and incoming flow conditions help determine what the station can manage.
Once wastewater reaches the wet well, another set engineering decisions begins. Pumps, pipes and valves structures, controls, and possibly auxiliary equipment need to be designed for the task.
Romtec Utilities is a wastewater system designer who designs systems to meet the particular needs of each site that is municipal, commercial or industrial.
The project-specific approach is important because the way that things are done upstream could change what the pumping facility requires to do.
Be sure to follow the water beyond the pumps
The issue is not over after the liquid has left the well. The pumping system needs to move the liquid to meet the water flow conditions within the downstream system. Station design and pump selection is therefore influenced by the needed flow and head requirements.
This is especially important when you are evaluating the most effective wastewater design. The specifications of a pump can be impressive, but the performance must be rational within the hydraulic system in general.
Romtec Utilities has the ability to design the structural elements as well as mechanical and electrical components, and communications systems for pumping stations as a complete package. This allows the equipment to be coordinated with the requirements established for the specific project.
Stormwater has its own network of connections
Stormwater presents a different infrastructure problem. Runoff can enter a collection system through a surface that has been developed and flow through detention, treatment, drainage, or flood-management infrastructure. Stations that require pumping form part of a bigger stormwater management plan.
For organizations searching for the best stromwater system designers, it is worth examining whether site conditions, flow rates, head requirements, environmental considerations, and the surrounding stormwater plan are evaluated together.
Romtec Utilities supplies customized stormwater pumping systems for residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal projects, rather than relying on one system for every project.
Coordination Extends Above Ground Too
Not every interface involves pipe. Electrical power is needed to support equipment. Control and communications systems must be adapted to the requirements of the project. Contractors need plans and documents. In the case of installation, startup or subsequent services, access to physical space may be needed.
These connections can involve several disciplines and project stakeholders, which makes the documentation of systems clear and concise. Romtec Utilities provides complete plan sets and associated project documentation and supports its systems with the process of startup, testing, and commissioning.
Take a look beyond the station’s Boundary
If the connections to external components of a lift aren’t properly taken into consideration, a properly-designed lift station might still be an element of the project is not properly coordinated.
Water provides a better perspective on design. What is its source? What conditions do it have to pass through to arrive at the station? What should it do while there? Where will it end up? What infrastructure will support the entire process?
Answering those questions turns lifting station design from an equipment exercise into infrastructure engineering.