On paper, the process may seem straightforward: water is pumped to a different location. However there are a myriad of factors that can affect the distance between two points, including elevation, flow rate, solids, pressure, storage capacity, and access for maintenance.

Romtec Utilities’ way of creating a pump station is to first determine the operating conditions. This is done prior to selecting equipment. The project specifications can be used to create initial designs and budgetary information.

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Begin by asking the simple question: What are we moving?

The technology is updated immediately.

Domestic sewage may contain solids and show significant variations in the daily flow. A wastewater lift station must move that wastewater reliably when gravity conveyance is unavailable or insufficient. Engineers need to take into account the following: expected inflow and peak conditions, pumping capacity, behavior of the wet well, discharge requirements and how equipment is operated and maintained.

The issues of industrial water are various. Fluids that are oily, caustic or possess high temperatures or pressures could be needed by a manufacturing or processing facility. Romtec Utilities designs industrial systems for applications ranging from food processing and power generation to data centers pharmaceutical waste, oil and gas facilities.

Rainfall is the cause of a totally different Operating Cycle

Stormwater systems are often inactive for prolonged periods of time and then suddenly encounter massive volumes during a storm.

A stormwater lift station linked with a detention basin for example, must work alongside the drainage plan. Runoff flows into a basin. Temporary storage is used to regulate the volume immediately. A pumping system takes the water it collects into an approved outlet.

Romtec Utilities offered this type of solution to a Norco, California business park. The pumping equipment was needed to empty the basin and then discharge it into the stormwater system. The station was designed to work as part of the drainage system for a particular development and not as a separate piece of equipment.

“Package” Doesn’t need to mean Off-the-Shelf

The most common misconception is that a system of pumping packages is simply a predetermined collection of components.

Packaging can be used to integrate the main components of a particular project. Pumps, valves, meters and controls, communications structural elements, and more equipment are able to be selected based on the required duty conditions.

That approach becomes especially useful in situations where a new system has to connect with existing infrastructure. In the case of industrial facilities and municipal buildings, there is rarely an infinite amount of space or perfect environment to install. The equipment might need to be modified in accordance with existing structures, piping systems or electrical systems as well as operating schedules.

Capacity Planning Can Have Real Consequences

The cost of undersizing is particularly high when facilities grow.

At Portland International Airport, Romtec Utilities provided an sewer interceptor lift station for the PDX Next expansion. The new station had be constructed to provide double the capacity of peak flow when the airport was expanded.

This example illustrates a key engineering principle: Design specifications must not be limited to the amount of work a facility is able to handle on the typical afternoon. Engineers also need to understand what happens during high demand.

The work isn’t done until the equipment is delivered.

Then, drawings and calculations have to become an operating system. Installation coordination as well as startup and testing, documentation, and operator understanding are all crucial for long-term performance.

What happens following the installation of a pumping system defines the quality of the system. The decisions made in the initial design are clear when the equipment requires maintenance and flows increase, or the weather strikes.

Romtec Utilities blends these choices to provide a complete pumping solution for a particular project. It assists in transforming equipment into infrastructure specially designed to meet the specific conditions for which it is used.