On paper, a project for pumping might appear straightforward. Water must be pumped from one location to another. In practice the distance between those two points can involve shifting rate of flow, elevation differences and solids, pressure requirements storage capacity, controls electrical equipment, maintenance access and site restrictions.

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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. Then, preliminary designs and budgetary requirements can be developed based on what the requirements of the project are.

Start With One Question How are We Moving?

The design is instantly changed.

There are significant variations in the flow rate of the domestic sewage. The wastewater lift station is needed whenever gravity conveyance does not or will not function. Engineers must be aware of the following factors: expected inflow as well as peak condition, pumping capability, wet well behavior discharge requirements, and how the equipment is maintained and operated.

Industrial water is a subject that presents a range of difficulties. The fluids used in a manufacturing or processing facility might require caustic, oily, or heated with high temperatures or pressure. Romtec Utilities designs systems for industrial applications that range from food processing and power generation to data centers, pharmaceutical waste facilities and petroleum and gas facilities.

Rainfall may create a completely different operating system

Stormwater systems are usually inactive for long periods of time and then suddenly face an enormous volume of water during a storm.

A stormwater lift station that is connected with a detention basin, for example, must work within the overall drainage strategy. The runoff enters the detention basin. The temporary storage system manages the immediate volume, while the pumping system transports the collected water to an authorized discharge point.

Romtec Utilities offered this type of solution to the Norco, California business park. A pumping system was required to empty the basin and discharge it into the stormwater network. The station was intended to be part of the drainage system used by a developer rather than an individual piece of equipment.

“Package” Doesn’t Need to be Off-the-Shelf

There is a common misconception that a pumping system for package pumps is merely a predetermined array of components.

Packaging is a method to organize the primary components into a project-specific system. Pumps, valves, meters and controls, communications structural elements, as well as other equipment can be arranged according to the required duty conditions.

It’s particularly helpful in connecting a brand new system to existing infrastructure. The industrial plants and the existing municipal facilities don’t always offer a large amount of area for installation or clean conditions. Equipment may have to be placed around existing piping, structures, electrical systems, and operational schedules.

The Real Consequences of Capacity Planning

If facilities are growing and expand, undersizing is a major expense.

At Portland International Airport, Romtec Utilities developed and built a sewer interceptor lift station for the PDX Next expansion. The new station had to be designed to have double the capacity of peak flow when the airport was expanded.

This case illustrates a fundamental engineering principle: Design conditions must not be limited to the amount of work a facility is able to manage on a typical afternoon. Engineers need to be aware of what happens when demand is at its highest.

The job is not finished until the equipment is delivered.

At some point, calculations and drawings need to be transformed into an operating system. Coordination of installation, starting testing, documentation, and operator knowledge all affect the long-term success of.

The outcome after the creation of a pumping device determines its value. The decisions made in the initial design are evident when equipment needs maintenance, flows increase or the weather strikes.

Romtec Utilities incorporates these options into a pumping solution specifically tailored to a project. This helps transform individual equipment into an infrastructure designed to withstand the challenges they face.