Pumping projects may seem easy on paper. Water is introduced at one point and must be pumped to another. However there are a variety of variables that influence the distance between two locations, including: elevation as well as flow rate solids, pressure storage capacity, and access for maintenance.
For Romtec Utilities the process of designing the pump station starts by specifying the operational conditions instead of selecting the equipment from a standard catalog. Preliminary designs and budgetary information are then developed based on what the project actually requires.

Image credit: romtecutilities.com
Start With One Question What’s the Next Step?
The result immediately alters the design.
Domestic sewage could contain solids and experience significant variations in daily flow. A wastewater lift station has to transfer the wastewater efficiently whenever gravity conveyance isn’t available or is not adequate. Engineers need to be aware of the following aspects: expected flow the condition of the pump, its peak, capability, wet well behavior, discharge requirements and how equipment is maintained and operated.
The issues of industrial water are various. The water used in a processing or manufacturing facility may require caustic, oily, or heated to extreme temperatures or pressure. Romtec Utilities creates industrial systems that are used in applications ranging from data centers to installations of oil and gas, food processing power generation, as well as pharmaceutical waste.
Rainfall has a totally different operating cycle
Stormwater systems can for long periods be inactive and unable to handle activity and then face substantial quantities during a hurricane.
A stormwater liftstation associated with a detention basin has to in particular, function in conjunction with the larger drainage plan of the site. As the water flows into the basin, temporary storage controls the immediate volume, and the pumping system then moves the water that is collected to an approved discharge point.
Romtec Utilities offered this type of solution to an Norco, California business park. This project needed a pumping system that would empty a reservoir into the public stormwater system. The station was therefore required to be constructed as part of the drainage infrastructure rather than treated as an isolated piece of equipment.
The term “package” does not have to mean off-the-shelf
A common misconception is that a package pumping system is simply a predetermined collection of components.
Packaging is a method to organize the primary components into a project-specific system. Meters, valves, pumps control, communications, structural components, and other equipment can be arranged according to the requirements of the duty conditions.
This strategy is especially useful in situations where the new system has to be connected to an existing infrastructure. In municipal and industrial buildings, there is rarely enough space or a completely clean environment for installation. The equipment might need to be modified in accordance with the existing pipe systems, structures electric system, as well as operating schedules.
The real effects of capacity Planning
The cost of undersizing increases when the facility is expanded.
Romtec Utilities, a Portland International Airport utility company, developed and built an interceptor for sewers to the PDX Next project. The new station had to be designed to have double the capacity of peak flow because the airport has grown.
This case illustrates a fundamental engineering principle: Design specifications are not limited to what a facility can cope with on the typical afternoon. Engineers should be aware of what happens during peak demand.
The job is not finished when the equipment arrives
Drawings and calculations may eventually turn into an operating system. Installation coordination with startup and testing, documentation, and understanding are all crucial for long-term efficiency.
A properly designed pumping device is largely determined by the results that take place years after the construction. The decisions taken during the preliminary design are very evident when flows increase, major storms arrive, or maintenance is required.
Romtec Utilities integrates these choices into a pumping system which is unique to the project. This allows the transformation of individual equipment into an infrastructure built to withstand the challenges they be confronted with.