Problem: Santa Barbara County needed a wastewater lift station retrofit to effectively replace an existing lift station. A nearby restaurant sewer flowed into this station, creating difficult water conditions with the potential for grease and other suspended solids. The site was small and could not be excavated without becoming prohibitively expensive. The lift station retrofit needed to handle medium flows of municipal sewer from two inlet lines and make use of limited site space without a huge excavation plan.
Solution: The low head conditions were met with 2 hp BJM submersible shredder pumps in a duplex configuration. These pumps were needed to handle difficult water conditions from the nearby restaurant. Pump maintenance and accessibility were improved through the addition of a Thern Commander 1000 crane to lift the 150-pound pumps from the well. This is useful for dealing with clogs in the pumps or other service needs. The retrofit utilized a fiberglass insert to install directly into the existing well. This prevented site excavation where there was limited space and difficult dewatering requirements. In addition, the fiberglass acted as a new coating, providing an extra level of protection for the existing structure. A separate valve vault comprises check valves, shut-off valves and an accessible pumping port for emergency bypass pumping. Romtec Utilities also provided the retrofit control panel for this system with a tie-in for a mobile generator.
Result: Romtec Utilities met these requirements and developed a retrofit specification while keeping the project on budget, completing the project with limited space, difficult water conditions and dewatering requirements. This all allowed the retrofit lift station to work seamlessly. 541-496-9678; www.romtecutilities.com
