Pumping station

Pumping stations are facilities including pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastructure
systems, such as the supply of water to canals, the drainage of low-lying land, and the removal of sewage to processing sites. A pumping station is, by definition, an
integral part of a pumped-storage hydroelectricity installation.

Contents
Canal water supply
Land drainage
Package pumping station
Sewage systems
Electronic controllers Pumping station Van Sasse in Grave, the
Pumped-storage schemes Netherlands.
List of pumping stations
United Kingdom
Canal water supply
Groundwater supply
Hydraulic power station
Land drainage
Public water supply
Sewage
Underground railway
Hong Kong
Iraq
Canada
Netherlands
Spain
United States
See also
Waterworks railways Pumping station Van Sasse in
References Grave, the Netherlands.

External links

Canal water supply

In countries with canal systems, pumping stations are also frequent. Because of the way the system of canal locks work, water is lost from the upper part of a canal each time a vessel passes through. Also, most lock gates
are not watertight, so some water leaks from the higher levels of the canal to those lower down. Obviously, the water has to be replaced or eventually the upper levels of the canal would not hold enough water to be
navigable.

Canals are usually fed by diverting water from streams and rivers into the upper parts of the canal, but if no suitable source is available, a pumping station can be used to maintain the water level. An excellent example of a
canal pumping station is the Claverton Pumping Station on the Kennet and Avon Canal in southern England, United Kingdom. This pumps water from the nearby River Avon to the canal using pumps driven by a
waterwheel which is powered by the river.[1]

Where no external water supply is available, back pumping systems may be employed. Water is extracted from the canal below the lowest lock of a flight and is pumped back to the top of the flight, ready for the next boat to
pass through. Such installations are usually small.

Land drainage
When low-lying areas of land are drained, the general method is to dig drainage ditches. However, if the area is below sea level then it is necessary to pump the water upwards into
water channels that finally drain into the sea.

The Victorians understood this concept, and in the United Kingdom they built pumping stations with water pumps, powered by steam engines to accomplish this task. In
Lincolnshire, large areas of wetland at sea level, called The Fens, were turned into rich arable farmland by this method. The land is full of nutrients because of the accumulation of
sedimentary mud that created the land initially.

Elsewhere, pumping stations are used to remove water that has found its way into low-lying areas as a result of leakage or flooding (in
New Orleans, for example).
New Orleans, Louisiana:
Metairie Pumping Station, also
known as Pumping Station 6,
Package pumping station
building, constructed in 1899,
A land drainage pumping station in In more recent times, a "package pumping station" provides an efficient and economic way of installing a drainage system. They are near Metairie Road and the head
Sète, France.
suitable for mechanical building services collection and pumping of liquids like surface water, wastewater or sewage from areas where of the 17th Street Canal. Now
drainage by gravity is not possible. housing 15 Wood Screw Pumps,
it can move over 6 billion US
A package pumping station is an integrated system, built in a housing manufactured from strong, impact-resistant materials such as precast concrete, polyethylene, or glass- gallons (23,000,000 m3) of water
reinforced plastic. The unit is supplied with internal pipework fitted, pre-assembled ready for installation into the ground, after which the submersible pumps and control equipment a day.
are fitted. Features may include controls for fully automatic operation; a high-level alarm indication, in the event of pump failure; and possibly a guide-rail/auto-coupling/pedestal
system, to permit easy removal of pumps for maintenance.

Traditional site constructed systems have the valve vault components installed in a separate structure. Having two structural components can lead to potentially serious site problems such as uneven settling between
components which results in stress on, and failure of the pipes and connections between components. The development of a packaged pump station system combined all components into a single housing which not only
eliminates uneven settling issues, but pre-plumbing and outfitting each unit prior to installation can reduce the cost and time involved with civil work and site labor.

Sewage systems
Pumping stations in sewage collection systems are normally designed to handle raw sewage that is fed from underground gravity pipelines (pipes that are sloped so that a liquid can flow in one direction under gravity).
Sewage is fed into and stored in a pit, commonly known as a wet well. The well is equipped with electrical instrumentation to detect the level of sewage present. When the sewage level rises to a predetermined point, a
pump will be started to lift the sewage upward through a pressurized pipe system called a sewer force main if the sewage is transported some significant distance. The pumping station may be called a lift station if the
pump merely discharges into a nearby gravity manhole.[2] From here the cycle starts all over again until the sewage reaches its point of destination—usually a treatment plant. By this method, pumping stations are used to
move waste to higher elevations. In the case of high sewage flows into the well (for example during peak flow periods and wet weather) additional pumps will be used. If this is insufficient, or in the case of failure of the
pumping station, a backup in the sewer system can occur, leading to a sanitary sewer overflow—the discharge of raw sewage into the environment.

Sewage pumping stations are typically designed so that one pump or one set of pumps will handle normal peak flow conditions. Redundancy is built into the system so that in the event that any one pump is out of service,
the remaining pump or pumps will handle the designed flow. The storage volume of the wet well between the "pump on" and "pump off" settings is designed to minimize pump starts and stops, but is not so long a retention
time as to allow the sewage in the wet well to go septic.
Sewage pumps are almost always end-suction centrifugal pumps with open impellers and are specially designed with a large open passage so as to avoid clogging with debris or
winding stringy debris onto the impeller. A four pole or six pole AC induction motor normally drives the pump. Rather than provide large open passages, some pumps, typically
smaller sewage pumps, also macerate any solids within the sewage breaking them down into smaller parts which can more easily pass through the impeller.

The interior of a sewage pump station is a very dangerous place. Poisonous gases, such as methane and hydrogen sulfide, can accumulate in the wet well; an ill-equipped person
entering the well would be overcome by fumes very quickly. Any entry into the wet well requires the correct confined space entry method for a hazardous environment. To
minimize the need for entry, the facility is normally designed to allow pumps and other equipment to be removed from outside the wet well.

Traditional sewage pumping stations incorporate both a wet well and a "dry well". Often these are the same structure separated by an internal divide. In this configuration pumps
are installed below ground level on the base of the dry well so that their inlets are below water level on pump start, priming the pump and also maximising the available NPSH.
Although nominally isolated from the sewage in the wet well, dry wells are underground, confined spaces and require appropriate precautions for entry. Further, any failure or
leakage of the pumps or pipework can discharge sewage directly into the dry well with complete flooding not an uncommon occurrence. As a result, the electric motors are
normally mounted above the overflow, top water level of the wet well, usually above ground level, and drive the sewage pumps through an extended vertical shaft. To protect the
above ground motors from weather, small pump houses are normally built, which also incorporate the electrical switchgear and control electronics. These are the visible parts of a
traditional sewage pumping station although they are typically smaller than the underground wet and dry wells.

More modern pumping stations do not require a dry well or pump house and usually consist only of a wet well. In this configuration, submersible sewage pumps with closely
coupled electric motor are mounted within the wet well itself, submerged within the sewage. Submersible pumps are mounted on two vertical guide rails and seal onto a
The now flooded C Station at Abbey
permanently fixed "duckfoot", which forms both a mount and also a vertical bend for the discharge pipe. For maintenance or replacement, submersible pumps are raised by a
Mills in London. The concrete
chain off of the duckfoot and up the two guide rails to the maintenance (normally ground) level. Reinstalling the pumps simply reverses this process with the pump being platforms used to house large motor
remounted on the guide rails and lowered onto the duckfoot where the weight of the pump reseals it. As the motors are sealed and weather is not a concern, no above ground / pump assemblies that brought
structures are required, excepting a small kiosk to contain the electrical switchgear and control systems. sewage up from a deep main drain
into several outfall sewers, taking it
Due to the much reduced health and safety concerns, and smaller footprint and visibility, submersible pump sewage pumping stations have almost completely superseded away from the city centre.
traditional sewage pumping stations. Further, a refit of a traditional pumping station usually involves converting it into a modern pumping station by installing submersibles in
the wet well, demolishing the pump house and retiring the dry well by either stripping it, or knocking down the internal partition and merging it with the wet well.

Electronic controllers
The pump manufacturers have always designed and manufactured electronic devices to control and supervise the pumping stations. Today it is also very common to use a programmable logic controller (PLC) or Remote
Terminal Unit (RTU) to do such work, but the experience needed to solve certain particular problems, makes an easy choice to look for a specific pump controller. RTUs are very helpful in remote monitoring of each
pumping station from a centralized control room with SCADA (Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition) systems. This setup can be helpful in monitoring pump faults, levels or any other alarms and parameters making it
more efficient.

Pumped-storage schemes
A pumped-storage scheme is a type of power station for storing and producing electricity to supply high peak demands by moving water between reservoirs at different elevations.

Typically, water is channeled from a high-level reservoir to a low-level reservoir, through turbine generators that generate electricity. This is done when the station is required to generate power. During low-demand
periods, such as overnight, the generators are reversed to become pumps that move the water back up to the top reservoir.

List of pumping stations

There are countless thousands of pumping stations throughout the world. The following is a list of those described in this encyclopedia.

United Kingdom
In the UK, during the Victorian Era, there was a fashion for public buildings to feature highly ornate architecture. Consequently, a considerable number of former pumping stations have been listed and preserved. The
majority were originally steam-powered, and where the steam engines are still in situ, many of the sites have since re-opened as museum attractions.

Canal water supply

Claverton Pumping Station, on the Kennet and Avon Canal, near Bath, water-powered
Cobb's Engine House, ruin near southern portal of Netherton Tunnel
Crofton Pumping Station, on the Kennet and Avon Canal, near Great Bedwyn
Leawood Pump House, on the Cromford Canal in Derbyshire
Smethwick Engine, now removed from original site to Birmingham Thinktank
New Smethwick Pumping Station (now part of Galton Valley Canal Heritage Centre)

Groundwater supply
Used to pump water from a well into a reservoir

Bestwood Pumping Station, Nottinghamshire

Boughton Pumping Station, Nottinghamshire
Bratch Pumping Station, Staffordshire
Mill Meece Pumping Station, in Staffordshire
Papplewick Pumping Station, Nottinghamshire (pumped from a 200 ft (61 m) deep well)
Selly Oak Pumping Station, Birmingham (building converted to an electricity sub-station)

Hydraulic power station

Wapping Hydraulic Power Station, London (converted to electricity, now an arts centre and restaurant)

Land drainage

Pinchbeck Engine, near Spalding (preserved beam engine and scoop wheel)
Pode Hole pumping station, near Spalding, Lincolnshire (formerly steam beam engines, no longer present)
Prickwillow Engine House, near Ely, Cambridgeshire (now the Museum of Fenland Drainage)
Stretham Old Engine, Stretham, Cambridgeshire
Westonzoyland Pumping Station, Somerset

Public water supply

Used to pump drinking water from a reservoir into a water supply system.

Blagdon Pumping Station, Chew Valley, Somerset

Edgbaston Waterworks, Birmingham
Kempton Park Pumping Station, London
Kew Bridge Pumping Station, Kew Bridge, London
Langford Pumping Station ("Museum of Power"), Essex
Ryhope Engines Museum, Sunderland
Tees Cottage Pumping Station, Darlington

Sewage
 Abbey Pumping Station, Leicester
Abbey Mills Pumping Station, in North London. (steam engines no longer present)
Cheddars Lane Pumping Station, Cambridge
Claymills Pumping Station, near Burton upon Trent
Coleham Pumping Station, Coleham, near Shrewsbury
Crossness Pumping Station, in South London
Dock Road Edwardian Pumping Station, in Northwich, Cheshire (Gas engines. Built 1913)
Low Hall Pumping Station, Walthamstow, North London
Markfield Beam Engine, Tottenham, London
Old Brook Pumping Station, Chatham, Kent

Underground railway

Brunel Engine House (now Brunel Museum), Rotherhithe, East London (extracted water from Thames Tunnel; engine no longer present)
Shore Road Pumping Station, Birkenhead, Wirral (originally steam, now electric; extracts water from the rail tunnel under the River Mersey)

Hong Kong

Public water supply

Engineer's Office of the Former Pumping Station, Hong Kong

Iraq

Agricultural drainage

Nasiriyah Drainage Pump Station, Dhi Qar Province

Canada
Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology (https://www.hamilton.ca/attractions/hamilton-civic-museums/hamilton-museum-steam-technology-national-historic-site), Hamilton, Ontario's first Water Works, powered by
two 1859 steam engines

Netherlands

Land drainage

Cruquius pumping station (Operational, but no longer steam-powered.)

– an 8-beam Cornish engine with the largest cylinder (144 in (3.5m) diameter) in the world.

ir.D.F. Woudagemaal, (ir. Wouda pumping station) (world's largest steam-powered pumping station)

Spain
Stations for public water supply in Barcelona. One of them is a Barcelona City History Museum heritage site (MUHBA Casa de l'aigua).[3] Another is a museum itself: Museu Agbar de les Aigües (Agbar water
museum).[4]

United States
Chicago Avenue Pumping Station in Chicago, built in 1869, still in use (with modern pumps) but also serves as a theater.
Pumping Station No. 2 San Francisco Fire Department Auxiliary Water Supply System, San Francisco, California, listed on the National Register of Historic Places

See also
Edmonston Pumping Plant
Gatehouse (waterworks) – some gatehouses incorporate pumping stations
Submersible pump
Water pumping

Waterworks railways
Colne Valley Waterworks railway, Eastbury Pumping Station, near Watford
Metropolitan Water Board Railway, Kempton Park, London
List of narrow gauge railways at water treatment and sewage works in Great Britain

References
1. Jane Cumberlidge (2009). Inland Waterways of Great Britain (8th Ed.). Imray Laurie Norie and Wilson. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-84623-010-3.
2. Design and Construction of Sanitary and Storm Sewers. New York: American Society of Civil Engineers. 1970. p. 288.
3. "Barcelona City History Museum water pumping station Casa de l'Aigua" (http://museuhistoria.bcn.cat/en/node/660).
4. "Agbar water museum" (http://www.museuagbar.com/landing_eng.php).

External links
Packaged pumping stations - definitions and applications (https://web.archive.org/web/20090105210837/http://www.drain-systems.co.uk/packaged-pumping-stations.php)
How To Choose The Right Pump To Suit Your Pumping Station (http://www.southernpumpservices.co.uk/choosing_right_pumping_station.htm)
How to look after your packaged pumpstation (http://www.southernpumpservices.co.uk/pump_station_FAQs/how-to-look-after-your-packaged-pump-station.php)
Prickwillow Museum (http://www.prickwillowmuseum.com/)

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