CHAPTER 6

Pump Station
 Use of Pumps

Inlet pump stations must be preceded by primary screens to

protect the pumps from being damaged or clogged.

The inlet pumps of the treatment works must be capable of

handling raw unscreened sewage.

Water pumps must not be used as they are not designed to cope
with matters that may be found in sewage and the variability and
quantity of sewage flow.

The purposes of pump stations are:

1. To lift sewage to a higher point for treatment.
2. To provide consistent inlet flows to the treatment system.
3. To prevent overflow of crude sewage.
Design Requirements

1. Structural Requirements
2. Ventilation Requirements
3. Odor Control Requirements
4. Wet Wells Requirements
5. Lighting Requirements
6. Level Controls
7. Pump Hydraulic Design
 Types of Pumping Station

1. Wet-well type with

submersible pumps unit

2. Dry-well type

3. Lift station, using

screw-pumps or suction
lift pumps.
Schematic Diagram of Typical Sewage Pump House with Wet and Dry Wells
 Types of Pump

1. Centrifugal pumps (mostly used, easily installed)

2. Reciprocating pumps

3. Air pressure pumps (Pneumatic ejectors)

 Hydraulics Glossary and Definition in Pumping

The pump terms you must know:

❑ Capacity
The volume of fluid pumped per unit of time (m3/s)

❑ Head
1. Static head
The actual vertical distance the liquid must be lifted.
2. Friction head
The equivalent distance of the energy that must be supplied to overcome friction.
3. Velocity head
The equivalent distance of the energy consumed in achieving and maintaining the
desired velocity in the system.

❑ Pump efficiency
Pump efficiency is defined as the ratio of water horsepower output from the pump to the
shaft horsepower input for the pump.

❑ Power input
The mechanical power taken by the pump shaft or coupling from the drive.
 Pump Stations Design

1. Hydraulic retention time 4. Standby pumps

• Retention time of wastewater in • At least one extra pump more than the
the wet well usually does not number of pumps required as per
exceed 30 minutes. design, should always be provided to
act as a standby so that it can be used
when one of the working pumps is
2. High and low levels under maintenance or repairs.
• These are the levels fixed in the
wet well in order to determine
the position of suction pipes for 5. Location of driving units
the pumps. • Installation of motor(s) for driving
pump(s) at the top level of the well is
recommended for its easy repair and
3. Screens maintenance work.
• These are provided before the
effluent enters the wet well to
screen out the material that may 6. Additional space
clog and damage the pumps. • Provision for extra space for dry wells
in the design of the pump house to
install additional pump(s) in the future
should be kept at the initial planning
stage itself.
 Example: Design of Pumping Station

Assuming 2.5 peaking factor, design a pumping station for a daily average flow of
sewage equal to 15 MLD while 30% of the average flow is considered as minimum
flow, It is required that sewage is to be pumped against a head of 8 m and will be
conveyed by a rising main (pipe) to a treatment site located 200 m away from the
sump well. Assume the efficiency of the pump as 65% and the motor efficiency as
75%. Retention time of sewage in the wet well is 20 minutes.

(a) Compute the maximum and minimum sewage flow, assumed the min flow
as 30% of average flow
(b) Design the rising main, given that vh = 0.75 m/s in the rising main pipe
(c) Design the sump well (wet well), given that the depth of sump well = 4 m
(d) Design the pumps, assumed the losses in bends = 0.5 m
(e) Design the suction pipes, given that vh = 1 m/s in the pipe
(f) Design the dry wells
 Example: Design of Pumping Station

Solution: (a) Compute the maximum and minimum sewage flow

1 m3
Qavg = 15 MLD = 15  10 L/d 
6
= 15,000 m3 / d
1000 L
Maximum sewage flow reaching the pumping station,
Qmax = peaking factor  Qavg
= 2.5  15 MLD
= 37.5 MLD
1d
= 37,500 m3 /d  = 0.435 m3 /s
86400 s

Assuming the minimum flow as 30% of the average flow,

Qmin = 30%  Qavg
= 0.3  15 MLD
= 4.5 MLD
1d
= 4500 m3 /d  = 0.052 m3 /s
86400 s
 Example: Design of Pumping Station

Solution: (b) Design of rising main, given that vh = 0.75 m/s in the rising main.

Assuming 0.75 m/s as the flow through velocity in Example of rising main:
the rising main, the cross-sectional area of the
rising main, at peak flow is
Qpeak 0.435 m3 / s
Ax = = = 0.58 m2
vh 0.75 m / s
The diameter of the rising main, dR isdet er mined
by the equation,
4  Ax 4  0.58 m2
dR = = = 0.859 m  0.9 m
 
Provide a rising main of 900 mm diameter.
Construction of Rising main, Valves and Fittings
 Example: Design of Pumping Station

Solution: (c) Design of the sump well (wet well)

Assuming that the sump well retains the flow of wastewater for 20 minutes,

Maximum quantity of sewage in the sump = Qpeak  t

60 s
= 0.435 m3 /s  20 min 
1 min
= 522 m3

The quantity of sewage in a rising main of 200 m length is = Volume of sewage in rising main

 (0.9 m)2  200 m = 127.23 m3
4

The total capacity of the sump required = Quantity of sewage in the sump +
Quantity of sewage in the rising main
= 522 m3 + 127.23 m3
= 649.23 m3  650 m3
 Example: Design of Pumping Station

Solution: (c) Design of the sump well (wet well) – Con’t..

Assuming a maximum of 4 m depth of the sump well, the surface area of the sump well,
Capacity (or volume) 650 m3
As = = = 162.5 m2
Depth 4m

Pr oviding 3 wet wells such that 2 wells will always remain in operation when
one of the wells is taken under repair or maintenance, the surface area of one wet well is
162.5 m2
A s for 1 wet well = = 54.16 m2
3 units

The diameter of each wet well,

4  54.16 m2
d s for 1 wet well = = 8.3 m  8.5 m

 Example: Design of Pumping Station
Solution: (c) Design of the sump well (wet well) – Con’t..

The volume of liquid in the well is

= [Qmin in the well  detention time] + Quantity of sewage in the rising main]
(assuming detention time = 20 mins)
 60 s 
= 0.052 m3 / s  20 min   + 127.23 m3
 1 min 
= 62.4 m3 + 127.23 m3 = 189.63 m3  190 m3

Now, as the diameter of each sump is 8.5 m, the area of the wet well is
 
A s =  d2 =  (8.5 m)2 = 56.72 m2
4 4
Therefore, the minimum liquid depth in each well is
V 190 m3
Dmin = = 2
= 3.35 m  3.4 m
As 56.72 m
Considering all the three (3) pumps to be in operation, the maximum flow that each
pump has to lift,
0.435 m3
Qpump = = 0.145 m3 / s  0.15 m3 / s
3 units
 Example: Design of Pumping Station

Solution: (d) Design of pumps

fLV 2
(i) Compute frictional losses in pipes, hf by the equation, hf =
2gd
where
hf = headloss due to friction, m
f = coefficient of friction = 0.01
L = length of the pipe, m = 200 m
v = velocity of flow in the pipe (rising main), m/s = 0.75 m/s
g = gravitation acceleration, m2 / s = 9.81 m2 / s
d = diameter of the pipe (rising main), m = 0.9 m

0.01 200 m  0.75 m/s

2

Therefore, hf = = 0.063 m  0.065 m

2  9.81 m/s  0.9 m
2
 Example: Design of Pumping Station

Solution: (d) Design of pumps (Con’t) Friction loss in pipe + loss in bends

(ii) Assuming losses in bends, etc. = 0.5 m,

Total lift head of sewage = pumping head - losses in head
Total head, H = 8 m - (0.065 m + 0.5 m)
= 7.435 m  7.5 m
(iii) Compute the power required for pumping by the equation,
w  Qp  H
Power required, P = (BHP)
75  p  m
where
w = density of water, kg/m3 = 1000 kg/m3
Qp = flow to be lifted by pumps, m3 /s = 0.15 m3 / s
H = total head (total lift of sewage), m = 7.5 m
p = efficiency of pumps = 65%
m = efficiency of driving motor = 75%

1000 kg/m3  0.15 m3 / s  7.5 m

Power required, P =
75  0.65  0.75
= 30.77 BHP  31 BHP

However, provide 35 BHP pump for each well.

Therefore, the total power required = 3 units  35 BHP = 105 BHP *BHP : British Horse Power
 Example: Design of Pumping Station

Solution: (e) Design of suction pipe

The maximum flow in the pipe for each wet well is 0.15 m3 / s.

Assumin g the velocity of flow in the pipe, v = 1 m/s, the

cross-sectional area of the intake pipe,
Q 0.15 m3 / s
Ax = = = 0.15 m2
vh 1 m/s
Therefore, the diameter of the inlet pipe is
4  Ax 4  0.15 m2
din = = = 0.437 m  0.45 m = 450 mm
 
 Example: Design of Pumping Station

Solution: (f) Design of dry wells

A dry well is designed on the basis of the space required for housing the working well
as well as standby pumps. Normally, one can assume the same dimensions as that
for a wet well. Additional space is provided for ladder (rugs) and working area for
maintenance, etc.
The figure shows a typical plan view of the designed pump house (not to scale).

20 m

10 m 10 m
8.5 m
Wet well 1

Pumps
30 m

Influent
and Wet well 2

pipe
working
space

Wet well 3

Dry well
 Operations and Maintenance of Pumps

1. Drainage of dry-wells and valve pits shall be provided.

2. Drainage lines shall be equipped with back flow protection to

ensure that the chamber is not flooded.

3. The wet well shall not be housed with a building structure.

4. Pipe work shall be adequately supported on concrete platform

or steel structural supports.
End of Chapter 6