Allan Paul L.

Salik July 22, 2015

BS Civil Engineering – 5th year

Group 3

Title: Sewer System – Design Process

Written Report

Design Process
 Preliminary Stage
 Initial Planning, Investigation Phase
 Preliminary Design Considerations
 Data Requirements
 Detail Design

Preliminary Stage
The preliminary stage includes:

 Identify the area(s) to be served

 Collect regulatory codes and design guidelines and set system design criteria
 Collect topographic map, geologic and geographic data
 Add location and level of existing or proposed details such as:
o Contours
o Physical features (e.g rivers)
o Road layout
o Buildings
o Sewers and other services
o Outfall point (e.g near lowest point, next to receiving water body)
o Railroads,
o Industry and other utilities
 Undertake field investigations, including feature surveys and ground truthing at sites
that potentially conflict with other services.
 Identify the natural drainages, streets, and existing or planned wastewater inflow
points at the boundaries of the area to be sewered. Locate all proposed sources of
wastewater. Identify likely elevations of customer laterals.
Initial Planning, Investigation Phase
Before a new drainage sewer system is designed, an initial planning study should be carried
out to address the issues of whether to provide drainage service, the type of conveyance
wanted (gravity and/or pressure), and the pros and cons of different types of systems
(separate, combined, vacuum, simplified systems).

Some of the factors that must be analyzed when considering the construction of a
wastewater collection system for example are:

 Population growth and housing density

 Suitability to on-site disposal systems
 Environmental impact
 Pollution problems in the area
 Accessibility to and cost of collection systems and sewage treatment
 Regulatory requirements
 Ease of construction, including the extent of rock excavation required.

An onsite wastewater treatment system that is properly designed, constructed, operated,

and maintained and that has a suitable effluent-receiving body may be an appropriate
means of wastewater disposal, especially when a development is far from a regional system.
However, wastewater collection and centralized treatment systems usually prove to be the
most cost-effective solution to providing sewage services. Public health authorities generally
favour collection and centralized treatment systems over on-site systems because they are
much easier to inspect, monitor, and regulate. An investigation phase is generally conducted
to determine the potential area to be served, the consequences of not serving the area,
how the area will be served, and the economic feasibility of such a project. There is usually
some break-even population above which a centralized sewage collection and treatment
system is desirable, although the exact break-even point varies widely, according to site-specific
considerations.

Preliminary Design Considerations

Design codes and criteria are promulgated by various public environmental and pollution-
control agencies. Codes give information on location and clearances relative to other
utilities, flow-generation rates, peaking factors, and hydraulic guidelines. Codes may reflect
the effects of local conditions, such as soil and weather, on the design of sewers. Current
codes tend to make more use of such terms as “recommended” or “guidelines,” rather than
“required” or “mandatory.” Some regulatory agencies have adopted a more performance-
based approach to establish system regulations. Design engineers need to be well-versed in
these codes.

Depending on the regulatory agency evaluating the design, either the sewers must be able
to carry the design flow while flowing full or at some given fraction of the full depth, or the
design flow must be some percentage of the full-pipe capacity (e.g., 75 percent of capacity
at design flow). The engineer must determine which is the better approach for a given case,
as the two requirements can produce different pipe sizes. Minimum slopes to prevent
sedimentation and minimum cover to prevent traffic impacts must also be considered.

Where local codes do not exist or do not address a specific issue, widely adopted standards,
should be consulted.

In addition to technical design criteria and the hydraulic loads, other pertinent
considerations include the following:

 Costs – The planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance costs should all
be considered in assessing the long-term sustainability of the project.
 Schedule – The time between the initial planning and the operation of a sewer may be
as long as a decade and the project may need to be constructed in phases.
 Operation and Maintenance – Gravity sewers are not maintenance free. They require
periodic inspections and cleaning, and some components may require repair or
replacement. An organization to operate the system must be in place.
 Environment – Construction of the sewer results in both temporary disruption of and
long-term effects on the environment. Short-term effects include temporary lowering of
the groundwater table and release of sediments. Over its design life, the sewer system
will affect the performance of the wastewater treatment facility and the water quality of
the receiving water body.
 Regulatory compliance – The sewer project must comply with all applicable laws and
regulations. The design criteria should be developed in consultation with the sewer
utility and the financing and regulatory agencies. Consensus on the design criteria before
the start of the design is essential.

Data Requirements
Additional physical data, beyond that necessary for hydraulic analysis, is required for the
design of new sewers. The following list of data requirements has been adapted from
American Society of Civil Engineers (1982):

 Topography, surface and subsurface conditions, underground utilities and structures,

subsoil conditions, water table elevations, traffic control needs, and elevations of
structure basements or connection points
 Locations of streets, alleys, or unusual structures; required rights of way; and similar
data necessary to define the physical features of a proposed sanitary sewer project,
including preliminary horizontal and vertical alignment
 Details of existing sewers to which a proposed sewer may connect
 Information pertinent to possible future expansion of the proposed project
 Locations of historical and archeological sites, significant plant or animal communities,
or other environmentally sensitive areas.

The data may be obtained from a variety of sources. Maps, aerial photographs, construction
drawings, and ground surveys may be queried. Typically, no single data source is complete,
so one must identify inconsistencies and fill in gaps. Instrument surveys are the most
accurate method of obtaining high quality spatial data. Many vertical-elevation reference
and control points should be established systematically along the route.

Detail Design
Detail design is the finalisation of the design for the development, including all approvals,
consultation with residents, all details for how the system will operate, the location of the
infrastructure and provision of all details.

 System Cost Evaluation

 The economic evaluation of all proposed systems shall be completed on a total

whole-of-life cost basis, taking into consideration all costs to the developer and the
community over the operational life of the system. A Net Present Value (NPV)
analysis over a 30-year period shall be undertaken for all proposed systems.
Alternative systems will only be considered as an appropriate strategy if it can be
shown that the proposed system is clearly the least costly solution (in NPV terms),
when compared to a conventional gravity sewer system and meets the criteria set
out in the Design Manual.

 Operation and Maintenance Costs

 The accredited designer must include in the NPV assessment and estimates for the
operation and maintenance costs for the proposed system, which may take into
account site specific conditions. There is also an assessment if higher operation and
administration costs will result in implementing the proposed system over a typical
conventional gravity system.

References:
http://www.hunterwater.com.au/Building-and-Development/Drawings-Plans-
Specifications/Water--Sewer-Design-Manuals/WSDM6.pdf

http://civilengineerspk.com/design-of-sewer-system/

System Components and Design by Solomon Seyoum