BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering – Level 3

Faculty of Engineering

DESIGN OF PUMPING STATION

Module Name: Wastewater Engineering
 Table of Contents

1. When would you recommend pumping of sewage? 4

2. Give the typical layout of a pumping station. What is a wet well and a dry well? 5

3. Discuss the various factors to be considered for the design of a pumping station 10

4. Design of a pumping station 11

5. Explain the principle of operation of a Parshall Flume and of a Proportional Weir for
flow measurement in a wastewater treatment plant 19

6. References 23

List of figure

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Figure 1: Shows the ground floor plan (Tchobanoglous, 1981)..............................................5
Figure 2: Shows typical conventional pumping station (Tchobanoglous, 1981).....................6
Figure 3: Shows section through pumping station (Tchobanoglous, 1981)............................7
Figure 4: Shows the basement plan (Tchobanoglous, 1981)...................................................8
Figure 5: Typical plan of a designed pumped house (Christian., 2013)...............................18
Figure 6: Shows plan and section view of Parshall flume (Bright hub engineering, 2020).. 20
Figure 7: Shows the measurements at the different positions (Bright hub engineering,
2020).....................................................................................................................................21
Figure 8: Shows a proportional weir (Bright hub engineering, 2020)..................................22

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1. When would you recommend pumping of sewage?

1. If the land is flat the installation of sewers at the specified gradient will require costly
excavation in order to provide self-cleansing velocity. It may be stopped by building
pumping systems around the long drain at intervals to raise the waste from one segment to
the next portion, which could be situated at a higher point and operated under gravity. This
sewage reduction method is known as boosting, and the pumps used are called boosters.

2. When any part of a town or city is small, the low-lying region cannot be drained by gravity to
spill into a sub-main or main at a higher point, unless the whole sewerage network of the
resulting higher field is placed at a correspondingly lower level. Under these cases, the
drainage of water from the low-lying field into a sump becomes more economical through
gravity and then dumping it into the high-city’s central gravity drain.

3. If a drain needs to be carried over a high hill then a conduit has to be pushed to that point.
However, instead of building a pipe, it may be more efficient to inject waste into sewers by
pumps that are spread across the ridge slope at appropriate depths.

Such a circumstance may occur where a town or city is separated by a ridge line in between
into two sections. At the lowest point the sewage in the two sections is stored individually
under gravity, and then the sewage is transferred from one part to the other through pumping
across the hill.

4. If it is appropriate to drain sewage from cellars or basements in buildings whose floor is at a

point below the invert stage of the pipe into which the water is to be drained, therefore the
water must be pumped.

5. If an outflow drain is lower than the entrance to treatment works or water source or some
other discharge point, so waste must be elevated by pumps either for treatment or for
drainage into the water body or to some other discharge point.

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However, it should be remembered that the installation of pumps in a sewerage scheme results in
increased spending, since it includes capital expenditures, operational and repair expenses and
extra supervisory charges. As such the requirement for sewage pumping will be investigated
cautiously until it is eventually approved.

2. Give the typical layout of a pumping station. What is a wet well and a dry well?
Typical layout of pumping station

Figure 1: Shows the ground floor plan (Tchobanoglous, 1981).

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Figure 2: Shows typical conventional pumping station (Tchobanoglous, 1981).

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Figure 3: Shows section through pumping station (Tchobanoglous, 1981).

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 Figure 4: Shows the basement plan (Tchobanoglous, 1981).

Wet well

Urban water is collected in a tank known as sump or wet well at pumping station. The wet well's
efficiency is such that it can hold at least 2 hours of dry weather flow (D.W.F.) and this is the
average time during which pumps can be restored or removed. Current procedure is to drain the
water as soon as possible after collecting it; thus, a tank with an average flow rate of 20-30
minutes is appropriate.

The sump well is an enclosed masonry or R.C.C. room, situated at such a point that only gravity
will cause water from the trunk sewer to flow through it. In the plane the tank may be triangular,
ring-shaped or oval. Mostly circular wet wells are used, at the bottom of which there is a 1:1
drop into a central pit where the pump's end of suction pipe is mounted.

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The size of the well relies primarily on the width of the entry sewage inlet. Within the well the
key storage would be free fall inside the well. This would also avoid overflowing and backflow
inside the incoming drain. Direct pipes lined with tubes, engine controls, electric motor wires,
sewage level indicators and all will be mounted at appropriate locations in the wet well.

Gate gates will be installed on the incoming drainage lines to prevent the leakage of sewage
during testing, reconstruction and cleaning of the wet well, etc. For sanitation, inquiry and
maintenance, ladders are given at the top of the wet well. In the wet wells the overflow weirs and
by-pass systems are often made to contain the waste during severe flooding. For its washing,
inspection and repair, manholes with ladders are built on top of the wet well.

Dry well

It is positioned in a suitable position and there are pumps mounted inside. The position will be
that way, and pumps can operate quickly. It is a masonry underground called R C.C. The space is
circular or rectangular in design along with the tanks of water and the driving units. There are the
required pipes with the fittings and control valves within it.

The size of the dry well will be enough for operator movement during service, restoration and
repair as well as pump installation etc. It is safer to take these wells thoroughly, so that pumps
cannot require some priming during initialization. In certain situations, even a small pump is
installed in this well to drain the leakage from the wet pipe.

This size of the dry well would be adequate to allow installation of further pumps with the
construction time for more expansion. Often no separate dry well is installed in small sewage
pumping station. The pumps can be immersed in the wet well itself, or supplied on the wet well's
top (Engineering notes India, 2020).

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3. Discuss the various factors to be considered for the design of a pumping station.

1) Hydraulic retention time, HRT: In the wet well, the retention time of the wastewater
usually does not exceed 20 minutes.
2) Screens: Just before the influent enters the wet well, it is made to pass through these screens
to filter out the material that could clog and damage the pumps.
3) Standby pumps: According to the design, for the number of pumps required, there should
always be at least one pump in excess which can act as a standby pump in case of any
emergency such as if the other working pumps are under maintenance.
4) High and low water levels: In order to determine the position of suction pipes for the
pumps, water levels are kept stationary in the wet well.
5) Additional space: This space is essential to install additional pumps in the dry wells in the
design of the pump house in the future.
6) Velocity: The design should be such that the minimum velocity is 0.6 m/s to avoid settling of
solids.
7) Location of driving units: For quick and easy repair and maintenance work, it is
recommended to install motors for the driving pumps at the top level of the well (Christian.,
2013).

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4. Assuming 2.5 peaking factor, design a pumping station for a daily average flow of
sewage of 15 000 m3/day. It is required that sewage is to be pumped against a head of
8.0 m and will be conveyed by a rising main to a treatment site located 200 m away
from the sump well. Assume the efficiency of the pump as 64% and the motor efficiency
as 75%. Assume a friction factor of 0.01 for the main and an overall minor loss of 0.5 m.
You are required to give the dimensions of the sump and dry wells, the size of the pump
house, the diameters of the main and intake pipes, the number of pumps and the total
power for pumping.

1. Maximum and Minimum sewage flow:

Daily average flow of sewage=Q ave=15000m 3 /¿d

15000
¿ ¿ 0.174 m 3 /s
86400

Maximum flow reaching pumping station=Q max ¿ peaking factor × Q ave¿ 2.5 ×0.174 ¿ 0.435 m3 /s

Assuming minimum flow occurs at 30% of Average flow,

30
Minimum flow reaching pumping station=Q min¿ 30 % × Q ave¿ ×0.175 ¿ 0.0525 m3 /s
100

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2. Design of rising main:

Let the flow through velocity in the rising main = 0.75 m/s

Therefore, from Q = AV

Q 0.435
The cross sectional area of the rising main at peak flow , A= ¿ ¿ 0.58 m2
V 0.75

Also,

π D2R
A= Where , D R=Diameter of rising main
4

Giving,

4 × A 4 ×0.58
D R=
√ π
¿
√ π
¿ 0.859 m

Therefore, a diameter of 0.900 m is used for the rising main

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3. Design of Wet Well:

Assuming that the sump well retains the flow of wastewater for 2 minutes, the quantity of
sewage in the sump is

Quantity of sewage∈Wet well=Q max ×t = 0.435 × 20 × 60

= 522.0 m3

π
Quantity of sewage∈rising main of 200 mlength= × 0.9002 ×200¿ 127.23 m3
4

The total capacity of the sump required = quantity of sewage in the sump + quantity of sewage in
the rising main
= 522.0 + 127.23 m3

= 649.23 m3

= 650.0 m3

Assuming a maximum depth of 4.0 of the sump, the surface area of the sump,

650.0
A s=
4.0

= 162.5 m2

Providing 3 sump wells for 3 pumps; 2 working and 1 standby (2W + 1S) such that 2 wells will
remain in operation when one of the wells is taken under repair, then;

The surface area of one sump is (162.5/3) = 54.16 m2

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Therefore, the diameter of each sump, Ds is calculated as shown below;

π D2s
A s1 =
4

Rearranging,

4 × A s 1 4 ×54.16
dW =
√ π √¿
π
¿ 8.30 m

Therefore, take diameter of each sump to be 8.50 m

4. Determining the minimum liquid depth in the sump well,

minimum volume of liquid ∈wet well

Minimum liquid depth∈wet well=
Surface area

Minimum volume of liquid∈ wet well=Q min ∈well+ flow ∈rising main¿ [ 0.0522× 20 ×60 ] +127.23

¿ 189.87 190 m3

Since, the diameter of each sump is 8.5 m, the area of one wet well is;

π
Surface Area of 1 wet well= ×8.52¿ 56.75 m 2
4

volume
Therefore, the minimum liquid depth in each well is
surface area

190.0
= 56.75

= 3.35

= 3.4 m

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5. Design of pumps

Providing three pumps, two in operation and one is standby, so the maximum flow that each
pump has to lift,

Maximum flow that each pump has to lift = Qpump

Qmax 0.435
Q pump = ¿ ¿ 0.217 m3 / s
2 2

(a) Compute frictional losses in pipes by the equation,

f × L×V 2
hf=
2 × g ×d

Where

hf = head loss due to friction, m

f = coefficient of friction, 0.01 (assumed)

L = Length of the pipe, m

v = velocity of flow in the pipe (rising main), m/s

g = gravitational acceleration, m/s2

d = diameter of the pipe (rising main), m

0.01× 200 ×0.752

Therefore, h f =
2 ×9.81 ×0.9

= 0.063

= 0.065 m

(b) Assuming losses in bends, e.g = 0.5 m

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Total lift Head of sewage , H =Pumping head + Losses∈head¿ 8.0+0.065+ 0.5¿ 8.565 m 9.0 m

(c) Computing the power required P, in BHP for pumping by the following equation,

ρw × Q p × H
Power required for pumping , P=
75× η p ×ηm

Where,

ρw = density of water, kg/m3 = 1000 kg/m3

Qp = flow to be lifted by pumps, m3/s = 0.22 m3/s

H = total head (total lift of sewage), m = 9.0 m

η p = efficiency of pumps = 65% (assumed)

ηm =¿ efficiency of the driving motor = 75% (assumed)

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Therefore,

1000× 0.217 ×9.0

Power required, P =
75× 0.65 ×0.75

= 54.25

~ 60.00 W

Hence, provide 3 pumps, each of 60W for each well.

Therefore, total power required = 60 × 3 = 180 W

6. Design of suction pipe:

Maximum flow in the pipe for each wet well = 0.217 m/s.

Assuming a velocity of flow of 1.0 m/s in the pipe, the cross-sectional area of the intake pipe;

0.217
A x= ¿ 0.217 m 2
1.0

Also,

π d¿
A x=
4

Where, din = diameter of intake pipe.

Rearranging,

4 × A x 4 ×0.217
d ¿=
√ π √
¿
π
¿ 0.526 m 0.55 m

Hence, diameter of the intake pipes = 550 mm

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7. Design of dry well:

The dry well is constructed based on the space needed to support both the operating and the
standby pumps. Usually the same proportions should be inferred as with a wet well. External
space for ladder (rugs) and repair work area is given.

Figure 5: Typical plan of a designed pumped house (Christian., 2013).

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Design summary

No. of wet well sumps = 3

No. of dry wells = 1

Diameter of a rising main = 900 mm

Diameter of wet wells = 8.5 m

Maximum liquid depth in a wet well = 4.0 m

Minimum liquid depth in a wet well = 3.4 m

Total head for pumping = 9.0 m

Diameter of an intake pipe = 550 mm

Number of pumps = 3 (2W + 1S)

Total power for pumping = 180 W

Size of a pump house = 30 m × 20 m

5. Explain the principle of operation of a Parshall Flume and of a Proportional Weir for
flow measurement in a wastewater treatment plant.

Parshall Flume

Parshall flumes are commonly used for the calculation of open channel flow, especially for flows
that include suspended solids, such as the flow in wastewater treatment plants. A flume of
Parshall has a converging segment, chest, and diverging portion, much like a flume of venturi.
This also indicated changes in the bottom pit of the channel as shown in the diagram below.

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 Figure 6: Shows plan and section view of Parshall flume (Bright hub engineering, 2020).

The size of a Parshall flume is indicated by its width of throat. The flow through a Parshall flume
is considered to be "free flow," because the downstream flow does not influence the flow rate
through the throat of the flume. If this is the case a hydraulic jump in the Parshall flume throat
will be observable. When the downstream volume is high enough to back up the fluid into the
throat, the hydraulic jump is not noticeable, and the river is assumed to be overflowing. As seen
in the illustration below, a quantitative test for differentiating between free flow and submerged
flow uses head measurements at two places, Ha and Hb.

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 Figure 7: Shows the measurements at the different positions (Bright hub engineering, 2020).

The Parshall flume free flow equation is Q = CHan

Where,
Q = the flow rate through the flume in cfs
Ha = the head over the flume in ft
C and n = constants for a Parshall Flume of given throat width

Note: Under submerged flow conditions, graphs and tables are available for evaluating the flow
rate using a Parshall flume.

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Proportional weir

It is a measurement tool for flows often found in open channels. The opening shape between the
plates of a proportional weir is rendered in such a way that the discharge in the grit chamber is
directly proportional to the depth of the material. Hence, given variations in speed, water
velocity in a grit chamber is unchanged. The diagram of a proportional weir is shown below.

Figure 8: Shows a proportional weir (Bright hub engineering, 2020).

At both sides the sharp edges created by the curve at the bottom are curtailed, as such limited
opening does not lead to flow due to strong deposition. Such edges are curtailed at a maximum
of at least 75 mm from the side wall and height of the vertical edge' a' is 25 to 35 mm in length.
To account for this field deficit the edge of the weir is lowered by a/3 than potentially (Bright
hub engineering, 2020).

Discharge through this type of weir is calculated using the following formula:
a
Q=Cb √ 2 ag H−[ 3 ]
Where, Q = Discharge
H = height of water above crest weir
b = Base of weir
a = 25 to 35 mm as shown in figure below

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 C = Constant [normally 0.6]
Reference

BRIGHT HUB ENGINEERING. (2020) Parshall Flume Equations For Open Channel Flow Rate
Calculations. [Online] Available at: <https://www.brighthubengineering.com/hydraulics-civil-
engineering/61462-open-channel-flow-measurement-parshall-flumes/> [Accessed 21 March
2020].

ENGINEERING NOTES INDIA. (2020) Pumping Of Sewage: Necessity And Problems | Waste

Management. [Online] Available at: http://www.engineeringenotes.com/waste-
management/sewage/pumping-of-sewage-necessity-and-problems-waste-management/40113
[Accessed 20 March 2020].

TCHOBANOGLOUS, G., (1981) Wastewater Engineering. London: McGraw-Hill.

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