VISVESVARAYA NATIONAL INSTITUTE

OF TECHNOLOGY, NAGPUR.

SEMINAR REPORT ON

‘DESIGN OF WET WELL’

SUBMITTED BY
NAYAN CHANDRAKANT GANJI
MTECH ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
ENROLLMENT NO: MT22ENV015

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 ABSTRACT

Wet wells are designed to hold sewage in place until it is lifted or pumped out. Properly
constructed wet wells are watertight to prevent any seepage and groundwater contamination.

In this seminar report we are going to see what are the functions of wet well and necessity of
wet well, the we are going take look at various types of pumping stations i.e.

1)Dry well and 2) wet well. various advantages associated with dry well and wet well.

We will see the basic design principle of wet well and various criteria, we will design
Dimensions of the wet well by assuming certain design flow and other necessary values.

Then we compare various Advantages and Disadvantages of providing a Wet well.

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 INDEX

NO TITLE PAGE NO

Title page 1

Abstract 2

Index 3

1 INTRODUCTION 4-6

1.1: General 4

1.2 Function of Wet Well 4

1.3 Necessity of Wet Well 5

1.4 Types of pumping station 5

2 DESIGN OF WET WELL 7-9

2.1 Basic design principle 7

2.2 Problems arising due to poor design of Wet 7

Well

2.3 Design criteria 7

2.4 Selection of pump 8

2.5 Size of a wet well 9

2.6 Advantages and Disadvantages of wet well 10

3 REFRENCES 11

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 1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. General: -

Let us first start with understanding what is Wet Well, Wet Well used as a wastewater
solution, holding raw sewage in one place until it is ready to be moved to the next step in the
wastewater treatment process. It plays a critical part in the overall function of urban,
residential, and country living. Basically, Wet Well can be considered as temporary storage
for water/sewage before it is pumped out. Fig 1.1 Gives a proper illustration of location and
function of Wet well.

Fig 1.1 Wet Well

1.2. Function of Wet Well: -

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They are usually provided for sewage and stormwater pumping. They work as a pumping
station and they serve the following functions:

 They assist in the fluctuations of flow Caused due to variation of sewage discharge.

 The wet wells serve as sump pits and can be employed for the control of opening and
closure of pumps.
 Wet Well (also called lift stations) are used to move wastewater to higher elevations in
order to allow transport by gravity flow

1.3. Necessity of Wet Well: -

Need of Sewer pumping station arises when:

 The existing topography and required minimum sewer grades create deep sewers that
have high construction costs. The sewage is raised and then conveyed by gravity.

 Basements are too low to discharge sewage to the main sewer.

 Sewage must be conveyed over a ridge.

 The sewage must be raised to get head for gravity flow through a treatment plant.

 Discharge outlets are below the level of the receiving body of water.

1.4. Types of pumping stations: -

There are two types of common pump stations i.e.

 Dry well or Dry pit
 Wet well or submersible pump station
In dry well pumps and valves are located in separate pump rooms for easy access and wet
well is a separate isolated chamber attached or located near to the dry well (pump room).
Basically, pump and the well are separated in the dry well
In submersible pump stations there is no separate pump room, submersible pump stations
include sealed pumps that operate submerged in the wet well
 Key advantage in dry well is that it provides easy access for routine visual inspection
and maintenance
 Key advantage in wet well is that it includes lower cost than dry well and also it
requires lesser above ground structure

Fig 1.2 and 1.3 shows the illustration of Dry well and Wet well respectively

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Fig 1.2 Dry well Fig 1.3 Wet well

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 2. DESIGN OF WET WELL

2.1. Basic design principles: -

First of all, Sewage is fed into and stored in an underground pit which we call as wet well. To
detect the level of sewage (and if necessary to activate an alarm if there are technical
problem) an electrical instrument is used. When level rises to predetermined point, pump
starts working and lift the sewage upward and discharged into gravity.
Although Wet Well is considered like a simple tub for holding stormwater or sewage, but
poor design of wet well can cause problems many problems

2.2. Problems arising due to poor design of Wet Well: -

 Sewage as a foul characteristics poor design could cause odour problems.
 Sewage as lots of suspended particle which may cause problem to pumps.
 Sewage contains pathogens which cause health problems.
 Poor design may led to leakage of sewage into ground water (Ground water
contamination), which will led to serious problems.
 At low topography area if wet wells are not working it could cause problem to conduct
the sewage to sewers
 There might be problem of solid deposition and scum entrapment.

2.3. Design Criteria

 Match pump capacity, type and configuration with wastewater quantity.
 Provide reliable and interruptible operation.
 Allow for easy operation and maintenance of the installed equipment.
 Accommodate future capacity expansion.
 Avoid septic conditions and excessive release of odors in the collection system and at the
pump station.
 Avoid flooding of the pump station and the surrounding areas.

Wet-well design is dependent on the type of pump station configuration (submersible or dry-
well) and the type of pump controls (constant or variable speed). Wet-wells are typically
designed large enough to prevent rapid pump cycling, but small enough to prevent a long
detention time and associated odor release.

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 2.4. Selection of pump

Design of wet well starts with the selection pump.Wet-well design is dependent on the type
of pump station configuration (submersible or dry-well) and the type of pump controls
(constant or variable speed). Wet-wells are typically designed large enough to prevent rapid
pump cycling, but small enough to prevent a long detention time and associated odor release.
Wet-well maximum detention time in constant speed pumps is typically 20 to 30 minutes.
Use of variable frequency drives for pump speed control allows wet-well detention time
reduction to 5 to 15 minutes. Wet-well bottom slope should be designed to allow self-
cleaning and minimum deposition of debris. Bar screens are often installed in or upstream of
the wet well to minimize pump clogging problems; however, screens are not typically
required for in-plant stations because course material is generally removed at headworks in
the plant

Power of pump can be calculated by expression given in the Fig 2.1

Fig 2.1 Power of pump

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 2.5. Size of Wet Well

Size of the wet well should be based on the following:

1. Flow from proposed development and any associated future development

2. Capability to receive flows from surrounding areas as determined by the authorities

The volume of wet well is given by

V = T × Q/4 (4.1)

where,
V: Effective volume of wet well (in cubic meters)
T: Time for one pump cycle (in minutes)
Q: Pumping rate (cubic meters per minute)

The value of T is related to the number of starts per hour and it is not advisable to exceed 6
starts per hour. Accordingly, the value of T in the design is to be taken as 10 minutes for
smaller pump capacities but 15 minutes is desirable and hence, the denominator in the
equation is to be used as a value of 4.
If we assume pumping capacity at peak flow for an example as 42 m3/min
Pumping capacity at peak flow = 42 m3/min
Time for one pump cycle = 15 min
Volume required = 15 * 42 / 4 = 158 m3
Possible depth below invert of sewer =2m
Area needed = 158 / 2 = 79 m2
Diameter needed = SQRT (4*79/3.14) = 10 m
The depth of the wet well required is also governed by the depth of submergence needed for
the submersible pump set. This is governed by the height of the submersible pump set and the
floor clearance. Assuming the height of the pump set as 1.2 m and floor clearance as 0.3 m
the minimum depth of the floor of the wet well below the invert of the sewer shall be 2 + 1.5
= 3.5 m.

It may be difficult to construct wet wells of 3.5 m deep below invert of incoming trunk
sewers which themselves may be at a depth of about 5 m to 6 m below ground level.
Moreover, designing and constructing the wet wells to be checked for cracking stress in high
water table areas may be not only difficult but may give way to infiltration which will be a
challenge to control later on.
Thus, it becomes a problem of obtaining sufficient wet well volume at reasonable cost.

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Fig 2.2 Show the proper diagram of wet well with details of submersible pump.

Fig 2.2 Wet Well

2.6. Advantages and disadvantages of wet well

Advantages: -

 Sewage can be pumped automatically to higher elevations.

 No contact with wastewater is necessary.

Disadvantages: -

 Very costly
 Local availability of construction material and spare parts
 Needs expert design

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 3. REFERENCES
1. Paschke N.W. Pump Station Basics – Design Considerations for a Reliable Pump Station.
Operations Forum, Vol. 14, No. 5, 15-20, May 1997.
2. Wastewater Technology Fact Sheet In-Plant Pump Stations - United States Environmental
Protection Agency Office of Water Washington, D.C. - EPA 832-F-00-069 September
2000
3. DESIGN EVALUATION OF A DUPLEX CIRCULAR WET WELL PUMPING
STATION UNDER STEADY STATE AND DYNAMIC OPERATING CONDITIONS.
by James Thomas Mailloux A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the WORCESTER
POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of
Master of Science in Environmental Engineering.
4. CHAPTER 4 DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF SEWAGE PUMPING STATIONS AND
SEWAGE PUMPING MAINS

5. Thomas Jenkins Appeared in print as "Wet Wells vs. Dry Wells" By Thomas E. Jenkins,
P.E.- July 2016

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