In any mechanical system, the risk of downtime is a serious factor of consideration. For public institutions, downtime has a direct effect on communities. Municipal water systems are at high risk of downtime due to the impact of aging infrastructure and unpredictable failures. They are looking for solutions to make their operations more efficient, reduce spending, and achieve energy efficiency — all while ensuring water is clean for environment renewal and public utilization. With such an important task at hand, it is critical to partner with a trusted, proven solution provider.
Mitsubishi Electric Automation and their distributor, Bertelkamp Automation, were tasked with a project to relieve an ongoing clogging issue for a wastewater plant in Tennessee.
The challenge at hand? Frequently clogging pumps.
According to the NACWAR (National Association of Clean Water Agencies), in 2019, wipes imposed $30,467 a year in additional operating costs on the average utility nationwide. The cost of clogged pumps adds up both financially and politically. Financial costs accrue due to maintenance visits and part replacements, while community public relations may affect a municipality’s reputation. On the operational side, a clogged pump is detected through increased run time, costing energy and money to exert the drives to operate through a blockage.
The customer operates and maintains pumping stations, known as lift stations, that move wastewater from a lower to a higher elevation. Each lift station has at least two induction motors that drive sewage pumps in a wet well. To keep this operation flowing, the customer knew they needed to stop clogs before they occurred, because maintenance was required to visit at least weekly to resolve them. Many of these clogging issues are reported to go undetected until they become so severe that the pump does not meet demand.
An alternative to manually unclogging pumps was needed. To manually resolve the clog, municipalities may disable the problematic pump and open the associated check valve, creating pressure from the alternate pump and resulting in a backflow through the clogged pump to clear. This solution may work, but still requires maintenance intervention, and therefore, downtime.
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