Recently, Thompson Pump, a company that provides pumps and equipment for bypass applications, conducted an extensive, month-and-a-half long sewer interceptor bypass for the city of Akron, Ohio.
Thompson Pump Midwest, located in Troy, Mich., secured the contract with Spinello Companies to oversee the design and installation of the bypass. Brian Lenaghan and Majid Tavakoli, president of Thompson Pump Midwest and vice president of Thompson Pump, respectively, worked with the contractor to aggressively formulate a plan that would allow the bypass system to be fully operational in just under eight days from the start of installation. The pump system was required to support 86.4 million gallons of sewage per day.
A race to the finish
The project needed to be completely set-up and operational in 7 days.
“It was a puzzle that was orchestrated much like a finely primed machine,” said Lenaghan. “Everything was planned and delivered with precision, assembling the puzzle perfectly.”
A 12-person installation crew from Thompson Pump Midwest and Thompson Pump’s Corporate Headquarters in Florida arrived on site and operated around the clock to install a pumping system that bypassed the 60-in. Little Cuyahoga Interceptor Sewer. The crew used was specifically trained in fusion, assembly and installation, and travels across the U.S. installing projects of this magnitude on a regular basis.
The specifics
The system consisted of nine dry prime pumps, a 30-in. manifold and five 18-in. HDPE lines. Three 16-in. Thompson Pump Dry Prime compressor-assisted solids handling high-pressure pumps were used as primary units. The pumps were fitted with 18-in. increaser ports on the suction side to fit the 18-in. HDPE pipe directly to the suction port. The 16-in. pumps were each capable of a maximum capacity of 11,000-gpm at 160 maximum feet of head.
Six 12-in. pumps of the same design served as secondary units installed with an automatic start/stop system in the event sewage levels increased.
Each pump was capable of an 8,500-gpm maximum capacity at 200 maximum feet of head. Thompson Pump Midwest fabricated a large 120-ft, 30-in. manifold used to divert the discharge flows from the pumps into five different 18-in. HDPE lines. The manifold was fitted with knife valves that allowed the contractor to isolate the pumps within the system as required to take a pump off the line if necessary. Five 18-in. HDPE lines were laid from the manifold leading off the jobsite, across a street and down another street, to the next manhole located 2,560-ft from the bypass origin.
A total of 12,800-ft of 18-in. HDPE pipe was fused together by the Thompson Pump crews and installed over the entire length of the system. Forklifts, fuel tanker trucks, light towers, and oil trucks were also utilized.
All pumps used on the bypass were equipped with Thompson Pump’s Enviroprime Priming System. The Enviroprime System is specifically engineered to prevent blow-by (sewage and debris) from entering the venturi and discharging onto the ground, making the system environmentally friendly and safe. By separating air and water, the system also extends the life of the pump, and, with high efficiency impellers, lessens power requirements resulting in reduced operating costs.
“A competitor balked at the application saying they couldn’t meet the requirements. But we knew we could and we did, successfully,” said Tavakoli.
The project lasted approximately 45 days and Thompson Pump Midwest continues to provide service to Spinello Companies today.
