Sewage pumping

Sewage pumping is normally done by a submersible pump.

This became popular in the early 1960s, when a guide-rail system was developed to lift the submersible pump out of the pump station for repair, and ended the dirty and sometimes dangerous task of sending people into the sewage or wet pit. Growth of the submersible pump for sewage pumping since has been dramatic, as an increasing number of specifiers and developers learned of their advantages.

Three classes of submersible pumps exist:

• Smaller submersible pumps, used in domestic and light commercial applications, normally handle up to 55mm spherical solids and range from 0.75kW to 2.2kW.
• Larger submersible pumps, handle 65mm and larger solids and normally have a minimum of 80mm discharge. They are generally used in municipal and industrial applications for pumping sewage and all types of industrial wastewater.
• Submersible chopper pumps, which are used to handle larger concentrations of solids and/or tougher solids that conventional sewage pumps cannot handle. Chopper pumps are generally used in municipal and industrial wastewater applications and provide clog-free operation by macerating those solids that might clog other types of submersible pumps.

Submersible pumps are normally used in a packaged pump station where drainage by gravity is not possible.

Vertical type sewage pumps have also been used for many years. They have the motor above the floor so work on the motor can be done without entering the sewage pit.

See also

• Sewage treatment
• Pumping station
• Packaged pump station
• Submersible pump
• Chopper pumps

Literature

• D. Weismann, T. Gutzeit: Kommunale Abwasserpumpwerke. 2nd edition, VULKAN-Verlag, Germany 2006, ISBN 978-3-8027-2843-3
• D. Weismann, M. Lohse: Sulfid-Praxishandbuch der Abwassertechnik; Geruch, Gefahr, Korrosion verhindern und Kosten beherrschen! 1st edition, VULKAN-Verlag, Germany 2007, ISBN 978-3-8027-2845-7