Case Study – Complex Sewer Pump Installation

Did you know Essendon Plumbing Services has been providing technical advice on complex commercial plumbing problems for more than 33 years?

The Problem

Recently we had a call from a commercial client whose business was experiencing rapid growth and they needed additional toilets and a kitchen to be installed within their facility to comply with their COVID safe plan.

The initial problem they struck was the closest sewer connection point was 200 meters away, which meant an extensive amount of excavation was required at a considerable cost.

Site Inspection

Richard, our estimator, organised a site visit with the facilities operations manager to run through the full scope of works to see if there was an alternative option to installing below ground sewer pipes.

After Richard carried out a thorough site inspection, he had a full understanding of the exiting services layout and what the customer was seeking to achieve with the installation of an additional commercial bathroom and kitchen.

He explained to the client that the installation of a sewer pit with a set of macerator pumps may be a more cost-effective method to installing toilets in the area they wanted, and less disruptive to their operations.

Fixed Price Quote & Sewer Pump System Design

Richard took a set of site plans with him to carry out a feasibility study and provide the customer with a detailed fixed price quote on installing a packaged sewer pump system.

As the work was urgent, within 48hrs, Richard worked quickly and provided the client with the following:

• A packaged pump system design
• A fixed price quote

The design and quote not only met the client’s needs, but also gave them capacity for additional toilets if required in the future and saved them thousands of dollars in excavation costs.

Purchase Order Raised

The client was delighted with the outcome and relieved that they could now accommodate the expansion of their business in a COVID safe way. A purchase order was raised, and Richard placed the order for the packaged pump system and all material required to complete the installation and a project start date was set.

Installing Below Ground Sewer Pumps

The first job for our team of Plumbers was to out the layout of the new amenities area so the below ground drains could be installed from the bathroom and kitchen to the new pump well.

The sewer pump station was 1.7m deep and 1m round and comprised a dual macerator pump system, two pumps are used to alternate between the systems. This is to extend the life cycle of each pump and as backup, if one pump was to fail, the second pump is there to back up and prevent the system shutting down. Two pumps also provide continuity when servicing the pumps.

The system was sized to be able to pump horizontally more than 200 lineal meters and vertically 10 meters, it also required 3 phase-power.

Once all internal below ground sewer works were completed the team moved outside to install the pit.