Sewer Pump Station Makeover – Check Out Our Before & After

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2020

Over the past 18 months, crews have been working on upgrading the sewer pump station that services Yarram.  Investing around $2.5M the sewer pump station in Lawler Street, Yarram now has brand new pumps, pump well, increased storage and pumping capacity, new electrical controls and a back-up power generator. Not to mention the old buildings have been removed and a nice clean site remains.

The Lawler Street pump station is the main pump that transfer’s wastewater from Yarram to the Tarraville Wastewater Treatment Plant.  The upgrades to the nearly 60-year-old infrastructure will provide several benefits, including operational, environmental and improved safety of the community and staff.

A new pump station has been constructed on site with the help of contractors Quinn Civil, which included the construction of a 14m deep pump well containing two new pumps, with a capacity of 75L per second. These pumps push the wastewater some 9km to Tarraville.

In addition, a new muncher pit was installed to help cope with foreign objects that are now being inappropriately flushed more routinely, such as wet wipes.  There is also a back-up 180 kW stand-by generator installed on site.  This allows the pump station to operate during power outages and reduces the risk of sewer spills into the environment.

The new pump station was commissioned and began operation in mid-May, allowing construction to move onto the second stage of the project, which was to convert the old existing pump station and wet well to additional overflow capacity in the event of large storms or sudden sewerage inflow.  Whilst most of the works were completed below the surface, with the wet well and pumps sitting below ground, the changes above ground have still been significant.

South Gippsland Water Managing Director Philippe du Plessis explained that the project is being completed as part of South Gippsland Water’s commitment to providing a reliable, safe and efficient wastewater service.

“We identified that the existing pump station was no longer meeting capacity or occupational health and safety requirements and have made a significant investment to upgrade pumping and storage volumes at the site,” he said.

This investment will ensure a reliable and efficient service, that benefits customers, community, our staff and the environment.

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