A packaged pumping station is an integral part of a pumped-storage hydroelectric installation. It’s meant to pump fluids from one place to another and are mainly used for a wide array of infrastructure systems, such as drainage of low-lying land, water to canals and removal of sewage to their respectable processing sites.
Package pumping stations provide an integrated system which is built in a housing made of impact-resistant, strong materials such as glass-reinforced plastic, polyethylene or precast concrete. The unit is supplied with pre-assembled, internal and fitted pipework after which the control equipment and submersible pumps are fitted. Some of its features may include a high level alarm indication, controls for fully automatic operation, pedestal/auto-coupling/guide-rail system used to permit easy removal of pumps for repair and maintenance.
A packaged pumping station finds frequent use in countries and states with canal systems. Because of the way the canal locks work, water is lost from the upper canal each time vessels pass through. Furthermore, most lock gates are not watertight, so there can be leaks from the higher levels of the canal. A canal is usually fed by diverting water from rivers and streams to the upper parts, but if no source is available, a pumping station is used to maintain the water levels. When there’s no external water supply at disposal, back pumping systems are employed. Water is extracted from the canals below the lowest lock of a flight, and is then pumped to the top of the flight.
Furthermore, package pumping stations provide an economic and efficient way of installing a drainage system. A drainage system is suitable for mechanical building services like pumping and collecting liquids like surface water, sewage and wastewater from areas where drainage by gravity is impossible.
Pumping stations also find use in sewage collection systems also known as lift stations. These are normally designed to deal with raw sewage fed from underground gravity pipelines. The sewage is fed and stored in an underground pit, known as a wet well. The well is equipped with electrical instruments to detect the level of sewage present. When the level rises to a predetermined point, the pump starts to lift the sewage upward through a pressurised pipe system known as rising main, or sewer force main, from where the sewage is discharged into a gravity manhole. From this point, the cycle starts again until the sewage reaches its destination, which is usually a treatment plant.