Given the likely impending installation of many technologically advanced lift stations in the United States, municipalities will recognize that their savings of manpower costs gain greater importance. This is done by no longer having to remove and replace clogged pumps as the DIP System(R) pumps are self-cleaning. Additional savings will accrue as the corrosion of lift station equipment and the station itself will cease. The use of bar screens and rakes, trash baskets, or comminutors, all requiring regular cleaning and maintenance at the wet well is no longer needed. The issue with "flushables" causing problems with lift station pumps will no longer need personnel attention. The neighborhoods will experience the added relief of no longer having the hydrogen sulfide gas odors due to the required local retention of sewage in a wet well as has been the practice through using submersible pumps for the last 60 years. The need for a wet well is also eliminated and it is converted to a clean, dry pumping system work area that is now safe for employees. A separate valve vault is not needed and the footprint of the station is smaller. The DIP System(R) lift station is remotely managed, not just monitored, as some submersible systems currently report. The management can be done via a smart phone, a tablet, or a desktop computer from anywhere. The operator has the ability to visually "see" the performance of the pumps, make any adjustments if desired, run tests, and even order printed reports to be delivered to management via remote printer from his office, the cab of his truck, or his kitchen table on a weekend. The typical daily or routine lift station "site visits" are no longer needed. This system provides effective utilization of personnel and supports optimal usage of power in its operation. The electronic control techniques employed use soft starts and stops that eliminate water hammer shocks to valves and older force mains. The pumps only run at the speeds needed and no longer is a wet well pump down type of application used. No large surge of wastewater will now affect the biomass of the treatment plant making the operator's job easier. The effective utilization of the voltage control techniques will maintain power quality and ensure that the pumping equipment continues to operate efficiently. The DIP System(R) will contribute to maintaining an efficient lift station with high quality and reliability even under future scenarios involving varying peak loads as it is designed with 100% back-up.
About the Author: Jon Dunham, Key Account Manager, C&B Equipment. sold municipal and industrial pumps and systems as long as 40 years ago. The old submersible pumps worked at that time as there were no "flushables" produced. Energy costs were lower as were labor rates and less time was spent or needed on the submersible type systems that still are in use today. Odors in the neighborhoods with the wet wells were problems then and still today. The DIP System can end the old ways of doing things and save costs that are usually palled on to the ratepayers and taxpayers.