Texas CEC Awards Gold for Pump Station Design

The Texas Council of Engineering Companies has awarded a gold medal to Freese and Nichols’ innovative pump station design at the Central Regional Wastewater System of the Trinity River Authority in Arlington.

The design of pump station 13b with the unwieldy description of a self-cleaning trench type wetwell with vertical turbine solids handling pumps represents an inspired, and inspiring, application of innovative technology to familiar conflicts in publicly-operated services. This project addressed limited budget, limited space and increased service demand by exploring the value of a vertical, self-cleaning pumping configuration where a more conventional, horizontal pump design had been specified for the 50-million-gallon per day pump station.

The Freese and Nichols design team consulted national expert Robert L. Sanks, Ph.D., P.E., who has authored and edited standard texts on pump-station design. The resulting design fit the new pump station and its three vertical pumps into an 18 foot-wide trench. Because the design no longer required removal or relocation of nearby roadways, structures and pipelines, construction costs were reduced to $8.5 million, saving the River Authority $2.9 million, well more than the engineering fee of $1.6 million.

In addition to conserving existing structures, land and funds for the agency, which is funded through fees to municipalities it serves in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the design’s self-cleaning features provides long-term savings by reducing staff time required for regular maintenance. The pump station design is the first application in Texas and the largest wastewater application of the vertical pump configuration in the United States.