It’s All About Pumps — Sewage Solutions in Paradise
South Walton County, Florida is one of the fastest growing areas of the state, in part, because of its 16 certified Blue Wave Beaches and outstanding year-round weather. To many it is the definition of paradise, but even in paradise the practical issues related to reliable water and wastewater services are paramount to a safe, comfortable environment.
Twenty-five years ago, the magnificent coastal areas west of Panama City, Florida depended on individual package treatment plants—usually purchased by the individual property developer—to meet sewage treatment needs. This approach worked for years, but it left gaps in service and treatment levels tended to be inconsistent. Ultimately, the accelerating growth and development of this emerging paradise demanded that a more comprehensive approach be established. In response to these circumstances, the County of Walton made the decision to bond Florida Community Services Corporation of Walton County to develop the water and sewer infrastructure of the area.
In 1986, Regional Utilities, operated by Florida Community Services, began managing the existing package treatment plants, as well as the area’s wells. Soon thereafter, Regional Utilities began laying water and sewage lines along the beach and coastal areas so that dependence on isolated small treatment units was reduced. During the initial period of infrastructure development, much of the sewage flow was diverted to an existing treatment facility originally built by the developer of the Sandestin Resort.
In 1993, an important new treatment facility—located near Point Washington, Florida—was constructed, and upon its completion, much of the area flow was directed into its basins.
[Note: Regional Utilities operates three treatment facilities in the area: Sandestin, Point Washington, and Seacrest. To provide maximum flexibility, the three plants are interconnected. This allows Regional Utilities to divert streams from any one plant to the others during maintenance shutdowns, power outages, or peak-flow periods—which occur, typically, during the summer tourist season.]
Lift Stations Were and Are Critical Links
The important task of moving the sewage flow from various collection points and over considerable distances of table-top-flat land to the new centralized facilities was accomplished through the use of dozens of lift stations equipped with high-volume submersible sludge pumps. Because of the critical nature of the task these pumps had to perform, there was the practical requirement for these pumps to be highly reliable and durable over extremely long service periods. It became clear—after trying pumps from several manufacturers— that Wilo EMU submersible pumps provided the extended service levels required for this tough, around-the-clock-operation.
With Upgrades In Technology, the Pumps at the Treatment Plant Became Even More ImportantIn 2003, the Point Washington treatment facility was upgraded to a 2-million gallons-per-day (mgd) facility using Sequencing BatchReactor (SBR) technology. Because of their long-term positive experience with Wilo EMU pumps and the service support history they had with Wilo EMU pumps, the management of the facility chose Wilo EMU dry pit pumps to meet the heavy pumping requirements of SBR technology. The plant depends on two towering Wilo EMU dry pit pumps, which are essential to the efficient operation of the process. The plant went on-line with the new technology in 2004.
According to Regional Utilities, “These main pumps are approximately 114 horsepower each with a 20-inch discharge. With pumps this size you can’t afford to have backup pumps sitting around. You have to be able to depend on the pumps you have and if you need repairs, you have to be able to get that service in a hurry. This plant is really two 1 mgd plants, so if one of the pumps requires service and has to be taken off-line, we can still operate at 50 percent. This means, however, that when we need service, we need it fast. We need to know that when one of these pumps needs service, that we're only going to be down for only a very short period of time before we can be back up and running. We have confidence in the Wilo service team and in their area service partner, AAG Electric.” (AAG Electric is one of the premier service centers supporting Wilo EMU products. AAG Electric is based in Panama City, Florida).
The Durability of Wilo EMU Pumps is the Result of Precise Engineering and ManufacturingAccording to Terry Rouse, President and CEO of Wilo, “Wilo EMU Pumps are exceptionally durable and reliable because of specific engineering choices and precise manufacturing methods. Two key examples of this are: one, the shaft diameter to length-of-overhang ratios on Wilo EMU Pumps are always less than 2.5 (diameter-to-length)—noting that typical pumps have ratios four to six times higher; and two, the seals are manufactured of solid silicon carbide. When high performance materials, engineering and technologies such as these are combined with advanced internal cooling technologies, long-life is virtually guaranteed.”
Point Washington has Literally Pointed the Way for the Two Other Walton County FacilitiesBecause of the continuing growth in the area and the success of the SBR system at Point Washington, Regional Utilities has committed to SBR upgrades at its Sandestin facility and its Seacrest facility. The Sandestin facility will add 2 mgd to its existing 2 mgd capabilities (for a total of 4 mgd) and the Seacrest facility will be upgraded to 2 mgd.
