Thompson Pump conducted an extensive, month-and-a-half sewer interceptor bypass for the City of Akron, OH, recently. The pump system was required to support 86.4 million gallons of sewage per day and had to be fully operational in just under eight days from the start of installation.
Thompson Pump Midwest, located in Troy, MI, secured the contract with Spinello Companies to oversee the design and installation of the bypass. The system consisted of nine dry prime pumps, a 30-inch manifold and five 18-inch HDPE pipe lines. A 12-person installation crew operated around the clock to install a pumping system that bypassed the 60-inch Little Cuyahoga Interceptor Sewer.
The Thompson crew, specifically trained in PE pipe fusion, assembly and installation, travel across the United States installing projects of this magnitude on a regular basis.
Three 16-inch Thompson Dry Prime compressor-assisted solids handling high-pressure pumps were used as primary units. The pumps were fitted with 18-inch increaser ports on the suction side to fit the 18-inch HDPE pipe directly to the suction port. The 16-inch pumps were each capable of a maximum capacity of 11,000 gpm at 160 maximum feet of head.
Six, 12-inch pumps of the same design served as secondary units installed with an automatic start/stop system in the event sewage levels increased. Each pump was capable of an 8,500-gpm maximum capacity at 200 maximum feet of head.
Thompson Pump Midwest fabricated a 120-foot, 30-inch manifold used to divert the discharge flows from the pumps into five different 18-inch HDPE lines. The manifold was fitted with knife valves that allowed the contractor to isolate the pumps within the system as required to take a pump off the line.
Five 18-inch HDPE lines were laid from the manifold leading off the jobsite to the next manhole located 2,560-feet from the bypass origin. A total of 12,800-feet of 18-inch HDPE pipe was fused together over the entire length of the system.
All pumps used on the bypass were equipped with Thompson Pump’s Enviroprime® priming system. The system is specifically engineered to prevent blow-by - sewage and debris - from entering the venturi and discharging onto the ground, making the system environmentally friendly and safe. By separating air and water, the system also extends the life of the pump.
