As ongoing budget shortfalls and increasing usage demands push California’s water infrastructure to the brink, agencies and municipalities must root out all traces of waste and squeeze every last drop of efficiency and performance out of their systems. By providing electrical engineering in tandem with our water services, we deliver award-winning—and grant-winning—projects, seamlessly integrating teams and processes to maximize quality and reliability, minimize costs and (em)power more sustainable communities.
Our Electrical and I&C expertise includes:
Pump Station 2 Reliability Improvements
Pump Station 2 (PS2), constructed in 1963 and rated at 432 mgd capacity, conveys the wastewater generated from the entire San Diego area through two 87-inch diameter force mains to the Point Loma Treatment Plant. PS2 is equipped with eight pumps: six driven by 2,250 HP motors and two driven by 2,400 HP natural gas engines. Although PS2 has multiple electrical feeds from the local utility, San Diego Gas + Electric (SDG+E), PS2 does not meet EPA Class I reliability and force main surge protection requirements. LEE + RO performed in-depth system analysis and designed a $38 million reliability improvement project. The project included replacement of two engine drives with 2,250 HP motors drives and VFDs; installation of two 3,000 kW natural gas engine driven generators that are available to the pumps at all times for force main surge protection; and installation of two 4,000 kW diesel engine emergency generators. The project also includes an 8,000 SF and 45 ft. tall building to house the generators, cooling systems, electrical switchgear, and cranes. The project includes extensive modification to SDG+E power feeds and 4.16 kV distribution systems. New generators and pump sequencing controls are configured to prevent surge and meet the Class I reliability criteria. Project challenges included permitting with the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District and power feed arrangements with SDG+E.
Southside Plant Improvements and Electrical System Upgrades, J.B. Latham Wastewater Treatment Plant, South Orange County Wastewater Authority
LEE + RO provided condition assessment, preliminary engineering, final design, and construction support services for $7 million in plant improvements at the 13 mgd capacity J.B.Latham Wastewater Treatment Plant. The plant improvements consisted of power supply upgrades, enhanced primary coagulation, rehabilitation of rectangular secondary clarifiers, and structural concrete rehabilitation. A new electrical building was constructed to house new switchgear and motor control centers (MCCs) that supply power to three existing MCCs and four new MCCs. New duct banks, conduits, and electrical feeders were constructed throughout.
Plant Power Reliability Improvement Project, Weymouth Water Treatment Plant, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
The 600 mgd Weymouth Water Treatment Plant was constructed 1941. The existing plant’s main power distribution system was antiquated and had remained relatively unchanged with the 12 kV incoming power from Southern California Edison (SCE) stepped down to 2.4 kV and distributed to 13 unit substations. LEE + RO performed a comprehensive “Power Distribution Reliability Study,” that recommended a series of improvements including, upgrading centralized standby generation capacity from 1,000 KW to 4.6 MW by installing two 2,250 KW generators to run in parallel; replacing the antiquated 2.4 KV equipment with a new 4.16 KV system and replacing all cables with new 8 KV-rated cables; converting all unit power centers serving critical loads from a single feed/single bus design to a dual feed/dual bus design; and installing PLCs for automatic power transfer and generator synchronizing control.
In accordance with the report recommendations, LEE + RO designed a new Switchgear/Generator Building to house the 4.16 KV switchgear feeding power to the entire plant from the SCE 66 KV incoming service; two 2,250 kW capacity diesel-driven emergency generators; and a 4.16 KV power grid distributing electrical power to unit substations throughout the plant. The generator building required an extensive siting analysis to avoid conflicting with existing utilities, complete with architectural treatment + noise control as the facility is located in the middle of a residential neighborhood. SCE provided a new 66 KV substation and LEE + RO was responsible for all coordination with SCE. LEE + RO also provided construction support engineering services for this $21 million project.
Rabello and Northside Wastewater Pump Stations Emergency Generators Project
The City of Santa Clara maintains 285 miles of sanitary sewers and six sewer pump stations. This project was replaced generators at the 23.5 mgd Rabello Pump Station and the 18.9 mgd Northside Pump Station. LEE + RO evaluated the electrical system loads for existing/future pump station flow capacities, sized the new generators, auxiliary equipment and electrical systems accordingly, prepared the preliminary design report, and final design documents for the new generators and ancillary facilities including 72-hour fuel storage systems. For the Rabello Station, a 600 kW generator along with an 800A capacity NEMA 1 automatic transfer switch and 300 kW load bank were installed. For the Northside Station, a 300 kW generator along with a 600A capacity NEMA 3R automatic transfer switch and 150 kW load bank were installed. Work also included integration of the generator/ATS into the existing electrical and PLC/SCADA systems. LEE + RO also procured Bay Area AQMD and other construction permits, as well as designing the civil site improvements necessary to fit the large fuel storage tanks within the site.