The system of sewers and pipelines that carries contaminated water away from us and our water sources can also prevent the overflows and back-ups that reduce the lifespan and performance of treatment plants. But an aging system under exponential stress will eventually do neither, costing far more than taxpayer dollars. So we’re always thinking many generations ahead, ensuring that each one will have not only water quality and quantities but a quality of life that’s equal to or better than the last.
Our Wastewater Conveyance expertise includes:
Hyperion Secondary Effluent Pump Station, West Basin Municipal Water District
Hyperion Secondary Effluent Pump Station (HSEPS) conveys secondary effluent from the City of Los Angeles Hyperion Treatment Plant (HTP) to West Basin Municipal Water District’s Edward C. Little Water Recycling Facility (ECLWRF). HSEPS was equipped with four vertical turbine pumps: two 21 mgd pumps with 800 HP motors driven through VFDs and two 15 mgd pumps with 500 HP constant speed motors. The firm station capacity was 51 mgd with one 21 mgd pump out of service. This project increased firm capacity to 83 mgd with the addition of three new 800 HP pumps with VFDs (3rd pump in the future). This $14.7 million project included a 3,000 kW emergency generator with 4.16 kV switchgear, motor control centers, and an electrical distribution system. Extensive electrical and control system rework was necessary to tie-in to the existing pump station and LADWP power feeds. The project also included wet tapping the pump station’s 60-inch diameter suction header to the Hyperion Treatment Plant’s pressurized secondary effluent channel and connection of a new 48-inch diameter pump discharge header to the existing 60-inch diameter pressure main in Vista Del Mar, a busy highway situated between the treatment plant and the beach. The design dealt with deep vertical structures in a tight site and mitigation of construction impacts on the continuous operation of HTP and ECLWRF.
Bitter Point Pump Station, Orange County Sanitation District
LEE + RO provided planning, design, and construction phase engineering including startup/commissioning services for a $21 million, 40 mgd capacity pump station located in the City of Newport Beach adjoining the Pacific Coast Highway. The station was designed with a self-cleaning Ogee Trench wet well and is equipped with five 200 HP WEMCO Hidrostal pumps with VFDs and a 1,250 kW emergency generator. The project included a new 12kV 1,500 kVA SCE electrical service, switchgear, motor control centers, and related mechanical, instrumentation and controls and SCADA system. Design and construction challenges included a tight site located in a tidal zone with deep underground construction in soils with high liquefaction potential. The construction employed a nontraditional “Silent Piling Press-in Method.” The project also required approvals from Caltrans, California Coastal Commission, and many CEQA stakeholders.
Beachwood Force Main and Sewer Pump Station Project
The City of Burbank’s Beachwood Sewer Pump Station pumped sewage to the Burbank Water Reclamation Plant via the 18-inch diameter and 12,000 feet long Beachwood Force Main, an 18-inch cement mortar lined and coated steel force main constructed in 1972, which had recently ruptured three times causing spills. Analysis of these pipe failures showed that they were caused by external galvanic and hydrogen sulfide corrosion. LEE + RO was retained by the City to assess and replace/upsize the sewer as necessary. A total of ten different alignments were evaluated for the proposed sewer, which traveled through quiet suburban streets with concerned, construction weary residents. The evaluation also included constructability reviews, trenchless construction methods, community impacts including traffic control, sewer bypassing/diversion requirements, land/easement acquisition, and permitting requirements, construction cost estimates, and construction duration schedules for each of the pipeline segments. LEE + RO designed a 24-inch diameter HDPE pipe. The project included four trenchless segments utilizing bore and jack, pilot tube guided boring + pipe ramming, including a Union Pacific Railroad crossing and crossing of three major intersections.
The project also included design upgrades for the existing Beachwood Pump Station, which was producing a total flow of 5.9 mgd. LEE + RO provided a design for an increased pumping capacity to 7.2 mgd that included replacement of the existing pumps with new and more efficient open impeller non-clog pumps. The new pumps and force main increase the overall efficiency of the Beachwood Sewer Facilities, thus maximizing the pumping capacity to the Beachwood Water Reclamation Plant. In addition to design services, LEE + RO also provided construction management and observation throughout the course of the construction phase of this $9.5 million project.
Newhope-Placentia Trunk Sewer Replacement Project, Orange County Sanitation District
LEE + RO is providing project management, planning, engineering, and design services for an $80 million trunk sewer replacement, which is one of the Orange County Sanitation District’s (OCSD) largest collection system capital improvement projects. Engineering services include surveying, hydraulic modeling, geotechnical and underground utilities engineering, permitting, acquisition of easements and ROW, and conducting public outreach programs. The project includes new wastewater trunk sewers through the cities of Fullerton and Anaheim to upsize and replace the existing 55-year old sewer. The new replacement sewer is 38,300 feet long. It is located along State College Blvd. and varies from 36-inches to 54-inches in diameter. The new sewer is capable of handling 2040 peak wet weather flows, allows for the abandonment of the Yorba Linda Pump Station, and adds flexibility flow diversion by allowing OCSD to divert flows from Treatment Plant No. 2 to Treatment Plant No. 1 for additional water recycling. The project employed trenchless construction to cross railroads, the 91 Freeway, Craig Regional Park, and several major east-west thoroughfares. The project involves many stakeholders including the cities of Fullerton and Anaheim, Caltrans, Cal State Fullerton, US Army Corps of Engineers, and Anaheim Stadium. LEE + RO managed twelve sub-consultants for various planning and investigative tasks.