Gorman-Rupp pumps "don’t miss a beat" for Kingston SE Council

The Kingston District Council (KDC), situated in the picturesque Limestone Coast of South Australia, has been diligently serving its community since its establishment in 1873. Over the years, it has embraced advancements in technology and infrastructure to ensure efficient and reliable service delivery, particularly in the critical domain of wastewater management.

Recently, Heath McAvaney, Regional Manager for Hydro Innovations, paid a visit to the council to discuss its wastewater pumping operations. KDC Operations Manager Colin Burnett explained the system to him.

They have 11 smaller pump stations pumping to their main station in which two Gorman-Rupp T3A60S-B sewage pumps are located, operating above-ground, allowing easy access. Burnett stated that “the Gorman-Rupp pumps do the heavy lifting at the end of the process”, pumping 800 m to settling ponds.

Burnett went on to say that “these pumps don’t miss a beat” and that “they require little maintenance”. The pumps were installed well before Burnett arrived at the council (7 years ago), and one had in fact clocked up 21,664 h of operation.

Gorman-Rupp self-priming centrifugal sewage pumps can operate on suction lifts up to 7.6 m, can deliver flows to 180 L/s with a single pump and can deliver pressures to 95 m. They can also be upgraded with Eradicator or Eradicator Plus technology to handle flows with heavy concentrations of stringy materials such as rags, wet wipes and matted hair.

These pumps have been employed in sewage pumping stations and sewage treatment plants around the world for decades. Being located above the ground makes them easy and safe to access for monitoring or maintenance.

Burnett joked to McAvaney that the long life of the pumps is great for him and the council, but not so good for McAvaney’s pump sales.