Light Regional Council installs solution to solve a pumping problem

Located North of Adelaide in South Australia, the Light Regional Council is responsible for the wastewater treatment systems in its location. The Waste Operations Coordinator, Adam Broadbent, and his team were having ongoing problems with their submersible pumps at the Kapunda CWMS treatment plant.

Broadbent advised Hydro Innovations that his team struggled to perform maintenance on the pumps as they weighed over 100 kg each and sat at the bottom of a 4 m-deep tank. He said that this was problematic from a logistical and work health and safety (WHS) perspective. On top of this, the submersible pumps were only lasting five to eight years.

After reviewing the application, engineers at Hydro Innovations recommended that the council move to a Gorman-Rupp self-priming wastewater pump so that operators could have easy access to the pump, without the need for lifting devices. The company also recommended that the council try the Eradicator version of its Gorman-Rupp Super T series of wastewater pump to minimise the chances of blockages by stringy materials such as rags and wet wipes.

The council then proceeded to purchase and install the pump.

During a “post-commissioning” check (performed by Hydro Innovations after all newly purchased pump-sets have been installed), the Hydro Regional Manager for South Australia met up with Ryan Steklin from the council. Steklin has the responsibility of keeping everything going and said he was “pleased the pump eliminated many OH&S problems associated with the submersible pumps and means we don’t have to lift the heavy pumps out of the tank to replace or perform maintenance on”. He also said that it “allowed us to frequently check the pump performance because it is easy to do so”.

Gorman-Rupp wastewater pumps are suitable for municipalities and general industry to replace submersible pumps to improve access and safety for operators. They are available in a range of sizes to suit flows from 4 L/s through to 200 L/s, so can be retrofitted into most wet wells.