ST. ALBERT PUMP STATION

The Alberta Capital Region Wastewater Commission (ACRWC) engaged ISL in August 2008 for the design of a major rehabilitation and upgrading of their St Albert Pump Station.

Client: Alberta Capital Region Wastewater

Location: St. Albert, AB

Project Type: Water Wastewater

About This Project

The Alberta Capital Region Wastewater Commission (ACRWC) engaged ISL in August 2008 for the design of a major rehabilitation and upgrading of their St Albert Pump Station. The existing facility consists of two connected pump stations constructed in 1975 and 1990 with a combined pumping capacity (with two existing forcemains) of about 700 L/s. The upgrading is to address numerous operational concerns of the ACRWC O&M staff and to provide an immediate increase in capacity to at least 1500 L/s (in combination with a third forcemain). ISL’s assessment of the existing pump stations indicated that the 1975 “Sturgeon” pump station had significant deterioration of the concrete walls and that very limited capacity for increased flows due to available wet well volume and wet well configuration. Increasing the flows in the 1990 station would present considerable challenges as it would require replacement of the discharge piping located beneath part of the structure.

A risk assessment also indicated that extensive standby pumping would be necessary to upgrade the stations as each station would have to be taken off-line. The combination of the limited overall capacity of the upgraded facilities and the significant costs associated with a complete refurbishment of both pump stations would have meant higher overall lifecycle costs than the construction of a new pump station at the site. In May 2009, the ACRWC directed ISL to carry out the pre-design of a new pump station with a minimum design flow of 2300 L/s which would accommodate 30 years of growth within the City of St Albert and Sturgeon County. The design included the abandonment and removal of the 1975 “Sturgeon” pump station and possible joint operation between the new station and 1990 station. ISL’s evaluation of the 1990 station indicated that it was not cost-effective to utilize the station at this time and that it should be “mothballed” until additional capacity is required in approximately 2040.