Case Study 09.2014“New Sewage” Necessitates
New Innovation
Clogs in the Raynham, MA sewage system lead to developmentof advanced product technology from Gorman-Rupp
Located approximately 32 miles southof Boston, the Town of Raynham,
Massachusetts (population 13,383)
is a suburban community that also
boasts a strong commercial base.
As such, Raynham deals with theeveryday difficulties typical of many
similar sized communities in theUnited States—including sewer
system problems.
The sewer department of Raynham has 4,240
customers and encompasses 75 miles of sewerline. Raynham presently has 27 lift stations in its
municipal sewage system. Currently, the town ispreparing to add additional lift stations to help serve
the growing community.

The Problem
The past two decades have seen the dawn and daily
use of nonwoven wipes in ever-increasing numbers.
A multibillion-dollar business globally, a wide variety
of nonwoven wipes are marketed in the U.S and aredesigned for personal hygiene and child care use, as
well as for disinfecting and cleaning. Nonwoven wipes
are especially useful in hospitals and long-term carefacilities, having become a vital component in daily
routine patient care.
While some of these wipes are designed to be flushed(as indicated by the manufacturer on the packaging),
the vast majority of nonwoven wipes are not flushable© 2014 The Gorman-Rupp Company

This below-ground lift station is one of the 27
stations in Raynham affected by nonwoven“flushable” wipes.
and ideally should be disposed of in the trash. However,consumers and health care workers have taken theconvenience aspect of these wipes to heart and flush
the wipes, rather than throw them in trash or solidwaste bins, regardless of the manufacturers’ intent. This
has lead to the creation of the term “new sewage.”“New sewage” refers to the increasing amount of solid
debris—such as many varieties of nonwoven wipes—
that finds its way into the sewage system. New sewage,
according to experts, is responsible for a host of sewage
system problems, including sewer backups, and pump
breakdowns and overflows. Focusing specifically on
the role of nonwoven wipes in this dirty situation, thecircumstances are that the wipes do not degrade andbreak down fast enough or sufficiently enough fromthe time they enter the sewage system to the time theyencounter the sewage pump. The wet wipes bunch
together with other random solids and semi-solids

1Hayes Pump and its experienced, knowledgeable
representative, Gerry Nye, to troubleshoot the issues.
Hayes Pump has worked with the Town of Raynham
since 1989 when the town’s first Gorman-Rupp liftstation was installed, and Nye was well informed as
to the town’s sewer system configuration and liftstations. Hayes Pump worked closely with sewer
department officials to determine the town’s sewage
pumping needs. Through the years with the assistanceof Hayes Pump, the sewer department expanded thetown’s sewer system to 27 lift stations, 24 of whichwere fitted with Gorman-Rupp equipment.

The Solution

One of the 24 lift stations equipped with a selfcleaning wear plate, this base-mounted station
has seen clogging drastically reduced.
creating clumps that can clog the sewer system anddisrupt pump operation.
In the ensuing years since the rise in popularity
of nonwoven wipes, the Town of Raynham began
experiencing sewage pump clogging problems. The
clogging issues were so disruptive and so frequent
that two to four of the 27 total pump stations wereaffected every week. Raynham’s sewer department
was spending a substantial amount of money on
the clogging problem. Every individual problem
required two to three man-hours in travel timeand maintenance to remedy. The alarms signaling
clogging issues sounded day and night, each alarm
requiring immediate attention by sewer department
personnel, regardless of the hour. As a result, the Townof Raynham was spending more money in overtime
than what they had previously budgeted.
For help in finding a solution to the continuous
clogging problems, Raynham’s sewer department
called on the expertise of long time distributor

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After being contacted by Raynham sewer department
officials, Nye consulted with his Gorman-Rupp District
Manager who immediately began working with theresearch and technology staff at Gorman-Rupp todevise a solution to the Town of Raynham’s problem.
Gorman-Rupp’s goal was to respond to the customer’s
problem with an immediate, economical solution that
could be implemented quickly in the field.
Within days, Gorman-Rupp offered a solution tothe clogging problem in Raynham—a self-cleaningwear plate.
The new, proprietary design of the self-cleaning wear
plate allows for peak pumping efficiency while, at thesame time, shedding the solids of new sewage thatlead to clogging. The self-cleaning wear plate is alsoeasily installed in the field.
In the case of the Town of Raynham, the new
Gorman-Rupp self-cleaning wear plates wereinstalled in several lift station pumps. The sewer
department indicated clogging problems diminishedfrom weekly incidences to an occurrence only once
every six or eight months. Personnel overtime
expenses dropped dramatically, easing the strain on
the sewage department’s budget.
Having solved the sewer clogging issues with theassistance of Hayes Pump and Gorman-Rupp, the Townof Raynham continues preparations for additional
lift stations to accommodate the community’srequirements. Based on the quality and dependabilityof the products and the responsiveness of the sales© 2014 The Gorman-Rupp Company

and technology teams, Raynham chose Gorman-Rupp
ReliaSource® lift stations for the new installations.

About the ProductThe Gorman-Rupp self-cleaning wear plate functionsin the same manner as a standard wear plate: the wear
plate is a replaceable component installed adjacent toa rotating open or semi-open impeller. The axial space
between the stationary wear plate and the rotating
impeller is called the face clearance and is held to atight tolerance to reduce recirculation.
Available in cast iron, hard iron, stainless steel
CD4MCu (cast duplex stainless steel alloy), or stainlesssteel 316, the wear plate is offered individually or in afull assembly.

About The Gorman-Rupp Company
The Gorman-Rupp Company is a leading manufacturerof pumps and pumping systems for the municipal, water,
wastewater, sewage, industrial, construction, petroleum
and OEM markets. Pumps include self-priming
centrifugal, standard centrifugal, submersible, trash,

In working with Gerry Nye and Hayes Pump,
the Town of Raynham chose Gorman-Rupp
ReliaSource® lift stations for all new installations.
priming assisted and rotary gear pumps. In addition,
The Gorman-Rupp Company manufactures a completeline of packaged lift stations and booster stations, which
include pumps, motors, controls, piping, accessories andenclosures. The company prides itself on manufacturing
and delivering the right pump for the job.

GORMAN-RUPP PUMPS | P.O. BOX 1217 | MANSFIELD, OHIO 44901-1217 | USA | 419.755.1011 | GRSALES@GORMANRUPP.COM | GRPUMPS.COM23

© 2014 The Gorman-Rupp Company