Case Study 02.2018

Evolving with
Wastewater Demands
New Pumping Technology Helps City Keep Up with
Changing System Requirements
Beaufort is a major population center
situated in the Hilton Head IslandBeaufort Micropolitan area in a region
known as South Carolina’s Lowcountry.
The scenic community is known for its
natural beauty as well as its historicalarchitecture and military establishments,
which include the Marine Corps
Beaufort Air Station and Parris Island
Recruitment Depot. Southern Living
magazine named the city “Best Small
Southern Town,” and American Style lists
it among the country’s “Top 25 Small
City Arts Destinations.” As Beaufort’s
recognition increases, so do theresponsibilities of the Beaufort-Jasper
Water and Sewage Authority (BJWSA)
planners who need to ensure the city’ssystems keep pace with growth.
Despite the city’s permanent population of only 13,000,
the demands on the wastewater system are formidable.
The greater area boasts nearly 125,000 residents, while
the military presence and bourgeoning retail andtourist trades mean a significant transient population.
Beaufort is largely flat, with an elevation only slightly© 2018 Gorman-Rupp Pumps

From left to right: Todd Ritchie, municipal
sales engineer for TenCarva Machinery Co.;Frank Emminger, general manager for DuPriest
Construction; Joe DeVito, BJWSA director offield operations; and Robert Horner, principal
for HEG Eng. Consultants.
above sea level. Without the assistance of a natural
grade to assist system flows, most everything in thecomplex sewage network requires pumping. Wet wells
must be relatively shallow in the island geography, andlines to the treatment facility often cross bridges andcauseways. All these factors mean a significant numberof sewage lift stations service a relatively small area.
Regulating the capacity of the sewage systems hererequires a close synchronization of engineering talent
with technology and professional relationships.

The Bay Street Station
In 1973, then city of Beaufort’s Chief Operator and later
Utilities Director Frank Emminger recognized early1

on careful planning and attention to detail wererequired to meet the area’s challenges. Calling on theapplication expertise of Tencarva Machinery Co., it all
began with the installation of a series of lift stations
that included the Bay Street station. The latter project
was not only the deepest in the city, but was also
challenged with handling a significant amount ofwastewater for the city.
With a wet well nearly 19 ft deep, the Bay Streetstation incorporated Gorman-Rupp T Series 6-in. selfpriming pumps. An auxiliary Wisconsin LPG engine
was incorporated that turned on and kept the system
pumping in the event of a power loss. According
to Emminger, the auto-start technology was “anincredible innovation. It carried us through more thana few storms.”

Innovative Thinking
Decades after Emminger flipped the switch on theoriginal Bay Street station, the station began tohave difficulty handling the increasing flow, and acosteffective solution was sought. Even though thestation was among the first pump systems used by thecity to feed its first treatment facility, it had managed
nonstop operations up until that point, requiring only
basic maintenance over the years.
“We found ourselves needing to address a wetweather
flow problem with the station. It simply could not keep
up with flow during rain events,” said Todd Ritchie, a
distributor’s representative with Tencarva Machinery.
“At that time, we shared information with Frank
Emminger and Joe DeVito, BJWSA director of field
operations, about Gorman-Rupp’s newly developed
technology—parallel/series pumping.”
An interim solution was implemented: a parallel/series
pipe configuration that still allowed the city to run thestation’s pumps in parallel during normal conditions,but when necessary, a valve connecting the dischargeof one pump to the suction of the other could beopened to allow the pumps to run in series. As thesecond pump came on, performance was maximized
for times of unusually high flows.
“Very quickly, we saw the benefits that could beapplied to the situation,” DeVito said. With a single

2

To address the wet-weather flow problem, aparallel/series pipe configuration was installedthat allowed the city to run the station’s pumps
in parallel during normal conditions. Whennecessary, a valve connecting the discharge of
one pump to the suction of the other could beopened to allow the pumps to run in series.
pipe modification, nearly 15 years of new life wasadded to the station. In effect, from a technology
standpoint, the parallel/series technology allowed
Beaufort’s Bay Street station to enjoy not only anextended life but also new and previously unforeseenopportunities. Later, by integrating more newtechnologies into their gravity system, Beaufort
virtually eliminated inflows and infiltrations, freeing
up more capacity within the system.

Starting Anew
More than 36 years after the Bay Street station wasoriginally installed, and with 15 years of enhanced
performance made available to the BJWSA engineering
team, the system has undergone a landmark rebuild.
The Bay Street station has been redesigned toaccommodate a mixed-use scenario.
Bay Street itself is a major downtown thoroughfare
and home to the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park.
With no less than 10 restaurants within an eightminute walk, many businesses create significant
wastewater that flows to the station. Additionally, justoutside the area lies a sizeable residential area with a© 2014 ©
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Gorman-Rupp
Gorman-Rupp
CompanyPumps

pump station rehabilitation project by performing
hydraulic modeling to verify the operational
requirements for the pumping package under various
conditions. HEG’s background in municipal wastewater
made it an ideal candidate to work with the BJWSA
operational staff, along with Gorman-Rupp andTencarva Machinery, to verify conditions and establish
operational parameters.
After evaluating the situation, the authority recognizedthat smaller pumps now were suitable for theapplication, ironically yielding a higher flow as a resultof technology advancements.

Old versus new. One of the old pumps fromthe original Bay Street station was in service
for over 36 years.
light commercial addition. Originally, when the Bay
Street station was built, it met the needs of a simpler
residential community.
“We’re not required to pump more gallons per minute,”
DeVito said. “We’re required to pump more throughout
the day.”
During the 15-year service life extension achieved withparallel/series pumping, trenchless technology—aswell as gravity system technology—has advanced
considerably. With state-of-the-art controls andengineering, the new station includes Super T
Series 4-in. self-priming pumps and a liquid-cooled
LPG Zenith auxiliary engine drive featuring thelatest Tier II technology available for meeting U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency regulations. Usingsimilar advancements to those found in automotiveengines, a four-cylinder LPG engine now can generateconsiderably more horsepower than in the past. Thestation also features the parallel/series engineering thatwas so vital in the previous design.
The Engineering and Operations divisions at BJWSA
asked HEG Eng. to provide design assistance with the23“The pumps are better, more efficient and we enjoyed alittle cost savings in the rehab as well,” DeVito said. “Andthis also frees up more room, as the pumps today aresmaller than the 6-in. kit of 15 years prior.”“I don’t think there’s another horizontal self-priming
pump out there that’s easier to work on and to teachpeople to work on,” Emminger said. “Simplicity comesto mind with regard to routine maintenance andrepairs. None of us can control what goes through asewer line, but Gorman-Rupp pumps can consistently
pass 3-in. solids—and from our experience, sometimes
even larger objects. Hands down, there’s not an easierpump to disassemble.”

Convenience in Design
Design updates to the new lift station include a backdoor to the station. Originally built with a single
manway door, the new design incorporates a hidden
double-width door to allow for easier and safer access
way to the new pumps.
“Without the double-door design, the only way wecould get the new technology into the station would
have involved removing the roof,” DeVito said. “Thedouble-sided doors around the back side offered thebest advantage. The existing building is a little tight,
and this design further offers a much safer and more
comfortable work area for the mechanics working on
the station in the future.”Now, with more than 400 pump stations in the BJWSA
system, safety remains essential. “Some of the quarters© 2014 ©
The2018
Gorman-Rupp
Gorman-Rupp
CompanyPumps

can get extremely tight. As a result, we’ve asked ouroperators over the past 10 years for suggestions
on how we can make the BJWSA’s operations safer,
and what is needed to make it easier to work on thetechnology,” DeVito said. BJWSA standards, in responseto operator input, allow for a 24-in. clearance between
the pump or any other unit inside the building andthe wall. Through adjustments like floor-mounting
controls toward the center of the building—rather thanmounting them on walls—the authority’s personnel areprovided with ample space to kneel down and shuffle
around while servicing equipment.
“This new design not only brings in moremaneuverability, but also allows for more natural lightduring day operation of the station,” DeVito added.

A Team Effort
The team effort between Tencarva, HEG, the cityof Beaufort’s engineers and Gorman-Rupp wasexceptionally beneficial.
“The ideas Tencarva and Gorman-Rupp brought
forward allowed everyone to come together to provide
a solution to an interim problem without investing
additional dollars,” Emminger said. “Salespeople sellsomething new. These partners were there to help us
find the right solution.”

stations and maintained them for an entire career,”
DeVito said. “Knowing that he now has the opportunity
to rehab that original station and bring it back to
its original condition—if not better than when heoriginally turned it on—is rewarding. Because heflipped the switch on the original station, he’ll be theperson to flip that switch again to turn it back on. It
doesn’t get any better than that.”
Upon completion of the Bay Street location, several
additional station rehabs have been awarded to both
HEG and DuPriest. The last two of these were part of theoriginal 1973 installations.
“There is absolutely a strong sense of pride in themechanical side of our progress at Beaufort, but there’s
the human side of our success that goes throughgenerations as well,” DeVito said. “We’re watching one
generation develop and define best practices and thenturn it over to the new generation.”
The Tencarva team concurs: “Because of thisrelationship, we’ve been allowed to solve problems insuch a way that really adds value,” Ritchie said.

About The Gorman-Rupp Company

Since his retirement from the city of Beaufort in the late
1990s, Emminger has gone on to become the generalmanager of the Beaufort County contractor that wasawarded the Bay Street lift station rebuild. As a result,Emminger has once again become an integral part ofthe planning.

The Gorman-Rupp Company is a leading manufacturerof pumps and pumping systems for the municipal,water, wastewater, sewage, industrial, construction,
petroleum and OEM markets. The company’s
Engineered Systems operation also manufactures afull line of water pressure booster stations including
pumps, motors, valves and controls – all housed inweather-proof fiberglass enclosures – meeting about
any municipal water supply need.

“To Frank [Emminger], these stations are a good partof his life. He was very dedicated and treated the lift

Ultimately, Gorman-Rupp 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4© 2014 ©
The2018
Gorman-RuppGorman-Rupp
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