Low-level pumping station keeps water flowing

Among the first steps in the project was to create a forebay, an approximate 1,160 square-meter (12,500 square foot) cavern that is 152.4 m (500 ft) beneath the pumping station. Pumps draw water from the forebay, and the water then enters the header pipe and flows through two large-diameter aqueduct systems to deliver water to two treatment plants.

The pumps, manufactured by Indar, are the deepest submersible pumps in the world. “They go all the way down each 500-foot (152.4 m) well shaft to below the waterline, rather than sit on the waterline. They push the water up the column pipe and into the header pipe, which leads to the dual aqueduct system,” Moonin said.

Valves at the pumping station are protected by12 floor-doors manufactured by The BILCO Company of New Haven, Connecticut, US. The doors are strategically placed on the project’s vaults, which house and provide access to large-diameter valves. The doors are reinforced for AASHTO H-20 wheel loading.

The lingering drought and declining water level of Lake Mead have left the SNWA with few options.

Thomas Renner is a journalist who writes on building, construction, manufacturing, and other trade industry topics.