Beginning With The End In Mind: Operator Centric Sps Renewals – Laurence Marano and Regan Ridgway

The City of Logan is experiencing significant growth with greenfield expansion and brownfield gentrification straining existing assets for Logan Water. This has necessitated numerous renewals projects. Typical renewals projects are often perceived as being required for one of two reasons, either: equivalent replacement of an element at the end of it’s design life; or an upgrade to increase capacity. However, we must not neglect the opportunity renewals projects present to reassess the site circumstances to incorporate safety, operability, and accessibility improvements.

We’ve challenged the status quo of the conventional renewal design process by emphasizing beginning with the end in mind. Engagement with local operations and maintenance colleagues is the catalyst to understanding what’s important during routine and emergent maintenance activities and subsequently where to target design effort. The insight of operators allows for smart and safer solutions that directly addresses concerns of the end user.

This case study highlights operator centric functional improvements delivered at recent wastewater pump station renewals sites including:

  • Pump replacement to minimise blockages, inefficiencies and callouts.
  • Improved accessibility to pump station components through considered lifting and cover openings.
  • Consideration of asset placement due to climate change flood levels.
  • Review of redundancy measures including bypass operations.
  • Improved cable routing.
  • Self-cleansing overflow screens.

Authors

  • Laurence Marano, Associate Civil Engineer, Logan Water Partnership (WSP)
  • Regan Ridgway, Civil Engineer, Logan Water Partnership (WSP)