Projects

Main Pumping Station at the Richmond Wastewater Treatment Plant

Richmond, Virginia
United States
Richmond, Virginia

Greeley and Hansen, A TYLin Company, performed facilities planning, final design and construction services for the City of Richmond’s original wastewater treatment plant, the Main Pumping Station, and nine upgrades over the last seven decades.

The Main Pumping Station includes four pumping units, ranging in capacity from 30 MGD to 55 MGD, with a combined firm capacity of 140 MGD. The Richmond Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) receives inflow from a Combined Sewer System (CSS) with average day weather flows of 45 MGD to peak wet weather flows of 140 MGD.  

The pump control system has been updated recently by Greeley and Hansen to allow the WWTP peak wet weather flow rate to be increased by 156%, from 90 MGD to 140 MGD, which has resulted in a major increase in plant effluent water quality and complies with CSS long term goals and VPDES Permit Requirements.  

The Pump Control system is also designed to allow the upstream 57 MG storage basins to be dewatered, within about 24 hours after each storm event, to reduce potential CSO impacts on the James River.  

Additional pumping station improvements included two sludge gas engine drives and two electric motor driven pumps. These upgrades included removal of 2 gas engines, 2 new high efficiency electric motors with AFD medium voltage drive units to improve the capability of the existing pumps to handle higher peak flows while maintaining plant effluent quality and new PLC pump controls.

Richmond, Virginia

Project Highlights: 

  • Pumping station facility planning, design and construction services through successive upgrades 
  • Maintaining existing pump operations during critical pump replacement upgrades 
  • Construction sequencing to manage bypass pump needs 
  • Maintenance of wastewater treatment plant operations to handle peak wet weather flows during construction