Case
Pressurised wastewater transfer protects an environmentally sensitive area in Sweden
This has been a challenging project for us; we require a solution that meets the increasing demands placed on us as a private homeowners’ association while remaining manageable and operable for us. The Grundfos solution more than meets these requirements
The Kållands Vatten & Avloppsförening (Kållands Water and Wastewater Association, a homeowners’ association) located in Lidköping, Sweden, recently embarked on a much-needed upgrade of their wastewater transport system. Grundfos was chosen as supplier and consultant for the refurbishment project, delivering Prefabricated Pumping Stations (PPS) for private homes with SEG AUTO adapt grinder pumps and communication as well as large SLV wastewater pumps at network pumping stations.
THE SITUATION
To meet the challenges of refurbishing a wastewater transport system, the homeowners’ association required a solution that met the demands from the municipality and their own requirements for management and operability. The refurbishment covered 16 private housing areas in the Kålland and Kållandsö, Lidköping area.
Grundfos was chosen, because the pumping station and pumping solution removed complexity from the installation. The installation of the pumping station is straightforward, pumps do not require additional sensors, communication and alarms are sent directly to mobile phones via sms messages, and the price was right.
Drawing on local, Nordic and global expertise, there were no delays in the pressurised system design process; plans and maps for the network pumping stations, mains and private pipelines and the private pumping stations were always delivered on time. Grundfos fulfilled the consultancy requirements of the homeowners’ association, ensured compliance with the municipality and enabled the homeowners’ association’s contractors to keep to their schedule.
Representatives from the homeowners’ association visited Grundfos in Denmark to see pump and installation possibilities as well as receive necessary instruction in the pumping solutions. In addition to building confidence in the solution, the visit also inspired the visitors in other ways. For example, the addition of storage housing and concrete plates for automation equipment were initiatives from the homeowners’ association that followed this visit.
THE SOLUTION
The solution presented by Grundfos included pumping stations, pumps, other equipment, consultancy and installation, commissioning and yearly maintenance in accordance with the Service Agreement between Grundfos and the homeowners’ association.
A total of 465 standard PPS with well pits in polyethylene are to be installed at private homes with SEG AUTOadapt grinder pumps. This is a standard Grundfos solution for pressurised pumping from private homes. A communication solution using Grundfos Communication Interface Units (CIU) is installed, where alarms and consumption figures are sent directly to the home owner via sms messages. There are 11 larger PPS, each with a diameter of 1000 mm and two SEG AUTOadapt pumps installed with the same solution using CIU communication.
With AUTOadapt built into the SEG grinder pumps, external sensors and pump control is not necessary and this solution was very attractive to the homeowners’ association. Usually, Grundfos Remote Management for a complete remote monitoring and surveillance would be considered, however the CIU communication solution with alarms and consumption figures sent via sms messages met the requirements of the homeowners’ association.
In addition, five network pumping stations with powerful SLV wastewater pumps and Dedicated Controls collect from the private pumping stations. These PPS vary from 1600 mm to 2000 mm in diameter and are made of fibreglass.
Dedicated Controls is a wastewater control solution from Grundfos that ensures optimum pump network management for collection of wastewater from private homes and transport onwards to the municipal wastewater treatment plant. Alarms and reports from the network pumping stations are sent directly to the homeowners association.
The consultancy supplied by Grundfos shows the strength of the model of project support used by Grundfos, with Grundfos Sweden able to draw on the expertise available from the ‘cluster’ of Grundfos companies in the Nordic area and the Grundfos Water Utility competency centre. This is a flexible organisation, ensuring a perfect fit between local, regional and global expertise.
An example is the application of computer modelling at an early stage of the project design process. The SIMPS tool developed by Grundfos in cooperation with the Danish Hydraulic Institute (DHI) was used for sizing pumps, piping and pumping stations. Pump sizing tools available on Grundfos.com, pressurised network simulation, and other software tools were also used.
With all holes dug and well pits and piping in place, Grundfos has begun installing the pumps ‘from the back’, starting with the network pumping stations closest to the municipal wastewater treatment plant and ending with the SEG AUTOadapt grinder pumps at the household. The first network pumping station has been started up, as part of the Service Contract with Grundfos. The Service Agreement includes yearly maintenance on all private and network pumping stations.
THE OUTCOME
This is the first direct cooperation with a homeowners’ association in Sweden, where Grundfos provides full consultancy and supplies pumps and equipment. When the homeowners’ association’s contractors were ready to dig, a major launch event was held in November 2013 to kick-off the much needed upgrade. Some homeowners in the 16 private housing areas were already using the new wastewater pumping facilities just a couple of months later, and final installations are expected to be completed during 2014.
Usually, Grundfos works with municipalities, where there is a contractor between Grundfos and the homeowners’ association. However, municipalities are increasing their environmental demands while pushing greater responsibilities – also financial – onto homeowners’ associations, who then seek solutions that meet environmental criteria set by the municipality and operational criteria manageable locally at a price they can live with.
Now that Grundfos is working closely with the Kålland homeowners’ association, the neighbours are talking. This has aroused the interest of other homeowners’ associations who want to hear about Grundfos solutions. For example, a neighbouring municipality is currently digging pits for 187 standard PPS, with SEG AUTOadapt pumps to be installed later. This project has the potential to grow to 650 PPS, with the possibility of network PPS also.
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