The City of Shafter, CA needed to repair or replace an existing lift station that was on the verge of failing. There was not enough funding for a complete lift station replacement, so the City contacted Romtec Utilities to see what could be done to retrofit the system. Romtec Utilities provides complete repair and retrofit service for pump and lift stations to save owners money.
Within a couple of weeks, Romtec Utilities sent a field technician to the N. Schnaidt pump station to meet with utility personnel from the City. Working together, the City crew and the Romtec Utilities technician completed a review of all the existing lift station components. Romtec Utilities completes similar evaluations of every repair and retrofit project to define a clear criteria of work and establish the necessary steps for a successful retrofit.
For the City of Shafter, the review established that the wet well and valve vault concrete structures were still in good condition at the N. Schnaidt lift station. Having reliable structural components eliminates a substantial amount of construction requirements. By cleaning and refurbishing the existing concrete vault and well, a retrofit process would help the City get a fully functional lift station at a fraction of the cost of a replacement.
The mechanical and electrical lift station components were out of date. The City personnel and Romtec Utilities technician determined the best solution would involve removing and replacing the existing mechanical and electrical systems.
While onsite, the Romtec Utilities technician gathered all of the necessary measurements and specifications required to create a complete plan set drawing of the retrofit.
Based on the dimensions and information collected from the site visit, Romtec Utilities engineered a complete plan set for the retrofit project with our in-house mechanical and electrical engineering experts. The plan set showed the new lift station mechanical, new pumps, new electrical systems, and new communications equipment. The new components and systems were engineered to both meet the City pumping and communication requirements and be installed within the existing wet well and valve vault structures.
Romtec Utilities provided the detailed retrofit plans to the City for review and approval. This process was fast because Romtec Utilities worked with the City to understand its goals and standards for the N. Schnaidt lift station. Once the plans were approved, Romtec Utilities manufactured and supplied the prefabricated retrofit package in a few short weeks for City of Shafter contractors to install.
After the installation was completed, Romtec Utilities performed start-up, testing, and training for the retrofitted system. “As built” and operation and maintenance documentation for the retrofitted lift station were also provided during the start-up and training.
By choosing to work with Romtec Utilities, the City of Shafter got a fully functional lift station at a substantially reduced price tag than a lift station replacement. Projects like the N. Schnaidt retrofit project led the City of Shafter to create a standard approach for lift station retrofits based off of the Romtec Utilities process. This process is how cities and pump station owners across the United States can get long-term retrofit solutions that save money and that are fully warrantied.