In today’s fast-paced, data-driven world, it’s hard to imagine life without the internet, cloud services, or mobile applications. From streaming movies to shopping online, data is the lifeblood that powers everything we do digitally. But have you ever wondered where all this data lives, and how it’s made accessible to us in real-time? The answer lies in data centers and data centers come with their own water waste which must be pumped to the plant for treatment before it re-enters local streams for reuse. Data center pumping systems come with their own set of needs and requirements and the following is a review of those system types.
What is a Data Center?
At its core, a data center is a physical facility used to house computer systems, servers, networking equipment, and other infrastructure needed to store, process, and manage large amounts of data. These centers are vital to the functioning of businesses, governments, and consumers, as they support everything from email communication to cloud storage, big data analytics, and much more.
Think of a data center as the “brain” of the digital world, managing the flow of information and ensuring it’s available when and where you need it.
The Components of a Data Center
Data centers are sophisticated facilities with numerous components that work in unison to ensure data is stored safely and can be accessed quickly:
Servers: These are the high-powered computers that handle the processing and storage of data. Servers in a data center work together to store and manage the data requests that users make every day.
Networking Equipment: This includes routers, switches, and firewalls that help direct and manage data traffic. They ensure that data can move efficiently across the network to reach the correct destinations.
Power Supply: Data centers need a constant and reliable power source, so they typically have backup generators and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) to ensure uptime, even during power outages.
Cooling Systems: Since servers generate a lot of heat, data centers need extensive cooling systems to keep temperatures in check. This is often done using air-conditioning units or even water-based cooling solutions to maintain optimal operating temperatures.
Along with security and storage systems, these data centers require a lot of systems to optimize their function.
Data Center Pumping Needs
Each data center comes with its own unique pumping needs whether that involves wastewater or stormwater, data center cooling waste, or industrial process pump systems. At Romtec Utilities, we work alongside the owners or developers along with civil engineers or architects to design a pumping system that will meet the needs of the data center.
Data Center Cooling Waste
Data center cooling waste refers to the excess heat generated by servers that must be constantly cooled. Cooling the servers with water and then disposing of that water via wastewater pumping systems is often a necessary component of the data center operation.
These systems can function with standard sewer systems, or they can operate within a reuse system to meet the facility needs.
Romtec Utilities provides many types of remote monitoring and system telemetry for data center pumping systems. Depending on your preferences and cooling operations, Romtec Utilities offers telemetry configurations that range from simple alarms and lights to robust two-way communications for more integrated sites.
Pump Stations at Data Centers
Sewer, cooling waste, glycol, stormwater, and other types of water can all require a pumping system at new and existing data centers. At Romtec Utilities, we can design a pumping system that meets each of these types of water including a wastewater pump station.
Our engineering team covers the entire design of the pump station.
This includes our engineered drawings along with complete documentation that clearly lists the full scope of system components with data sheets and specifications.
Industrial process water or reuse systems could be part of the data center cooling process necessary for operation.
Our team has worked on a variety of data centers across the country, and most of these new systems require site work from one of our field technicians. Our technicians understand the requirements of working at data centers to provide system commissioning, testing, and training of personnel.
Hillsboro Data Center Lift Station
We provided a wastewater lift station for a data center in Hillsboro, Oregon for T5 Construction Services LLC who was the end owner of the project.
The civil engineer was Navix Engineering, who reached out to Romtec Utilities looking for assistance with the design of a wastewater lift station.
Romtec Utilities worked through the design for the system with Navix, including several revisions to the preliminary design. The Romtec Utilities system was specified as the basis of the design and sample drawings provided by Romtec Utilities were used in the bid plans. We provided the design, manufacture, and supply of the complete wastewater pump station along with providing commissioning and training on the system controls.
IBM Data Center Pump Station
Similarly, Romtec Utilities provided a replacement lift station for a failing wastewater system onsite at a data center.
IBM and its facility maintenance company, Fluor contacted Romtec Utilities directly to engineer a replacement wastewater lift station.
The failing infrastructure required bypass pumping through the installation of two new manholes.
Fluor and IBM needed a quick lead time to reduce the bypass pumping requirements as well as new traffic-rated manholes. Romtec Utilities was able to meet these requirements as well as the manhole requirements to give them a reliable wastewater lift station replacement that met all their needs within their timeline.
The IBM Boulder Data Center needed to replace a wastewater lift station with a new system to handle medium flows of wastewater generated at the facility.
We replace wastewater lift stations for existing data centers, where the system currently in place is showing signs of failing.
Data Center Pumping Needs
Each data center has their own specific pumping needs whether that is sewer, cooling waste, glycol, stormwater, industrial reuse, or other types of water.
At Romtec Utilities we design each pump station to meet the specific needs of that site and project while tapping into our experience working in other data centers across the country. We understand the cooling waste process and working with hot water pumping conditions which require the use of specific types of equipment to last in these environments.
To get started on your data center pump station, contact us today!
