This project was for a community in Anchorage, Alaska, called Eagle River, that had experienced flooding issues to personal property over the years. The community required a stormwater lift station with a stepped down wet well. Flooding became a problem due to freeze-thaw weather conditions and poor surface drainage. The site of the housing development also made the project difficult due to many existing utilities and a very tight construction site. The Public Works Eagle River Street Maintenance needed to install a stormwater lift station to deal with the stormwater runoff from these various factors.

Romtec Utilities was able to design, manufacture, and supply a housing development stormwater lift station that solved the flooding issues. Included in the design of the pump system was a “stepped” down wet well ID going from 12′ ID at the bottom and then reduced to 8′ ID closer to the finish grade. This was due to the various existing utilities and the amount of available space underground.

Anchorage, Alaska is the largest city in the state and situated on the southern coast along the Cook Inlet.

The city has some prominent attractions including Alaska Native Heritage Center, Thunderbird Falls, and Arctic Valley Ski Area.

Eagle River is a suburb or community within the Municipality of Anchorage. The Eagle River flows through the community.

Eagle River sits between Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Chugach State Park. Many people from the base live in the community of Eagle River.

Many years back, a flood caused damage to nearby residents’ property in Eagle River, Alaska. Later on, drainage work included installing two 36” pipes leading to the state drainage system along the Glenn Highway.

Rodney P. Kinney Associates, Inc reached out to Romtec Utilities for assistance with the design and supply of a stormwater lift station for the residential development that flooded, as freeze thaw weather and surface effluence was still creating flooding issues. Rodney P. Kinney Associates, Inc provides engineering services based in Anchorage, Alaska.

The existing development was built in the late 1970s and early 1980s and had issues with flooding during storm events.

To mitigate flooding, the Public Works Eagle River Street Maintenance wanted to install a stormwater lift station. However, there were many underground utilities that made the stormwater lift station tough to navigate, but Romtec Utilities was able to deliver a system that solved the flooding issues.

The lift station receives flows from gravity storm drains and pumps to an existing vault. Flows will then gravity feed to a treatment system. There is an existing stormwater bypass on-site sized for the 100-year storm event. The design pumping rate is 4.8cfs, draining from an area of about 30 acres.

If the whole station was 12 feet diameter, it would have interfered with existing utilities and jutted out into the sidewalk and/or road. A stormwater lift station with stepped down wet well can be a solution for certain developments dealing with various utilities or tight site locations.

This neighborhood stormwater lift station with stepped down wet well was able to fit in the tight underground space and solve the flooding issues.

The design of the lift station included a “stepped” down wet well ID going from 12′ ID at the bottom and then reduced to 8′ ID closer to the finish grade.

Romtec Utilities worked on planning and coordination of delivery so that the system was installed during the dry season to avoid groundwater issues during excavation.

The ability to work with a local precaster, D&C Concrete, and include them in the design of the wet well significantly reduced the shipping costs.

The stormwater lift station featured duplex 15hp Ebara submersible pumps, primary controller PC300x, a backup controller DPC-4F, primary level sensing E&H FMX21 pressure transducer, secondary level sensing (2) NOLTA MS1 Floats. The SCADA system was a pumpwatch cellular autodialer.

A stepped down wet well stormwater lift station could be what your development needs in order to deliver the project despite existing utilities.

McKenna Brothers Paving Company installed the stormwater lift station on behalf of the City of Anchorage. McKenna Brothers Paving Company is a paving company based in Anchorage, Alaska.

At Romtec Utilities we design, manufacture, and supply community stormwater lift stations or residential development stormwater pump stations that meet the needs of the project, site, and local codes.

Romtec Utilities was pleased to provide this stormwater lift station for the City of Anchorage for the Eagle River community that was dealing with these flooding issues. With the new pumping system in place, flooding on residents’ personal property is no longer an issue. We were able to work with them on their timelines for the delivery, along with working with a local precaster to help with shipping cost.

Being able to deliver a pump station in a tight site with various utilities made this a challenging project, but we were able to utilize a wet well with a stepped down design to meet the project’s needs.

If you need a lift station for your development for flooding or runoff, contact us today at Romtec Utilities.

This stormwater lift station with stepped down wet well was able to solve the issues related to the existing utilities and a tight project site.