In the Guard Shack project, Georgia Pacific Camas came to Romtec Utilities for the supply of a stormwater pump station to meet increased requirements of the Washington State Department of Ecology (WDOE).

Georgia Pacific is a national paper goods manufacturer that currently owns the paper mill in Camas, Washington. The water, waste, and cleanup activities at the paper mill site are regulated by the WDOE to ensure that hazardous wastes do not end up in the nearby Columbia River (“Georgia Pacific, Camas”, n.d.). After review of the stormwater at Georgia Pacific Camas’ South Mill Entrance, it was reclassified from normal to industrial stormwater, and therefore needed to be collected for treatment. The topography of the area prevented the South Mill Entrance storm water from being gravity fed into the existing mill collection system, and therefore required a pump station to ensure the stormwater could be properly collected by the main system and sent out for appropriate treatment.

Romtec Utilities supplied Georgia Pacific with a lift station that would meet their needs. The lift station collects stormwater runoff into a precast concrete 6’ inner diameter wet well that is 12.66’ in depth. At the bottom of the wet well, two Ebara 3 horsepower submersible pumps alternate to pump the water through 4” discharge piping and valves to the mill collection system. The pumps are controlled by an alternator relay control panel that receives water level signals from four NOLTA MS1 floats inside of the wet well. For protection, the controls are housed in a NEMA 4X Stainless Steel enclosure.

Romtec Utilities worked directly with Georgia Pacific Camas to design and supply the lift station and meet the requirements of the WDOE. Georgia Pacific’s crew performed installation of the lift station, and Romtec Utilities was able to perform a successful startup and commission of the station. The effort of everyone involved and the prompt action of Georgia Pacific will protect the Columbia River from hazardous runoff and makes another step towards reducing environmental harm from production facilities.

Georgia Pacific, Camas. ecology.wa.gov. Retrieved 31 August 2021, from https://ecology.wa.gov/Regulations-Permits/Permits-certifications/Industrial-facilities-permits/Georgia-Pacific-Camas.