Rincon Point in Carpinteria, California

Project Details:

The Beachside community of Rincon Point in Carpinteria, CA recently converted over 70 homes from aging septic systems to municipal sewer. This project took nearly 15 years to get approved from concept to completion. Romtec Utilities provided the new lift station to handle the sewage and pump it to the wastewater treatment facilities of the Carpinteria Sanitary District.

In 1998, surfers complained that the famed Rincon Point Beach was causing surfers to be ill. A subsequent study funded by a nonprofit group called Heal the Ocean and Santa Barbara County found that high water caused the timeworn septic systems from the Rincon Point Community to leach septic water into the ocean. What followed was a 15-year-long effort to negotiate impact studies, lawsuits, permits, local politics, and a final approval process with Caltrans (the California State Highway Department).

The final project called for new home sewer pumping systems to replace the existing septic systems. These individual systems would pump a few hundred feet to a patch of county land where a new large lift station would be constructed. The lift station would then pump the sewage from the entire community through a newly constructed force main installed up the California Highway 101 to the existing county wastewater treatment facility.

Documentation:

Romtec Utilities Scope of Work:

Romtec Utilities worked with Penfield and Smith to design the new lift station within the total project scope. Penfield and Smith provided the sewage flow requirements for the lift station from the individual home pumping systems as well as, elevations, electrical and control requirements, communication requirements, and all other lift station design criteria. Working with the provided criteria, Romtec Utilities designed a lift station that would meet approval of Penfield and Smith, the project engineer, and the Carpinteria Sanitary District, the end owner.

The complete lift station system was very comprehensive. It included the complete pumping system with all the associated mechanical and electrical systems, such as pumps and level sensing devices. It included a prefabricated valve vault for the discharge piping, control valves, force main junction, and all other associate mechanical components. An overflow storage tank was designed with the wet well for emergency flow scenarios. Romtec Utilities also designed and supplied a concrete block control building to locate the control panel, backup generator, above-grade electrical components, and an odor control system.

Romtec worked with Tierra Contracting to supply all the components within their construction schedule. The lift station delivery and installation needed to integrate with the installation of a new inlet line from the houses and a new force main to the sewage treatment plant. This included deliveries of the below-grade structural and mechanical as well as the above-grade systems and the control building. Even with a large system. Romtec Utilities provides experience and expertise throughout the complete design and delivery of lift station systems.

After the lift station and control building were installed, Romtec Utilities provided onsite start-up and testing for the lift station. This process officially commissioned the system and demonstrated its functionality and operation procedures. During the start-up, the Romtec Utilities technician trained the operation staff of the Carpinteria Sanitary District while providing complete operation and maintenance documentation for the system. After the start-up, a full system warranty was provided for the lift station. In the end, this lift station and the associated sewer system helped remove failing septic systems in order to improve the environmental conditions at Rincon Point Beach.