Most people never see a pump station or consider the work required to build one. Fortis Siteworks has decades of experience constructing and rehabilitating wastewater infrastructure across Georgia, including work on hundreds of pump stations.
A pump station moves wastewater when the ground does not slope enough for it to flow naturally. Wastewater collects in a deep underground structure called a wet well. When it reaches a certain level, pumps turn on and push it through a pressurized pipe, known as a force main, toward a treatment facility.
“Your sewage is going somewhere, but it isn’t going to flow uphill,” said a longtime Fortis utility leader with more than 30 years of pump station experience. “You have to have the pump stations to send it up the hill and get it to the plant.”
Each pump station requires coordination across clearing and grading, deep excavation, underground piping, valve vaults, concrete or fiberglass structures, electrical systems and startup testing. Wet wells commonly extend 25 to 30 feet below ground, where groundwater, rock and changing soil conditions can force crews to adjust their approach.
“The most challenging part is what we get into once we actually dig down,” the Fortis utility leader said.
That is where field experience matters. Fortis reviews plans, coordinates with engineers, power companies, pump manufacturers and suppliers, and helps resolve conflicts between designs and actual field requirements. That knowledge allows the company to identify constructability issues, contribute to value-engineering discussions and make informed adjustments during construction.
The work takes a full team. Superintendents, operators, welders, laborers and technical partners work together to set structures, connect piping, complete electrical work and verify through flow testing that the finished system performs as designed.
“We have other engineers calling us for our advice,” the utility leader said. “We know what we’re doing, and we take a lot of pride in it.”
That expertise has been earned through decades in the field and shared throughout the Fortis utility team. Every project presents different subsurface conditions, installation challenges and coordination requirements. Fortis brings the experience to anticipate those challenges, adjust in the field and deliver infrastructure that performs as designed.
Image: Fortis Siteworks utility team members stand inside a new fiberglass wet well before installation at the Veazey Connector. The 10-foot-diameter wet well will extend 26 feet below ground once installed.