Pumping station 851965 216249814 2008-05-31T20:16:48Z Thozza 259840 link {{Mergefrom |Packaged pump station |Talk:pumping station#Merge proposal |date=May 2007|User:EdJogg|Other article is unlikely to exceed stub status and is a sub-type of pumping station.}} [[Image:Gemaal van sasse.jpg|thumb|300px|Pumping station Van Sasse in [[Grave (Netherlands)|Grave]], the Netherlands]] [[Image:Gemaal van sasse interieur.jpg|thumb|200px|Pumping station Van Sasse in [[Grave (Netherlands)|Grave]], the Netherlands]] '''Pumping stations''' are facilities including [[pump]]s and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of [[infrastructure]] systems that many people take for granted, such as the supply of water to [[canal]]s, the drainage of low-lying land, and the removal of [[sewage]] to processing sites. {{TOCleft}} A pumping station is, by definition, an integral part of a [[Pumped-storage hydroelectricity]] installation. ==Canal water supply== In countries with [[canal]] systems, pumping stations are also frequent. Because of the way the system of [[canal lock]]s work, water is lost from the upper part of a canal each time a vessel passes through. Also, most lock gates are not watertight, so some water leaks from the higher levels of the canal to those lower down. Obviously, the water has to be replaced or eventually the upper levels of the canal would not hold enough water to be navigable. Canals are usually fed by diverting water from streams and rivers into the upper parts of the canal, but if no suitable source is available, a pumping station can be used to maintain the water level. An excellent example of a canal pumping station is the [[Claverton Pumping Station]] on the [[Kennet and Avon Canal]] in southern [[England]]. This pumps water from the nearby [[River Avon, Bristol|River Avon]] to the canal using pumps driven by the power of the river itself. Where no external water supply is available, [[back pumping]] systems may be employed. Water is extracted from the canal below the lowest lock of a flight and is pumped back to the top of the flight, ready for the next boat to pass through. Such installations are usually very small. ==Land drainage== [[Image:MetariePumpingStation6RiverSide.jpg|thumb|200px|[[New Orleans]]: Metairie Pumping Station, also known as Pumping Station 6, building, constructed in 1899, near Metairie Road and the head of the [[17th Street Canal]]. Now housing 15 [[A. Baldwin Wood|Wood Screw Pump]]s, it can move over 6 billion gallons of water a day.]] When low lying areas of land are drained, the general method is to dig [[Ditch|drainage ditches]]. However, if the area is below [[sea level]] then it is necessary to pump the water upwards into water channels that finally drain into the sea. The [[Victorian era|Victorian]]s understood this concept, and in the [[United Kingdom]] they built pumping stations with large [[water pump]]s, powered by large [[steam engine]]s to accomplish this task. In Lincolnshire, large areas of wetland at sea level, called [[The Fens]], were turned into rich [[arable farmland]] by this method. The land is full of [[nutrients]] because of the accumulation of [[sedimentary]] mud that created the land initially. Elsewhere, pumping stations are used to remove water that has found its way into low-lying areas as a result of leakage or flooding (in [[Drainage in New Orleans|New Orleans]], for example). ==Sewerage systems== Pumping stations in sewage collection systems, also called ''lift stations'', are normally designed to handle raw sewage that is fed from underground gravity pipelines (pipes that are laid at an angle so that a liquid can flow in one direction under gravity). Sewage is fed into and stored in an underground pit, commonly known as a ''wet well''. The well is equipped with electrical instrumentation to detect the level of sewage present. When the sewage level rises to a predetermined point, a pump will be started to lift the sewage upward through a pressurized pipe system called a ''sewer force main'' from where the sewage is discharged into a gravity manhole. From here the cycle starts all over again until the sewage reaches its point of destination – usually a treatment plant. By this method, pumping stations are used to move waste to higher elevations. In the case of high sewage flows into the well (for example during peak flow periods and wet weather) additional pumps will be used. If this is insufficient, or in the case of failure of the pumping station, a backup in the sewer system can occur, leading to a [[sanitary sewer overflow]] – the discharge of raw sewage into the environment. Sewage pumping stations are typically designed so that one pump or one set of pumps will handle normal peak flow conditions. Redundancy is built into the system so that in the event that any one pump is out of service, the remaining pump or pumps will handle the designed flow. The storage volume of the wet well between the 'pump on' and 'pump off' settings is designed to minimize pump starts and stops, but is not so long a detention time as to allow the sewage in the wet well to go septic. The interior of a sewage pump station is a very dangerous place. Poisonous gases such as [[methane]] and [[hydrogen sulfide]] can accumulate in the wet well; an ill-equipped person entering the well would be overcome by fumes very quickly. Any entry into the wet well requires the correct [[confined space]] entry method for a hazardous environment. To minimize the need for entry, the facility is normally designed to allow pumps and other equipment to be removed from outside the wet well. ==Pumped-storage schemes== :{{Main|Pumped-storage hydroelectricity}} A pumped-storage scheme is a type of power station for storing and producing electricity to supply high peak demands by moving water between reservoirs at different elevations. Typically, water is channelled from a high-level reservoir to a low-level reservoir, through turbine generators that generate electricity. This is done when the station is required to generate power. During low-demand periods, such as overnight, the generators are reversed to become pumps that move the water back up to the top reservoir. :''See also: [[Pumped-storage hydroelectricity#Worldwide list of pumped storage plants| List of pumped-storage plants]] ==List of pumping stations== There are countless thousands of pumping stations throughout the world. The following is a list of those described in this encylopaedia. ===Great Britain=== In Great Britain, a considerable number of former pumping stations have been preserved and opened as museum attractions. The majority are, or were [[steam engine|steam]]-powered, except as identified: ====Canal water supply==== *[[Claverton Pumping Station]], on the [[Kennet and Avon Canal]], near [[Bath, Avon|Bath]] ''(water-powered)'' *[[Cobb's Engine House]], ruin near southern portal of [[Netherton Tunnel]] *[[Crofton Pumping Station]], on the [[Kennet and Avon Canal]], near [[Great Bedwyn]] *[[Leawood Pump House]], on the [[Cromford Canal]] in [[Derbyshire]] *[[Smethwick Engine]], now removed from original site to [[Birmingham Thinktank]] ====Groundwater supply==== ''Used to pump water from a well into a reservoir'' *[[Mill Meece Pumping Station]], in [[Staffordshire]] *[[Papplewick Pumping Station]], [[Nottinghamshire]] ''(pumped from a 200ft deep well)'' ====Hydraulic power station==== *[[Wapping Hydraulic Power Station]], London ''(converted to electricity, now an arts centre and restaurant)'' ====Land drainage==== *[[Prickwillow#Drainage|Prickwillow Engine House]], near [[Ely]], [[Cambridgeshire]] ''(now the Museum of Fenland Drainage)'' *[[Stretham Old Engine]], [[Stretham]], [[Cambridgeshire]] *[[Westonzoyland Pumping Station Museum |Westonzoyland Pumping Station]], Somerset ====Public water supply==== ''Used to pump drinking water from a reservoir into a water supply system.'' *[[Blagdon Lake|Blagdon Pumping Station]], Chew Valley, Somerset *[[Edgbaston Waterworks]], [[Birmingham]] ''(probably not a 'museum' site)'' *[[Kempton Park Steam Engines|Kempton Park Pumping Station]], London *[[Kew Bridge Steam Museum|Kew Bridge Pumping Station]], [[Kew Bridge]], London *[[Museum of Power|Langford Pumping Station]] ("Museum of Power"), Essex ====Sewage==== *[[Abbey Pumping Station]], [[Leicester]] *[[Abbey Mills Pumping Station]], in North London. ''(steam engines no longer present)'' *[[Claymills Pumping Station]], near [[Burton upon Trent]] *[[Coleham Pumping Station]], [[Coleham]], near [[Shrewsbury]] *[[Crossness Pumping Station]], in South London *[[Low Hall Pumping Station]], [[Walthamstow]], North London *[[Markfield Beam Engine]], [[Tottenham]], London ====Underground Railway==== *[[Brunel Engine House]] (now Brunel Museum), [[Rotherhithe]], East London ''(extracted water from [[Thames Tunnel]]; engine no longer present)'' *[[Shore Road Pumping Station]], [[Birkenhead]], [[Wirral]] ''(originally steam, now electric; extracts water from the rail tunnel under the [[River Mersey]])'' ===Netherlands=== ====Land drainage==== *[[Museum De Cruquius|Cruquius pumping station]] ''(Operational, but no longer steam-powered.)'' *:– an 8-beam [[Cornish engine]] with the largest cylinder (3.5m (144in) diameter) in the world. *[[ir.D.F. Woudagemaal]], ([[Engineer|ir.]] Wouda pumping station) ''(world's largest steam-powered pumping station)'' ==See also== {{commonscat|Pumping stations}} *[[Drainage in New Orleans]] *[[Edmonston Pumping Plant]] *[[Packaged pump station]] *[[Sewage pumping]] *[[Submersible pump]] *[[Water pumping]] ====Waterworks railways==== *[[Colne Valley Waterworks railway]], Eastbury Pumping Station, near [[Watford]] *[[Metropolitan Water Board Railway]], [[Kempton Park, Surrey|Kempton Park]], London *[[British industrial narrow gauge railways#Water treatment and sewage works|List of narrow gauge railways at water treatment and sewage works in Great Britain]] [[Category:Hydrology]] [[Category:Physical infrastructure]] [[Category:Sewerage]] [[de:Schöpfwerk]] [[es:Estación de bombeo]] [[nl:Gemaal (waterbouw)]] [[nds:Schöppwark]] [[ru:Насосная станция]] [[uk:Насосна станція]]