Increasing Facility Capacity by Use of Topography

Introduction

Parkhill was contracted by the El Paso Water Utilities – Public Service Board (EPWU-PSB) to evaluate the Artcraft, Westport and El Paso West Lift Stations. These lift stations were located in northwest El Paso and were operating at or near capacity. The lift stations were all located adjacent to IH-10 along the lower elevations of the foothills of the Franklin Mountains. Due to pressure from residential and commercial development within the service areas, the EPWU was seeking a solution to increase the capacity of the system. Mountainous terrain and creative design solutions allow a new 13 MGD lift station to convey 20 MGD of wastewater to El Paso’s Northwest Wastewater Treatment Plant. The new 13 MGD station replaced three existing stations and one future lift station and conveys their entire flow by combining a “gravity force main” and pumped flows. This paper will discuss the hydraulic modeling and complex system head curves needed to maintain acceptable operating parameters from initial start-up to build-out.