Moville Lift Station Improvements
Moville, IA | Water
Overview
The City of Moville (the City) partnered with ISG on the design and construction of a new lift station to accommodate community growth and increased infiltration and inflow (I/I).
Opportunity
The City’s sanitary sewer system was beginning to show signs of deterioration, with portions of the gravity system dating back to 1920. The existing lift station needed critical repairs as I/I were increasing wastewater flows causing backups, and the building enclosing the lift station was aging and unsightly.
Solution
Located within a highly visible area along Highway 20, the City’s existing building enclosing the lift station was worn and unfit to safely house the necessary modifications. ISG designed and constructed a new prefabricated building and wet well lift station to improve the aesthetics of the site and provide the greatest weather protection for the equipment and City operators.
Due to the tight working space of the existing lift station, ISG’s wastewater system engineers implemented an effective construction phasing program to keep the station fully operational while rehabilitation efforts were underway. A portion of the existing building was demolished to make room for a new duplex lift station capable of handling 660 gallons per minute on each pump to account for future growth and increased I/I. Two submersible pumps were installed, and a sewage grinder was included rather than a traditional trash basket for clean and easy maintenance. Once the new lift station was constructed and running, the remaining old lift station was fully demolished.
The Department of Natural Resources flood levels required that the new station be constructed 5 feet higher than the existing lift station, placing the building and lift station well above the surrounding ground. This proved to be beneficial and timely when 9 months after project completion, widespread flooding surrounded the new station. The old lift station would have been completely inundated, potentially rendering the City’s sanitary sewer system inoperable and polluting the nearby river. However, the new station was able to handle the high flows and remain fully operational, freeing up staff to deal with other critical flood issues across the community.