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Braddock Sewer Pump Station Reconstruction
Project Cost: $2 Million
Year Constructed: 2011
The Braddock Sewer Pump Station is located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Braddock Drive and Sawtelle Boulevard. Sewer flows from a 720-acre area of Culver City and abutting portions of the City of Los Angeles flow to the station and are pumped into a force main in Braddock Drive to the City of Los Angeles' West Los Angeles Interceptor sewer in Overland Avenue. Approximately 1,250,000 gallons of sewage are pumped through the station on a daily basis. This station's last major upgrade was completed in 1986.
In recent years, operational problems have plagued the station. Sediment buildup often causes sporadic reductions in pump efficiency. The existing gravity inflow pipe connects to the existing wet well at its bottom and any rise in the wet well level causes the upstream piping system to flow full creating a situation where it is difficult to clean or inspect this system. In addition, there has been a frequent problem with rags clogging pumps at this station. Due to these operational problems, the SCADA alarm system is often triggered when sewage in the collection well rises higher than pre-determined set points. The Public Works Department Maintenance Operations Division staff is forced to pay close attention to the station, and is frequently called-out on overtime to tend to station maintenance.
On May 11, 2009, the City Council approved a Professional Services Agreement with PRP Engineering, Inc. to provide design services for the upgrade of the Braddock Sewer Pump Station. This design included all issues that were recommended in the study report prepared by PRP Engineering, Inc. and APD Consultants, Inc. to identify the ongoing maintenance issues of this sewer pump station. The design includes the following upgrades:
- Construction of a larger and deeper concrete wet well, while maintaining the existing wet wells to provide additional volume for the sewage. The new wet well will include a lower prerotation basin that will create a localized vortex, which will enable the floating sediments, grease balls, and rags to be efficiently pumped out of the wet well.
- Installation of more powerful submersible pumps as manufactured by the WEMCO pump company. These pumps are designed to be more efficient for the removal of all sediments (including rags) from the wet well, easier to remove and replace, and are variable speed for a more energy efficiency design.
- Replacement and upgrade of the existing sewerage monitoring and alarm systems.
- Replacement of the existing 24-year old emergency generator with a new generator that will be self testing, more reliable, and have a more efficient fuel usage rating.
The City Council awarded a $2 million construction contract to Pacifc Hydrotech in July 2010. The reconstructed station became operational in August 2011.
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