Ode to a Sewage Pump Station
By Heather Reynolds, Administrative Specialist, EOCP
Special thank you to Mike Murrell, Wastewater/Stormwater Network Operations Supervisor, and Kevin McLuskey, Wastewater Treatment Supervisor for their photos and information about the Birch Avenue Lift Station!
It’s not every day that you find a Poem about a Sewage Pump Station!
Like many organizations, the EOCP maintains records, both electronic and paper, for our Operators, classifications, and accounts. As a best practice, we keep the documentation for seven years and then it is destroyed. For physical files, we shred them onsite.
During our most recent document clean-up, I came across the file of an Operator that had a note on old facsimile paper. The page also included a portion of City of Kelowna Stationary, circa 1969, and had a notice in the file that captured my attention.
From the notice, it is clear that the City of Kelowna issued flyers with a poem for distribution to the community to inspire public involvement.
Around 1969, we were not blessed with the bells and whistles that today’s SCADA systems offer. The Sanitary Sewage Pump Station was equipped with a Light and a Horn on top to indicate that the infrastructure needed inspection and/or maintenance. If the light and horn sounded, the public was requested to notify the department (through the Fire Hall, at the time) that the Station required attention. The flyer also included the cross street for clarity of location, in this case.
After finding this amazing piece of wastewater collections history, I wanted to get an update for the Pump Station located at the east end of Cameron Park near Birch Avenue, as per the notice.
My, how the times have changed for this lift station! It has been upgraded, maintained, and eventually fully replaced!
After connecting with the City of Kelowna, it was confirmed that the replacement of the station was required because the float level control settings in the old lift station and cycle times were designed so that the upper level (turn pumps on) was above the inlet main. This caused accumulation of FOG in the collection main for some distance upstream into the adjacent neighborhood causing frequent blockages and requiring regular high velocity jetting and grease cutting in the mains. With the new deeper station and change in high level and pump cycle times/duration, Kelowna no longer has the FOG and blockage issues.
Today, the station is fully integrated into the City of Kelowna SCADA system with Siemens PLCs to Rogers wireless then back to the Wastewater Treatment Facility in real time. It has duplex pumping (alternating), flow metering, remote stop/start with lead/lag options, standby power, and provides multiple graphs to check trends and health of the station. The alarm system is also connected directly to the Plant during working hours and to the fire hall dispatch after hours.
This charming piece of history not only showcases the ingenuity of past solutions but also highlights the incredible advancements in technology and infrastructure management over the decades. From a simple light and horn system to a fully integrated SCADA system, the evolution of the sewage pump station at Birch Avenue is a testament to the continuous improvement in public utilities.
As we look back at the past, it’s clear that each step forward has been driven by a commitment to efficiency, safety, and community well-being. The story of this pump station serves as a reminder of how far we’ve come and the importance of maintaining and upgrading our infrastructure to meet the needs of the future.