Now, the City of Billings has an improved water distribution system that can meet peak hour needs while increasing flexibility to handle variable water demands. It also saved the cost of building a reservoir now, which would have caused operational and water quality issues in the near future.
Billings, Montana
Billings Fox Pump Station
Maintaining Pressure at Peak Demand
The City of Billings had problems with a pressure zone near Skyview High School. This zone was experiencing extreme demand fluctuations pushing the existing closed-loop Fox Pump Station beyond its capacity limits. The station also had no storage and was unable to meet peak-hour demands.
Additionally, the smallest pump’s impeller was deteriorating more quickly than expected due to cavitation.
The city needed to solve the pressure fluctuation issue and implement a system to maintain adequate pressure during peak demands. They hired Morrison-Maierle to study, model, and evaluate this pumping capacity issue.
Client
City of Billings
Location
Billings, Montana
Budget
$2.7M
Services & Highlights
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Civil design
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Closed-loop pump
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Construction administration
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Construction phase services
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Flexible design for future expansion
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Integration and controls design
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Mechanical design
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Pump station study
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Structural design
The suction and discharge headers were placed in a piping gallery on the main level to provide better pump and valves access.
The discharge transmission main gallery provides good access for maintenance from above.
Expansion or New Construction?
The plan before the study was to construct a reservoir and expand the pump station. However, the study indicated that it would be better to construct a new closed-loop pump station. Furthermore, a water age analysis showed that adding a reservoir now could cause significant water quality problems during months when demand was significantly less.
Morrison-Maierle designed a new closed-loop pump station with a manufacturer-supplied, prebuilt pumping system inside a customized building. The station capacity was designed for future expansion when water demands increase. And, with the updated system, a new reservoir can be added without concerns about water age.
The flow control valve helps to prevent cavitation issues during low flow times.
The design team added extra space into the electrical room to accommodate future expansion efforts efficiently.
The interior of the completed pump station.
A Solution for Now and the Future
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