California Lift Station Finds Perfect Pump Rental Solution

Flygt 3000 Series pump comes through as emergency back-up

When a submersible sewage pump failed at the Menlo Lift Station in Hemet, CA, it left this residential lift station – a key component of the Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) wastewater system – without a back-up pump. EMWD needed a replacement pump that could handle flow rates of 378 gallons per minute (GPM) at 30.4 total dynamic head – and needed it immediately.

“Having redundancy in our wastewater system is essential to us, and it’s something we take great pride in,” says Paul Jones, General Manager of EMWD. “So when the pump went down at Menlo we needed to take care of it as soon as possible.”

EMWD began searching for a 3-phase, 460-volt replacement pump that could be rented while the pump was out for repairs. It had to be a submersible, given the above-ground space constraints around the lift station. After several local pump providers said they had nothing like that for rent, the prospects looked bleak. Then EMWD called Xylem, and suddenly the District had the exact right pump for the job.