Historic Rains In Memphis Lead To Monumental Emergency Bypass

Record rainfalls in Memphis, TN eroded the soil supporting a 96-inch sanitary sewer main, causing the line to fail. With nearly 40 million gallons per day (MGD) of raw sewage escaping into Cypress Creek, less than a mile from McKellar Lake and the Mississippi River, an emergency bypass was needed fast to facilitate the repair work on the 96” sewer main. City officials immediately activated their Emergency Response Plan, gathering the management team from the Public Works Division and bringing in the experts at Xylem, to help assess the damage and to map out an action plan.

Xylem quickly organized and coordinated around-the-clock job teams to implement a turnkey solution that maintained sewer services, minimized the environmental impact and ensured regulatory compliance. More than 30 Xylem staff members managed and worked side-by-side with approximately 100 Memphis Public Works and 60 contractor personnel to complete the necessary tasks. This “all hands on deck” approach accelerated the project timeline. Bypass solutions of this magnitude typically take upwards of two to three weeks to implement. The Xylem-led teams completed the emergency task in just six days.

The bypass needed to handle 160 million gallons per day (MGD) of flow and traverse approximately 2,400 linear feet from suction point to discharge location. To execute the monumental effort in an extremely compressed timeframe, Xylem had everything onsite within 30 hours.