Florida municipality upgrades to housed pump system

 
At Metropolitan Industries, our reach extends far beyond the Midwest. Our national sales team can supply customized pumping solutions shipped fully assembled for ease of installation. Over the years, we have provided domestic water booster systems, complete sump and sewage lift station packages and many more of our cataloged products to customers not just nationwide, but around the globe as well.

Our ability to deliver solutions to pumping challenges to all is demonstrated by the work done in the city of Marianna, Fla. Working with an existing pump system over 25 years old and in need of more pumping capacity, the city turned to the team of Blankenship Contracting, Inc., Pump and Process Equipment Company and Metropolitan Industries to provide a custom solution.

“The customer required a custom pump system package that would not only provide more flow to account for increased demand, but could also supply the fire flow if needed,” said Pump and Process Equipment’s Eric McGee. “To meet these specifications, we designed a three-pump system housed in a prefabricated steel building, all of which was supplied by Metropolitan.”

Each of the three pumps is designed to provide a flow of 750 GPM at 134 feet of TDH. Each pump motor is rated at 40 HP and performs at 3500 RPM at 76.6 percent efficiency.

The prefabricated galvanized steel building includes a 72-inch by 84-inch double door entry to the pump room and a “pebblestone” exterior finish for an attractive design solution.

The system will primarily serve a nearby health department and surrounding residents.

McGee said initial design discussions planned to incorporate a two-pump system, but after discussing options with Metropolitan salesperson Mike Tierney, the group came to a resolution to implement a three-pump system housed in a prefabricated structure.

“We originally planned to build a system with two large pumps, but instead, designed a system with three smaller pumps for a variety of reasons, one of them being energy-efficient operation,” said McGee. “With three pumps, we can run just one at low loads. If the demand increases at any time, the other pump(s) will kick into gear.”

McGee said one of the primary challenges faced was meeting a short lead time, which forced the team of Metropolitan, Pump and Process and Blankenship to complete the project in a quick and well-organized fashion.

“From start to finish, we only had around 8 to 10 weeks to complete the project,” said McGee. “It required a team effort from everyone involved and thanks to a well-executed plan, we were able to deliver the system to our customer on time.”

In order to ensure water operators were familiar with the new system, Metropolitan sent service technicians to the job site to conduct training.

“Training provides a good start for customers when becoming acclimated to a new system,” said McGee. “Knowing the major do’s and don’ts of a system can make for a smooth transition.”

McGee said working with a single source provider was critical to Pump and Process and a chief reason why Metropolitan was involved with the project.

“We wanted to partner with an organization that had all capabilities under one roof,” said McGee. “Metropolitan was able to provide manufacturing, controls, pumps and service. We were comfortable having to contact one sole organization if any issues arose.”

Since installation, McGee said the system has run “flawlessly” and described his overall experience of working with Metropolitan as positive.

“When working with Metropolitan, the word professionalism comes to mind,” said McGee. “We’ve worked with many businesses in the water and wastewater industries and appreciate the way Metropolitan communicates with its customers. The ‘no excuses’ approach they take to developing a system ensures quality is of supreme concern.”

For more information, please contact Metropolitan’s Mike Tierney at 800-323-1665 or sales@metropolitanind.com.