Understanding lift stations

What is a wastewater lift station?

A wastewater lift station is a critical piece of infrastructure included as part of your sanitary collection system. While most wastewater generated by households, businesses, and industries is collected and conveyed via gravity through large interceptor pipes, lift stations collect the wastewater at a low point in the collection network and pump it to a higher elevation to the next gravity line or to a treatment facility.

What components make up a wastewater lift station?

In most cases, a wastewater lift station includes a wet well to temporarily store wastewater, two or more submersible pumps, pump float controls, piping, a valve vault, a control panel, radio communication devices, and a backup generator. The lift station pumps the wastewater through a pressurized pipe, known as a forcemain, which conveys the wastewater to the ultimate discharge point at a higher elevation.

What regular maintenance is required for a wastewater lift station?

Most cities have a sewer department that is responsible for regular maintenance of the wastewater collection system. Lift stations require regular attention to ensure all components are functioning appropriately. These include:

Daily checks for obstructions or build-up of material that may clog the pumps
Regular wet well cleaning
Exercising of valves
Jetting (high-pressure water), cleaning, and televising all collection system pipes on a 4 to 5-year cycle

What problems can arise from a poorly maintained wastewater lift station?

In the event of a lift station failure, by either a forcemain break, power outage, or pump failure, wastewater will collect in the lift station wet well and backup into the collection system. This could result in sewer backups into homes or cause wastewater to overflow from the lift station to the surrounding environment.
Wastewater lift stations are also susceptible to clogs from fats, oils, and grease (FOG) generated by restaurants and businesses, as well as “flushable’ rags from households and multi-unit residential buildings.
Wastewater lift stations can be a source of bad odors that become a nuisance to neighboring properties. The smelly gas from the collected sewage is also highly corrosive and can damage the wet well structure, the piping, and pumps over time.

How much does it cost to fix a wastewater lift station?

Depending on the size, condition, and maintenance history of your wastewater collection system, the rehabilitation of an existing lift station can range from $75,000 to over $250,000.

How can you get help with concerns regarding your lift stations and collection systems?

Our Wastewater group can help your community assess the condition of your wastewater collection and conveyance system, and outline deficiencies that should be addressed in the City’s Capital Improvements Plan. We can complete a condition assessment report for all of your lift stations and provide estimated costs for any recommended rehabilitation. The report may include hydraulic analysis to address pump efficiencies, pump and forcemain capacities, allowing your city to plan and budget for any necessary infrastructure improvements.

Bringing back the bees

Andi Moffat, Vice President of Environmental Services, WSB

At first glance, reducing the number of bugs, moths, and bees may seem like a good idea to enable people to spend more quality time outdoors. In reality, it’s a major issue that affects everything from local habitat to the agriculture in the United States and around the world. These insects are pollinators and their travel from plant to plant helps to pollinate flowers. These flowers can be native prairie or woodland plants, apples, raspberries, cucumbers, and even hay crops for the livestock industry. So even if thriving wildlife habitat doesn’t peak your interest, being able to put food on the table should.

Between the loss of habitat, use of pesticides, insect disease, and crops designed to kill insects, pollinators are declining. While this may seem like a daunting national challenge to try and tackle, but steps are being taken to bring the message to communities and to take a very local approach– all the way down to individual yards.

At the local level, the State of Minnesota has provided the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) funding to develop the “Lawns to Legumes” program that focuses on planting residential lawns with native vegetation and pollinator-friendly plants. The goal of this pilot program is to offer cost-share, technical assistance, and planting guides to eligible Minnesota residents to install pollinator-friendly native plantings in their yard.

While individual homeowners can get involved with BWSR, there will also be a call for local partners to create demonstration neighborhoods. Eligible applicants will include cities, counties, and watershed districts. The idea is that by turning the urban lawn desert into small pockets of pollinator friendly gardens, it will have an overall positive impact for these important species.

Learn more about the program or, if you are interested in responding to the RFP that is expected to be released in December, please contact Andi Moffatt at [email protected] 763-287-7196.

Andi is a Vice President with more than 23 years of experience leading people and projects that include planning, environmental, energy, highway, natural resources, construction and development. She oversees our Environmental services and approaches her work with passion and positivity.

How visualizations are changing the engineering industry

Jeff Christiansen, WSB Visualization Studio Manager

In a technology-driven society, we are challenged to adapt and prepare for the changing technologies of tomorrow. As a Visualization Studio Manager, helping clients see the big picture and visualize completed projects drives curiosity and reveals the potential impacts of our work. Creating visualizations plays a crucial role in helping communities and clients evolve. In the past few years, visualization capabilities have changed rapidly, allowing renderings to be completed in minutes. To stay on top of this cutting-edge technology, we must understand the software and carve out new markets from existing industries.

New developments in ray tracing

Up until last month, real-time and ray tracing couldn’t be used in the same sentence without a bank of 10 GPUs and 2500 watts of power. Ray tracing makes renderings dynamic and realistic and thanks to powerful GPUs, shortens the amount of time spent on each frame. This recent advance in technology allows clients and the public to see reflections, higher quality shadows and experience the creation for themselves. Today, we’re utilizing these technologies to create stunning visualizations for our clients. Once the projects have been modeled, iterations are produced in minutes, instead of days or weeks.

For some, classic visualization techniques and development are still the only way to produce the highest quality imagery when secondary shadows, complex caustics, and very high resolutions are required. In real-time, there is an abundance of data creating the visualizations of skyscrapers or roadways. In some cases, classic visualization allows an audience to see specific renderings that assist beyond the scope of just engineering. Ray tracing, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) allow us to visualize how things work from transportation and infrastructure to medical devices and demonstrative evidence.

Applying AR and VR

Immersive technologies, both AR and VR, allow clients to become part of their projects months or years in advance. Specifics such as material schedules, lighting, and species-specific landscaping create a three-dimensional rendered experience for people to become immersed in before it becomes a reality. From using VR to drive through a road design or using AR to see a properly placed medical device from any angle, visualizations reveal findings in a way anyone can understand. These technologies provide an unparalleled tool to investigate or market the feasibility and accuracy of a product or service.

Jeff is a visualization studio manager with more than 22 years of experience with many types of visualization projects, including over 400 miles of roadway with design elements that include five-level interchanges, bridge aesthetics, and complex roundabouts. He is an experienced project manager in the development and final production of disparate visualizations for municipal, state, and federal projects.

Brownfields: The land of opportunity, not blight

By Ryan Spencer, Senior Environmental Scientist

The term “brownfield” describes property that has the presence or potential presence of hazardous materials, pollution, or contamination. Generally, brownfields consist of current or former industrial, manufacturing, or recycling sites that are vacant and underutilized by the community. However, they can also include current/former gas stations or drycleaner sites located in residential neighborhoods. Brownfield sites are often an eyesore and contain dilapidated buildings, poorly kept grounds, and miscellaneous trash. Cities usually obtain ownership of brownfield sites through tax forfeiture which causes concern due to unknown environmental risks and pressure to redevelop. Rather than viewing a brownfield site as a liability, experienced cities and developers see them as an opportunity.

In recent years, brownfield redevelopment has become more common due to infill redevelopment and the shortage of developable land in urban areas. Through up-front work and investments, communities can take steps to ensure their brownfields are attractive to developers and ready for redevelopment. Additionally, there are numerous investigation and cleanup funding sources available along with additional avenues to obtain liability assurances, which help curb redevelopment costs and reduce contamination liability.

Do your due diligence
Performing environmental due diligence on a brownfield site uncovers potential environmental risks and contamination liabilities. Investing in the upfront due diligence is an important step in any successful redevelopment project. Typically, this is achieved by completing a Phase I Environmental Assessment (ESA), subsequent Phase II ESA (if warranted), and an Asbestos and Regulated Materials Survey on buildings (if present). The potential environmental risks are always scarier than actual risks. Once the environmental risk area is understood, the site is one step closer to redevelopment.

How do I fund this?
Investigation and cleanup funding are critical components of brownfield projects. If you don’t have the money, where do you start? There are many local, state, and federal funding sources available for brownfield projects in Minnesota. This is great, but can also be overwhelming. It’s important to understand the funding source application requirements, schedule, and scoring criteria. Funding is typically awarded in cycles (often biannually), resulting in vigorous competition among projects. The projects that best meet the funding source’s criteria will be awarded funding.

Upcoming funding opportunities
In Minnesota, two major investigation/cleanup funding sources include:

Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Contamination Cleanup and Redevelopment Grants – Applications Due May 1 and November 1 each year.

These grants are available to both public and private redevelopment sites and can be used for environmental investigation and/or cleanup. Applications are eligible if known or suspected soil or groundwater contamination is present. Key scoring criterion include; creating and retaining jobs and affordable housing.

Additional information regarding DEED funding can be found at: https://mn.gov/deed/government/financial-assistance/cleanup/contamination.jsp

Metropolitan Council Tax Base Revitalization Account (TBRA) – Applications Due November 1 each year.

TBRA provides $5 million annually to investigate and clean up brownfields for public and private redevelopment sites. The funding is limited to sites located within the 7-county Twin Cities metro region and key scoring criteria include; increasing tax base, preserving livable wage jobs, and producing affordable housing.

Additional information regarding TBRA funding can be found at: https://metrocouncil.org/Communities/Services/Livable-Communities-Grants/Tax-Base-Revitalization-Account-(TBRA).aspx

Brownfields – a path to prosperity
A successful brownfield redevelopment can have a substantial impact on a community. It spurs economic momentum while showing commitment to continuous city improvements. Surly Brewing in Minneapolis was once a blighted underutilized property and is now a booming social attraction with rapid development occurring around it. Similarly, Kaposia Landing in South St. Paul – a popular waterfront park and recreation area – was once a landfill with little to no community value.

The next time you drive by a vacant underutilized property, think of what could be. Chances are, you are not the only one who has a vision of the site being repurposed, revitalized, and an asset to the community.

Ryan Spencer is a Sr. Environmental Scientist on WSB’s Environmental team. His expertise extends to Phase I & II Environmental Site Assessments, construction soil screening and documentation, contamination disposal and other hazardous material mitigation. He consults closely with both public organizations and private developers on their environmental needs.

WSB announces new Vice President of Transportation

Jody Martinson joins WSB from Minnesota Department of Transportation

Local engineering firm WSB today announced that Jody Martinson has joined the organization as the new Vice President of Transportation. As the former assistant commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT)’s operations division, Martinson joins the firm with more than two decades of experience working in transportation engineering and project management.

“We are incredibly lucky to be able to call Jody a member of the WSB team,” said WSB President and CEO Bret Weiss. “Her depth of experience and incredible record at MnDOT will serve as an asset to our organization and to our clients.”
Martinson will lead WSB’s transportation efforts, a position previously held by Jon Chiglo who was recently promoted as the firm’s chief operating officer.

“Jody is a true leader and innovator in the world of transportation, and I know she will support our staff and clients as we grow our portfolio in new and exciting ways,” said Chiglo.

Martinson spent 25 years at MnDOT, starting as an engineer. In her time as assistant commissioner, she was responsible for managing overall operations including transportation program development and delivery, maintenance, legislative and policy development, strategic and business planning, and organizational change management. She also served as co-chair of the Guidestar Board of Directors and was a member of MnDOT’s Executive Inclusion Council and Advisory Council for Tribal Transportation.

“WSB is a valuable partner helping clients accomplish extraordinary, cutting-edge work in transportation. I look forward to hitting the ground running as the new vice president of this team,” said Martinson.

Municipal Engineering Resource Guide

A hole-in-one solution

Creating a sustainable water reuse system for the Rochester Golf & Country Club

By Bob Barth, Director of Land Development, WSB

For over 100 years, the Rochester Golf & Country Club has been a fixture in its community. Since opening, land around the course developed, but the rolling greens of the Country Club still attract golfers as they did in the early 1900s when a group of avid golfers leased 100 acres from two Mayo Clinic doctors.

The Decorah Shale effect
The landscape 100 years ago was very different than it is today. As development occurred throughout the area, the course began to experience water issues. The course is located on the Decorah Shale Geologic Formation, an over 60-foot-thick layer of shale bedrock. Water passes through the impermeable shale layer slowly, causing drainage issues for many properties throughout southeastern Minnesota. In the case of the golf course, water is unable to penetrate the shallow shale layer located below the surface of the course, creating drainage issues and pockets of standing water on fairways and greens.

The most inexperienced golfer knows that standing water on a golf course leads to playability issues. At one point, there were playability issues on seven of the 18 holes – equating to 3,000 feet of playing conditions that had standing water or drainage problems. The County Club reached out to our team at WSB to find a sustainable solution to the chronic water issues that plagued the historic course.

Keeping greens, green
Golf courses use a lot of water and droughts or excess water negatively impact course profitability and sustainability. Like many Minnesota courses, Rochester Golf & Country Club uses groundwater for irrigation. However, the playability issues caused by the Decorah Shale are unique. Research and studies have criticized golf courses over the years for chemical and water use, particularly groundwater. Recently, many courses have taken strides to become more environmentally sensitive and eco-friendly. Rochester Golf & Country Club approached their golf course renovation project with sustainability in mind and decided to reuse the seepage water and surface water as a partial replacement for the groundwater they used for irrigation. This process allowed them to improve their environmental footprint.

Creating a solution out of the problem
WSB performed a rigorous rainfall and runoff analysis to determine the amount of available seepage and runoff water. The analysis included long-duration simulations of water yield and irrigation using state-of-the-art hydraulic modeling software. Every water reuse project is unique. Most of the land that Rochester Golf & Country Club sits on drains in a single direction, making it easier to capture seepage and runoff water. This efficiency of drainage created a single point of collection into a new irrigation pond.

After completing the reuse analysis, we worked with the Country Club and an irrigation design consultant to design the irrigation pond, pump station and pump house, the collection system to deliver water to the irrigation pond, and the outlet works from the pond to the public system. Drainage tile was placed under the fairway turf to allow water to feed into the irrigation pond. In the past, the Country Club used over 10 million gallons of groundwater for irrigation, annually. With the new water reuse and drainage system, the course’s groundwater usage dropped to 4 million gallons. The water reuse system can pump as much as 1,500 gallons per minute into the irrigation system. The reuse system also alleviates the need to tap into the city’s water supply and ensures that the course can stay watered even when conservation restrictions are in place.

Full-circle sustainability
The Rochester Golf & Country Club is dedicated to sustainability beyond water reuse and has established an on-site, 10,000-square-foot garden that supplies fresh produce to their executive chef. Additionally, the club is home to 400,000 honey bees, an effort to protect the honey bees’ declining population. Throughout the Country Club’s recent restoration, they have paid close attention to reusing available resources including creating benches out of downed trees and repurposing old cart path rock for new cart path base layers.

A fresh start in 2019
The course has been under construction since 2016 and reopened this spring. Under the direction of renowned golf course architect Tom Doak, the acclaimed 18-hole golf course went through a substantial renovation to restore the course to its original 1925 A.W. Tillinghast design.

Golf is a significant economic driver in Minnesota and water plays a vital role in keeping these courses busy throughout the golf season. In addition to our work on the Rochester Golf and Country Club, WSB has developed water reuse systems and measures for Oneka Ridge Golf Course in Hugo and Eagle Valley Golf Course in Woodbury.

Bob is a Principal at WSB with over 20-years of experience providing technical and management support to public and private clients. Bob’s special expertise in water resources management, infrastructure planning, project development, and land development make him an effective and trusted adviser on a variety of projects.

WSB announces vice president promotions

July 1, 2019

Environmental services, corporate development and technology divisions get new leadership

Minneapolis, Minn. – Local engineering firm WSB today announced the promotions of Andi Moffatt, Brian Bourassa and John Mackiewicz to vice president positions in the environmental services, corporate development and technology divisions, respectively. In their new roles, Moffatt, Bourassa and Mackiewicz will be responsible for their divisions’ revenue targets and new business goals; growing markets and service areas; and improving the use of technology solutions – all while focusing on attracting and retaining talented staff.

“I am incredibly excited about the expanded roles and responsibilities that all three of these leaders are taking on at WSB,” said Bret Weiss, WSB president and CEO. “Andi, Brian and John have made impressive impacts to our firm’s success, and I am thrilled that they will continue to help drive our results as we grow our business.”

The promotions come on the heels of significant growth at WSB, as well as the expansion of the executive team with the creation of chief financial officer and chief operating officer positions. As the fourth-largest engineering firm in the Twin Cities, WSB has 12 offices in four states, with its newest office opening recently in Austin, Texas.

To view the resumes and headshots of the three new vice presidents, click on the links below:

WSB opens Austin office to expand engineering, design and consulting services for local clients

June 17, 2019

Austin, Texas – Fast-growing Minneapolis-based engineering firm WSB has cemented its entrance into the Austin market by opening a new office this week at 1221 S. Mopac Expressway in the Barton Hills neighborhood. WSB, which provides engineering, planning, environmental and construction services for the public and private sectors, has been active in the Austin area for the past two years.

“The Austin market has been a great fit for the culture of our company, and we’re very excited to establish a new office here so that we can continue to grow our team and expand the services available to our Austin area clients,” said WSB President and CEO Bret Weiss.

WSB entered the Austin market in 2017. In 2018, the firm acquired Austin-based Rogers Design Services (RDS), a well-respected local engineering firm. Now, WSB has six employees including the original staff from RDS and has immediate plans to increase staffing in Austin by more than 50 percent in the next year. The firm has worked with Hays County, Williamson County, the City of Cedar Park and the City of Georgetown on roadway and utility design projects as well as land-use planning.

“Like Minneapolis-St. Paul, Austin is a progressive capital city,” said Jay Kennedy, vice president of Texas Operations for WSB. “The region is growing rapidly and making smart investments in infrastructure. This is the type of environment where we can provide valuable insight and smart solutions to the challenges ahead.”

Headquartered in Minneapolis, WSB is the fourth-largest engineering firm in the Twin Cities. When it was founded in 1995, the company had five staff, one office and three different services areas. Today, the company offers services in more than 25 areas, employs more than 450 people and has expanded its markets beyond Minnesota with 12 offices across four different states.