WC129 MarApr2023 - Flipbook - Page 30
WASTEWATER
Maintenance Reduction,
Maximum Efficiency
Xylem’s Flygt Concertor eliminates clogging at
Cowansville Pump Station
C
OWANSVILLE IN QUEBEC, located just
over 30 kilometres north of the United States
border, isn’t lacking for charm. The rural town
of 15,000 residents pays homage to its loyalist
origins with magnificent buildings and grand
Victorian-style residences along Main Street and du
Sud Street and in the historic Sweetsburg sector.
Despite its small-town charm, Cowansville had an
unpleasant wastewater issue. One of the town’s pump
stations, which receives wastewater from the neighboring municipalities of Brigham and East-Farnham,
as well as septic tank sludge from the Enviro-5 treatment center, was experiencing a constant buildup of
solids and fat.
The pump station is the fifth largest station the
Cowansville utility operates, with a capacity to pump
350 cubic meters per day (0.092 MGD). Despite
the comparably low levels of wastewater, the pump
station was faced with frequent instances of clogging
due to high levels of modern trash, including flushable wipes, rags, and other fibrous materials.
Constant grease accumulation also posed a problem for the pump station, with buildup reaching
up to 45 centimetres in as little as three months. As
a result, the station was shutting down as often as
four or five times per year so station operators could
unclog and clean the pumps.
In search of simple solutions
In November 2019, the head of Cowansville’s fixed
Peter Koutsoubos
Peter Koutsoubos is a technical
sales representative with Xylem
Inc. with a bachelor of engineering
in mechanical engineering from
Concordia University.
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WATER C AN ADA • M ARCH/APRIL 2023
assets division approached local Xylem distributor,
Pompex, about the town’s problematic pump station.
In turn, a Pompex representative invited him to
attend a seminar organized in collaboration with
Xylem on the Flygt Concertor packaged system, a
fully integrated pumping system that offers a unique
synergy between software functions and state-of-theart hardware. Following the seminar, Cowansville
engaged Pompex to develop a pumping solution.
To reduce chronic clogging and allow for reliable,
uninterrupted pumping, Pompex and Xylem selected
a solution that called for replacing the station’s existing pumps with a Flygt Concertor packaged system.
The design of the Concertor pump, which includes a
built-in pump reversing program, effectively selfadapts to reduce clogging due to standard debris,
such as those created by non-dispersibles, sand, and
sludge. The Flygt Concertor has an intelligent control
system designed specifically for the Concertor that is
neatly integrated into the head of the pump. One of
the many advantages of the control system—including the super-premium synchronous motor and the
adaptive N-hydraulics—is that they work together in
complete harmony for maximum performance of the
system. Capable of sensing the operating conditions
of its environment, the pump adapts its performance
in real-time, providing feedback to pumping station
operators.
The integrated intelligence of the control system
uses power electronics to achieve variable pump performance with patented software functionality. This
seamless process ensures optimal performance of the
whole system.
High operational flexibility was key to addressing
the station’s ongoing issues with clogs due to flow
and modern trash. Additionally, the utility valued the
two-year clog-free guarantee the Concertor pump
carries.
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
Clearflow
BY PETER KOUTSOUBOS
