Water & Wastewater Treatment

16 PUMP CENTRE CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2015 PREVIEW Case study Engineering efficiency at a 90-year-old pumping station O ne of Thames Water's biggest abstraction facilities is the Littleton Raw Water Pump Station (RWPS) in Surrey. Built between 1923 and 1925, the station preserves much of its original character. In an initiative to make Littleton the most cost-effective and reliable river abstraction system along the Thames, while retaining the site's authentic personality, Thames Water collaborated with its longstand- ing partner, the Pump Management team of Boulting Group. The Littleton pumping station was originally fitted with four 900mm discharge horizontal double suction axially split case pumps. Each individu- al pump had a capacity of 340 Megali- tres per day. In the 1950s, three pumps were modified to electric motor drives and have been operating using this arrangement since. The pump station is responsible for maintaining the water supply to one of the largest raw water reservoirs in the UK, providing fresh water to London and some neighbouring counties. It covers 707 acres and lies 13m above the surrounding area. Despite its successful history and charming character, the Littleton RWPS wasn't operating at optimum efficiency. Improvements could be made to reduce loss of pump priming, minimise cavitation, simplify start up, mainte- nance and control procedures, and reduce energy usage and therefore operational costs. Requirements A—er four years of successful projects with the Boulting Group, Thames Water invited the company to propose an upgrade to the Littleton RWPS, which would increase the performance of the site, while also making it more flexible, reliable and energy efficient. Thames Water was also keen to increase the average capacity from 400 to 750 Megalitres per day. In addition, Thames Water wanted to implement an automated system with remote control function, which would The inaugural Pump Centre Pump Project of the Year has been awarded to Boulting Pump Management and Thames Water for their work at the 90-year-old Littleton Raw Water Pump Station (RWPS). The project brief was to increase the performance of the site in terms of reliability, efficiency, capacity and automation, whilst still maintaining its 1920s character The Littleton Raw Water Pumping Station pictured in 1925. Maintaining the aesthetic character of the original station was one of the aims of the project.

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