A: A drainage pump system can be used for a wide range of applications. It can be a small pump for an elevator drain system or basement draining—or as large as flood control.
Typically, a larger system that is commercial, industrial, or municipal is going to be a drainage basin. That is a container in the ground. It can be a large fiberglass, steel, or concrete container that has pumps set in it with a system of floats and controls.
When the water level rises those floats and controls tell the system to turn those pumps on and drain to a designated area. That water is pumped off to those areas so there are no flooding issues either in the building or the surrounding areas.
The Principle Of A Drainage Pump System
The principle of a drainage pump system is to enable wastewater, surface water, or sewage to be removed from low lying areas. Typically, these areas may prove to be difficult to get a direct connection to the main drain. This type of system makes it efficient and economical for removal.
Sewer pipes usually rely on the power of gravity to move wastewater, allowing it to naturally flow downhill until it reaches a low point. From that point, a drainage pump system pumps the water back uphill towards a high point. Then gravity takes over again, and the water flows downhill to the next low point. This cycle repeats until the water reaches its final destination.
Therefore, the entire system tends to be positioned underground with waste, surface water, or sewage being emptied into the container. It is then pumped through the pipeline to the main sewer for treatment.
It’s Critical To Have The Right System
Drainage pump systems aren’t just for municipalities. In fact, there are quite a few reasons as to why you might invest in a drainage pump for a home. For example, when building a home on a rural plot, it might be more cost-effective. Building an effective gravity-powered system can be quite expensive depending on the area you build in. A drainage pump system in that situation could be more economical, and more efficient especially in areas below sea level.
Another situation where these types of systems are more economical is something you rarely see in Texas—basements. Basement floors typically sit too low to enable gravity to move sewage and wastewater. Since we service clients across the US, many of our drainage pump systems for residential uses are located further north. The water table in Houston for example is only 10 feet deep in some areas, making basements impossible.
Where basements are common, they’ve come a long way from being the dark, musty areas below a house only used for storage. Many homes in the northeast, for example, have repurposed basements as another living area. Homeowners that would rather improve than move are finding newfound appreciation for the potential basements can offer.
With basements being used as everything from a spare bedroom to full efficiency apartments, drainage must be addressed. Since the basement is the lowest point in the home and could be a flood zone, you must institute an adequate system. This is where a well-designed drainage pump system is critical. You have to account for the square footage, the water flow, and the topography. In fact, there is one city in the US that best illustrates the basement example. You know it well from the many disastrous floods it has endured.
New Orleans: A Case Study Of A Drainage Pump System
New Orleans is almost synonymous with hurricanes (the weather event, not just the drink) and massive flooding. Many people may not realize why New Orleans is so prone to flooding though. If you live in Houston, you know we flood often as well. However, no city illustrates the need for a massive drainage pump system like the city of New Orleans.
You can think of New Orleans as one huge basement. Most of the city sits below sea level while the surrounding area sits barely at sea level. It is often referred to geographically as a “bowl.” Originally New Orleans was equal to or slightly above sea level, but two centuries of poor engineering in urban expansion changed that. The natural levee of the Mississippi River was cleared out to make more room for expansion and that came with a price—flooding.
Fast forward to Hurricane Katrina and you see the full ramifications of a poorly designed drainage system, natural or pumped. New Orleans suffered flooding in 80% of the city—a shock even to residents that withstood previous floods. This one was a different animal altogether.
How New Orleans Uses Their Drainage System
New Orleans, as mentioned is basically a huge bowl, rainwater can’t drain out from the city because of its low elevation. Therefore, it has to be pumped using a drainage pump system. On average, New Orleans can only tolerate an inch of rain within the first hour of a storm. After that, only about half an inch every hour following.
That means their drainage system has to be top-notch and even then it often is overwhelmed. The way it works is quite basic. Catch basins in the lowest areas of the city allow water from the streets to drain into huge pipes and culverts.
These culverts are pumped by interior pumps near the “edge” of the bowl and the water is expelled upwards into the outfall canals. These canals are staggered in a downward fashion using outfall canal pumps to lift the water to the next leveled canal. These canals empty into Lake Pontchartrain by the force of gravity—that is the basic function as designed.
When The System Overloads
Unfortunately, New Orleans’ drainage system does have its limitations. Maintenance of the catch basins is critical as they are the first point of bottle-necking. If the basins get clogged or blocked water will build up in the city. The same goes for the pipeline and culverts, they can fill up quickly because of too much volume too fast. When that happens, water will back up back into the streets. You can see a pattern here as all the parts must work or none will. If the pumps fail, the culverts fail, and the basins fail. It’s a symbiotic relationship among the system components.
Additionally, there are pump stations at the outflow of the canals into the lake and flood gates. These are critical as when too much water is expelled into the lake, water can flow back into the city. Gates in this instance, would close and keep the lake from overflowing back into New Orleans.
However, because of the poor engineering of the city’s expansion over the last two hundred years, the drainage system is not optimal. This drives home the importance of proper planning and considering the topography of a region. How you alter or shape that land can have grave consequences on drainage. If you do alter that natural flow, you must have a system that can handle the worst-case scenario in terms of volume per minute.
How We Can Help You With Your Drainage Pump System.
Whether your property is commercial, rural, or an urban property—we can get you the pumps you need. We have some of the most experienced drainage experts in the industry who can guide you to the right parts and design. All it takes is to get in touch and then let us assess your needs and how to get you properly equipped. Contact us today!