26 Water Supply
A new water pump station for Calgary flow magazine found out how technology from the specialist pump manufacturer, KSB, was used in the development of a new pump station in the Canadian city of Calgary, and the refit of another pump station in the same area.
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algary is one of Canada’s fastest growing metropolitan cities and is the major urban centre for the southern half of the province of Alberta. Calgary is located in the foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers. Originally founded around agriculture, the city is now the heart of Canada’s energy sector, with much of the current economy driven by oil and gas production. With an expanding population of over three million and the continued diversification of industry and commerce, the ever-growing demand from Calgarians for potable water has to be met. To satisfy both current and future demands for safe and reliable drinking water, The City of Calgary has recently embarked on a $35M CAD project to replace the most critical water pump station in the city. The existing Shaganappi Pump Station, originally constructed in 1978, supplies drinking water to over 200,000 residents of Calgary and surrounding communities. Shaganappi Pump Station is the area’s largest pump station. It is a vital component of the city’s water transmission network, which consists of 41 pump stations and 23 storage reservoirs connected by over 4,500km of underground piping. This large number of pump stations and reservoirs is required due to the region’s varying and often rugged topography, which divides the city into many smaller water pressure zones based on elevation. THE PROJECT The City of Calgary owns and operates two water treatment plants: the Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant and the Glenmore
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Water Treatment Plant. These state-of-the-art treatment facilities draw their source water from the Bow River and the Elbow River, respectively. Both treatment plants combined can produce a total of 950ML of clean drinking water per
The existing Shaganappi Pump Station is over 40 years old and is past its useful life expectancy. day. Treated water is stored on site at the treatment plants before being pumped into the transmission network for distribution throughout the city. The Bearspaw plant, located in the city’s northwest quadrant, pumps water into three separate underground feeder mains. One of these feeder mains is the 1950mm diameter South Feeder, Calgary’s largest and most critical feeder main. Shaganappi Pump Station draws water directly from the South Feeder and then effectively splits the flow, adds
hydraulic energy via pumping and redirects the water to north and south Calgary. The existing Shaganappi Pump Station is over 40 years old and is past its useful life expectancy. Many of the mechanical and electrical components within the existing pump station are now obsolete, creating operational and maintenance challenges. Given the critical nature of this pump station and the extensive upgrades required to ensure efficiency and reliability, the decision was made to replace the existing pump station. The new Shaganappi Pump Station, which is currently under construction, will be located approximately 200m west of the existing facility. This will allow the city to reuse much of the existing underground infrastructure, including the original piping connection to the 1950mm diameter South Feeder. This location was chosen to reduce construction costs, minimise disruption of the water system and surrounding communities and facilitate a smooth transition www.bpma.org.uk
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