The Pump Station Improvements (PSI) team continues to review the design for the Menlo Park Pump Station rehabilitation. Shea-Parsons Joint Venture (SPJV) will submit designs to SVCW that include the preferred site layout, results of hydraulic modeling and physical model testing, and select equipment. Together with the 60% designs, the project team is also preparing the 60% cost estimate for the Menlo Park Pump Station. As part of progressive design build project delivery, cost estimates are provided at the 60% milestone after which a lump sum price for the project is negotiated with the Design-Builder, and then approved by the SVCW Commission. Once the final design is approved, the construction phase will begin.
To ensure efficient operations of the rehabilitated and new pump stations, SVCW and SPJV are investing in a second design phase for physical modeling of the proposed Menlo Park Pump Station. These physical models are built at Clemson Laboratory, which is the foremost laboratory of its kind in the U.S. The physical model is manufactured at 1/10th scale.
The model is made of clear acrylic pipe sections, allowing SPJV and SVCW see how water will move through specific parts of the pump station. Water movement is also highlighted through by injecting colored dyes into the clear pipes. Using specialized ports, the team is able to see how water moves as it approaches the inlet of a pump; the smoother the flow, the more efficient the pump operation. Physical modeling ensures savings on long-term energy and maintenance costs on the full-scale system, and is used to support findings produced on computer-based hydraulic model. The results of the models are being compiled into a report and will be submitted to the SPJV design team in March 2020.