Transportation Research Record 948 63

Hydraulic Design of Stormwater Pumping Stations:

The Effect of Storage
ROBERT H. BAUMGARDNER

In the design of stormwater pumping stations, skillful design can reduce both ties as the pumps turn on and off. This is shown in
the initial cost and operating costs. The initial cost can be reduced by provid- Figure 1, where the shaded area between the curves
ing storage to reduce the peak pump rate. Savings can be achieved by reducing represents the volume of stormwater that must be
the size of the pump, the pump motor, piping, and valves, and substantial stored to reduce the peak flow rate. Storage exists
savings can accrue if the number of pumps is reduced. Most electrical utilities in natural channels, storm drain systems, con-
assess a fixed charge for the electrical capacity that the utility must maintain structed basins or forebays, and storage boxes.
to provide service. Because horsepower is directly proportional to the pump- Engineers must be able to identify and analyze the
ing rate, any reduction in the pumping rate will be reflected in the fixed
effect of stora,ge on the discharge rates from the
charge. By providing storage to reduce the peak pumping rate, operating
pumping station.
costs can be considerably reduced. The effect of storage can be evaluated by
using a mass curve routing procedure. This design procedure combines three
Designers must establish the interrelationship of
independent components-the inflow hydrograph, the stage-storage relationship, three separate components:
and the stage-discharge relationship. The mass curve routing procedure identi-
fies the amount of storage required to reduce the peak rate of flow to the fixed 1. The inflow hydrograph must be determined for
discharge rate. Design guidance is also provided for estimating the amount of the contributing watershed.
storage required to accomplish a given reduction, and formulas are provided 2. The volumetric storage capability of the
for calculating the volume of storage basins. storage facility must be identified.
3. The stage-discharge curve of the pumps must
be determined.
In most localities stormwater pumping stations only
operate for a relatively short period of time during Once these three components have been established, a
a year. This means that a substantial capital in- mass curve routing procedure can be used to analyze
vestment must sit idle for long periods of time. the problem.
Therefore, the design . and operation of stormwater The mass curve routing procedure is based on the
pumping stations provide a most promising opportu- assumption that the storage facility acts as a
nity for cost reduction. Potential savings are even reservoir. Figure 2 helps to illustrate two short-
more promising in areas where storms are less fre- comings of this assumption. First, the velocity in
quent. the pipe is not zero (this shortcoming should be
The merits of providing storage to reduce the minor because the velocities should be low). Second,
peak pumping rates of pumping stations have long the water depth of the reservoir decreases to zero
been recognized by engineers. To control the costs as the water surface approaches the invert of the
of stormwater projects, engineers are now examining pipe. During peak flow conditions the pipe will be
potential savings much more closel~. To achieve flowing full and the design conditions shown in Fig-
meaningful cost reductions, savings must be accom- ure 2 will not exist.
plished in both construction cost and maintenance The second shortcoming can be eliminated by pro-
and operations costs. viding an isolated depressed storage facility that
Initial costs can be reduced by providing storage is independent of the storm drain system: however,
to reduce the peak pumping rate: this will produce in most systems it is quite cost effective to use
savings in the cost of the pump, the pump motor, and the storm drain system as the storage facility. If
the instrumentation. Additional savings can be a boundary is drawn around the storage facility and
achieved by reducing the size of piping and valves.
Substantial savings can accrue if the number of
pumps is reduced. These savings will be offset by Figure 1. Generalized storage case.
the cost of providing storage, but in many cases a
net savings will occur if the storage can be pro"- Inflow hydrograph
vided at a low cost. 40
Maintenance and operating costs can be lowered by
reducing the fixed electrical charge assessed by 30
Flow-
most electrical utilities. This charge is basically cfto 20
for the electrical capacity that the utility must
maintain to service the pumping station and is 10
usually proportional to the horsepower of the sta-
tion. Because the horsepower is directly propor- 1& 19
Time· hre
tional to the pumping rate, any reduction in the
pumping rate will be reflected in the fixed electri-
cal charge.
This paper provides design guidance for s1z1ng Figure 2. Reservoir routing.
storage facilities used to reduce peak rates of flow
at stormwater pumping stations.

DESIGN PROCEDURE

The merits of using storage to reduce peak flows are

illustrated here by using a generalized case because
the case of an actual pumping station may be compli-
cated by the varying pumping rates and discontinui-
64 Tr a nsportation Re search Record 948

the pumping station so that they act as a unit, the uniform vertical intervals. Usually, the stage-
reservoir assumption is valid because the design storage curve is developed by using 0.25- to 0.50-ft
conditions conform to the general storage equation: intervals.
Two important points should be remembered:
(f - 0) L'>t =L'>S (I)
1. The stage-storage curve must be developed for
wher e the entire range of elevations encountered.
2. To be cost effective, all of the pipes should
I average inflow rate, be filled at peak conditions.
0 average outflow rate,
6t time increment, and Natural Earth Basins
6S change in storage.
Storage provided by irregular natural terrain is
The inflow rate is defined by the design hydro-
calculated by determining the area of horizontal
graph, the outflow rate by the pumping discharge planes associated with the vertical intervals. The
rates, and storage by the stage-storage curve. Be- areas of adjacent planes are averaged and multiplied
cause Equation 1 is valid inside the boundary, the by the vertical increment to determine an incre-
reservoir assumption is an adequate representation mental volume. Starting at the bottom of the basin,
of design conditions.
the vo l umes are summed to obtain the stage-storage
An example problem is used to illustrate the curve.
development of the routing procedure. The inflow
hydrograph used for this example problem is shown in Trapezoidal Basins
Figure 3.
The stage-storage curve can be developed by using
ESTIMATING REQUIRED STORAGE AND PUMPING RATES
the prismoidal formula; however, because most
engineers will want to develop computer programs for
Because of the complex relationship among the vari-
determining the volumes, the following equation is
ables; of pumping rates, storage, and pump on-off
more useful:
settings, a trial-and-error approach is usually
necessary for estimating the pumping rates and stor- V =LWO + (L + W)Z 0 2 + (4/3)Z 2 0 3 (2)
age required for a balanced design. A wide range of
combinations can be used to produce an adequate where
design. A desirable goal is to maximize storage
capacity so as to minimize pumping capacity. v volume of the basin (ft'),
The relationship between storage and the pump
L length of the basin at the base (ft),
discharge curve for one pump is shown in Figure 4.
The area between the curves to the left of the pump-
on point represents the storage available in the Figure 3. Design inflow hydrograph.
system below the pump-on elevation, and the remain-
ing area above the pump discharge curve represents 30
the storage volume required above the pump-on eleva-
tion.
20
Some approximation is necessary to produce the Row·
first trial design. In one approach, shown in Fig- ch
ure 5, the peak pumping rate is assigned and a hori- 10
zontal line representing the peak rate is drawn
across the top of the hydrograph. The shaded area 0
above the peak pumping rate represents the volume of 10 11 13 14
storage required above [Link] last pump-on elevation.
This area is then measured to size the storage
facility.
Figure 4. Relation between storage and
The number of pumps and their respective pumping
pump-on.
rates are selected along with the pump on-off set-
tings, and the trial dimensions of the storage basin
are assigned to produce the required volume of stor- Stotige Below I Storage Above
age, represented by the shaded area in Figure 5, Pump· On~Elo\iadon
Pump-On Elevation
above the last pump-on elevation.
For the example problem, a peak pumping rate of
14 ft'/sec was assigned; this can be achieved by
using two 7-ft'/sec pumps. The pumping rate is
[ ~-"'"
plotted as a
horizontal line and the shaded area is

Pump·O~
measured to determine the required volume (4,500
ft') above the last pump-on elevation.

STAGE-STORAGE RELATIONSHIP
Figure 5. Estimating required storage.
Engineers have a wide range of tools available to
them for providing the necessary storage at a pump-
ing station. Natural or constructed earth basins
are the most cost effective; however, at most high- 20 Pt• k pumping
Flow· rate
way pumping stations the stormwater must be stored els 14 cfs
underground. This can be done by oversizing the 10
storm drain or providing a concrete storage box.
Routing procedures require the development of a
stage-storage relationship. This is done by calcu-
0
10 II 13 ,.
lating the available volume of water for storage at Time · hrs
Transportation Research Record 948 65

W = width of the basin at the base (ft) , Al wetted cross-sectional area of lower end
D depth of the basin (ft), and of pipe (ft 2 ) ,
z side-slope factor, ratio of horizontal to A2 wetted cross-sectional area of upper end
vertical. of pipe (ft 2 ) , and
M wetted cross-sectional area of midsection of
The equation, developed in Figure 6, is based on the pipe (ft').
premise that all of the slopinq surfaces have the
same slope. If different side slopes are required, Relative area-depth curves or tables for the par-
the equation can be adjusted. A special case occurs ticular storm drain shape must be consulted to
when the basin is square (pyramid) and the equation determine the cross-sectional areas. An FHWA report
for calculatinq the volume can be simplified: (1) provides relative area-depth tables for various
cross-sectional shapes. Because the invert of the
V = L2 D + 2LZD 2 + (4/3)Z2 D 3 (3) pipe should be sloped to aid in sediment removal,
calculating the cross-sectional areas becomes more
Storm Drains difficult. If the pipe is circular, a special case
exists and the volume can be determined by the un-
Whenever the pump start elevation is above the in- gula of a cone formula (see Figure 7):
vert of the storm drain, the storm drain will per-
form more as a storage basin than as a means of con- V = H ((2/3 a3 ± cB)/(r ± c)) (5)
veyance . By ovezslzing the storm drain, a true
storage basin can be created to provide a meaningful
r ed uction in pumping rates. One lenqth of pipe could where
be desiqned to act as a storage basin, or the stor-
age zone could be extended into seve,ral lengths of H wetted length of the pipe (ft),
the storm drainage system. a = one-half
of the water surface width (ft) ,
The volumes for establishing the stage-storage c = distance
from the center of the pipe to
curve can be calculated by using the prismoidal the water surface (ft),
formula: B wetted cross-sectional area of the base
(ft'), and
V = (L/6) (A 1 + A2 + 4M) (4) r = radius of pipel(ft).

where When the water surface is above the center of the

pipe, + is usedi when the water surface is below the
v volume of water in pipe (ft'), center of the pipe, - is used. Relative depth-area
L = wetted length of pipe (ft) , values for a circular section are given in Table 1.

Figure 6. Volume of trapezoidal basin.

_...<.- 2ZD

wzo 2

_.---<--- 2ZD

2ZD
--<:"

Volume 4/3 7 o3
66 Transportation Research Record 948

Figure 7. Ungula of a cone. INFLOW MASS CURVE

To obtain an inflow mass curve, the inflow rates at

the limits of a time increment are averaged and mul-
tiplied by the time increment to obtain an incremen-
tal volume, These incremental volumes are then
totaled to obtain a cumulative inflow and plotted
versus time to create an inflow mass curve. The in-
flow hyd rogr aph for the exampl e problem (Fig ure 3)
is t otale d in Tabl e 3 and plotted in Figure 12 as
the i nflow mass curve .

MASS CURVE ROUTING

Stor age Boxes After the three components, the inflow hydrograph,
the stage-storage relationship, and the stage-dis-
Underg r ound storage boxes would most likely be rec- charge relationships, have been determined, a graph-
tangular reinforced concrete boxes. The volumes at ical mass cu r ve routing p r ocedure can be used. In
the various stages can be calculated by using a c om- actual des i gn prac tic e , the i nflow hydz ograph, wh i ch
bination of formulas for regula r prisms and triangu- i s deve l oped by an accep t abl e bydrologic me t hod, is
lar wedges. Procedures for determining the volume of a fi xed design component: however , the storage a nd
storage boxes are provided in Figure 8. pumping discha r g e ra tes a re va r iable. The d esigner
may wi s h t o a ssign a pumping discha r ge ra te based on
EXAMPLE PROBLEM env ironmen tal or downstream capacit y considerations .
The required storage is t hen de t ermi ned by va r i ous
In thP. [Link]'lmple problem, a 520-ft-long, 48-in,-diam tr i als of the r ou ti ng procedur e.
eter circular concrete pipe with a 0.40 percent As the s tormwater flows into the s t orage basi n,
slope is provided as a storage pipe, as shown in it will accumulate until the first pump-start eleva-
Figure 9: a 21- ft-diameter wet well is also pro- tion is reached. The first pump is act i vated and,
vided. The storage volumes for the respective ele- if the inflow rate is grea t er than the pump rate,
vations are given in Table 2, and the stage-storage the stormwater will continue to accumulate until the
curve is plotted in Figure 10. elevation of the second pump start is reached. As
the inflow rate decreases the pumps will shut off at
Stage -Discha rge Relat i onsh i p their respective pump-stop elevations.
These conditions are modeled in the mass curve
Mass curve routing procedures require that a stage- diagram by establishing the point at which the
d ischarge relationship be established. For the ex- cumulative flow curve has reached the storage volume
ample problem presented here, the following staqe- assoc iated with the f i rst pump-start elevation. This
discharge relationship was developed: storage volume, 2,025 ft, (Figure 10), is repre-
sented by the vertical distance between the cumula-
Discharge tive flow cu rve a nd t he base line a s s hown in Figure
Rate Elevation (ft) 13. A vertic al s torage line is d rawn at th is po i nt
Pump !ft,Lsec} Pump Sta r t Pum;e St o p because it es tabl i she s the time at wh i ch t he first
1 7 2.0 o.o pump starts.
2 7 3.0 1.0 The pump discharge line is drawn from the inter-
section of the vertical storage line and the base
This stage-discharge relationship is based on l i ne upwa rd toward the right1 t he slope o f t his line
three design assumptions: (a) pump 1 stops at a.o- i s equal to the discharge rat e o f the pump . The pump
ft elevation, (b) the pumping ra ng e = 2 ft, and (cl d ischarge c u r ve repre sents the cumulative discharge
there is a 1-ft differ e nce in elev at ion between pump f rom t he sto rage basin, and t he vertical distanc e
starts. between the inflow mass curve and the pump discharge
Figure 11 shows the pumping arrangement. Because curve represents the amount of stormwater stored in
pumping station design is basically a trial-and-er- the basin.
ror approach, this pumping arrangement should be If the rate of inflow is greater than .the pump
considered a first attempt. capacity, the inflow mass curve an d the pump dis-

Table 1. Relative depth·area values for circular pipes.

c
d/D 0.00 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09

0.0 0.0013 0.0037 0.0069 0.0105 0.0147 0.0192 0.0242 0.0294 0.0350
0.1 0.0409 0.0470 0.0534 0.0600 0.0668 0.0739 0.0811 0.0885 0.0961 0.1039
0.2 0.1118 0.1199 0.1281 0.1365 0.1449 0.1535 0.1623 0.1711 0.1800 0.1890
0.3 0.1982 0.2074 0.2167 0.2260 0.2355 0.2450 0.2546 0.2642 0.2739 0.2836
0.4 0.2934 0.3032 0.3130 0.3229 0.3328 0.3428 0.3527 0.3627 0.3727 0.3827
0.5 0.393 0.403 0.413 0.423 0.433 0.443 0.453 0.462 0.472 0.482
0.6 0.492 0.502 0.512 0.521 0.531 0.540 0.550 0.559 0.569 0.578
0.7 0.587 0.596 0.605 0.614 0.623 0.632 0.640 0.649 0.657 0 .666
0.8 0.674 0.681 0.689 0.697 0.704 0.712 0.719 0.725 0.732 0.738
0.9 0.745 0.750 0.756 0.761 0.766 0.771 0.775 0.779 0.782 0.784
1.0 0.785
2
Not e: B = C n , where B = flow area, C =coefficient, D =dia meter of the pipe, and d = depth of flow.
Transportation Research Record 948 67

Figure 8. Volume of storage box.

!. Volume for depths less than D1

2. Volume for depths between D1 and Dz .

Vz LI·' (D - D1)

Total V

3. Volume for depths between Dz and o3.

V3 1/2 HZ (D - Dz)z + w(L - z (D

Dz)) (D - Dz)

Total v V1 + Vz + V3

Figure 9. Storage pipe used in example problem. Table 2. Stage-storage volumes for 48-in.-diameter pipe
at 0.40 percent slope with 21-ft diameter wet well.

Volume (ft 3 )
Elevation
(ft) Pipe Wet Well Total
48" Pipe @ 0 . ~ 11%

I Elov. 2.2'
21· Die.
wet well
0.0
0.5
0
45
0
173
0
218
l.O 251 346 597
~·------620' -----_., 1.5 672 519 1,191
2.0 1,333 692 2,025
2.5 2,213 866 3,079
3.0 3,187 1,039 4,226
charge curve will continue to diverge until the vol- 3.5 4,168 1,212 5,380
ume of water in storage is equal to the storage as- 4.0 5,072 1,385 6,457
sociated with the second pump-start elevation (4,226 4.5 5,773 l ,559 7,332
5.0 6,230 1,732 7 ,962
ft' l. At this point the second pump starts, and 5.5 6,468 l,905 8,373
the slope of the pump discharg.e line is increased to 6.0 6,534 2,078 8,612
equal the combined pumping rate. 6.5 6,534 2,251 8,785
The procedure continues until peak storage condi- 7.0 6,534 2,424 8,958
tions are reached. At some point on the inflow mass
curve, the inflow rate will decrease and the slope
of the inflow mass curve will flatten. To determine
the maximum amount of storage required, a line is
68 Transportation Research Record 948

Figure 10. Stage-storage curve. Table 3. Development of inflow mass curve.

Average Incremental Cumulative

High water alarm --, Inflow Inflow Flow Flow
Time (ft 3 /sec) (ft 3 /sec) (ft3) (ft 3 )
Design hiuh water
Elev 51& 10:10 0 0
[Link] IS
10 :3 5 0.1 15
0.15 45
10 :40 0.2 60
0.25 75
10:45 0.3 135
0.35 105
10:50 0.4 240
0.45 135
10 :55 0.5 375
0.55 165
11 :00 0.6 S40
0.65 J 95
11 :OS 0 .7 735
0 .7S 225
11 :10 0.8 960
Storage · 1.000 cu. ft.
8
• 1I:15 0.9
0.85 2SS
1,215
0.95 285
I J :20 1.0 1,500
Figure 11 . Stage-discharge curve. . J .05 315
11 :25 1.1 1 ,815
1.15 345
JI :30 1.2 2,160
High water alarm
Elov. 6.5
1.85 550
11 :35 2.5 2,710
3.5 1,050
I 1 :40 4.5 3,760
8.0 2,400
I I :45 I 1.5 6,160
15.2 4,560
11 :50 19 .0 10,720
4 -
Elev. 20.2 6,060
ft. JI :55 21.5 16,780
Pump no. 2 stuts S,760
3 - - - -- -- 19 .2
12:00 17 .0 22,540
7 cfs 14 cfs 4,350
14.5
z_Pum~~~~'!. r 12:05 12 .0 26,890
9.2 2,760
12:10 6.5 29,650
l - _!.U!_lf.~2 el0£_1_ 5.8 I ,740
7 els 12 : IS 5.0 31,390
Pump no 1 stops
I
s
r I
10
I
15 20
12 :20 4.0
4 .5 1,350
32,740
Pump discharge - cfs 3.8 1,140
12:2S 3.S 33,880
3.4 1 ,020
12:30 3.3 34,900
3.0 900
drawn parallel to the pump discharge curve tangent 12:35 2.7 35,800
to the inflow mass curve as shown in Figure 13. The 2.6 780
vertical distance between the lines represents the 12 :40 2.5 36,580
maximum amount of storage required. 2.4 720
12 :45 2.3 37 ,300
The routing procedure continues until the pump 2.2 660
discharge curve intersects the inflow mass curve. At 12:50 2.1 37 ,960
this point the storage basin has been completely 2,05 620
emptied and a pumping cycle completed. As the storm 12:55 2.0 38,580
recedes, the pumps will cycle to discharge the re- 1.95 580
13:00 1.9 39,160
maining runoff.
In developing the pump discharge curve, the Note: Time increment = 300 sec.
engineer should remember that the pump performance
curve is quite sensitive to changes in head and that
the static head will fluctuate as the water level in Figure 12. Inflow mass curve.
the storage basin fluctuates. The designer should
also recognize that the pump discharge rate repre- 40
sents an average pumping rate.
The storage volumes for the two 7-ft 3 /sec pumps 30
described earlier in the example problem are as Cumulative
flow
follows: 1.000 cu. ft.
20
Pump Start Pump Stop
Storage Storage 10
Elevation Volume Elevation Volume
Pump (ft) (ft') (ft) (ft'l
1 2 2,025 0 0 11 13
2 3 4,226 1 597 Time · hrs
Transportation Research Record 948

Figure 13. Mass curve routing. of runoff has been reduced from 22 ft' /sec, the
inflow hydrograph peak has been reduced to 14
ft' /sec, and the maximum pump discharge rate has
been reduced by 46.5 percent by providing for 8,500
40 ft' of storage. This is only one possible design
option. The designer may wish to reduce the pumping
rate further by providing more storage, and addi-
30
Cumulative tional combinations of pump discharge and storage
flow can be considered,
1.000 cu. ft.
20 It is important that the designer visualize what
is happening during the peak design period. To aid
10
in this process, the pump discharge curve developed
in Figure 13 can be super imposed on the design in-
f low hydrograph of Figure 3, as shown in Figure 14,
to obtain another picture of the routing process.
Time · hrs The shaded area between the curves represents storm-
water that is going into storage, Again, pump cy-
As shown in Figure 13, pump 1 is activated when cling at the end of the storm has been omitted to
the cumulative flow fills the storage basin to an simplify the illustration.
elevation of 2,0 ft (2,025 ft'). The pump dis- To complete the design the designer should inves-
charge curve is drawn from the base line at a rate tigate more frequent storms (storms with a 2- to 10-
of 7 ft' /sec. Because the rate of discharge is year recurrence interval) and evaluate pumping
greater than the inflow rate, the basin will quickly cycles during these storms. Less frequent storms (a
empty and pump 1 will shut off. The pump discharge 100-year recurrence interval) should also be inves-
tigated to determine the amount of flooding that
curve will be horizontal because there is no pumped
will occur.
discharge until the inflow builds up to the pump 1
Stormwater pumping station design is one of the
start elevation again.
Pump 1 comes on again as the inflow builds up. most promising areas in which cost reductions can be
Because tne inflow rate is greater than the dis- achieved by good engineering. Engineers will want to
charge rate, the curves will diverge until the analyze a wide range of storage and pumping rate
available storage (4,226 ft') is reached at the combinations to obtain the most economical design.
pump 2 start elevation. The combined discharge rate To assist in design calculations, a programmable
is plotted, and a line is drawn parallel to the dis- calculator program (2) has been prepared for the
charge curve through the point of tangency of the routtng procedure. -
inflow mass curve to determine the maximum amount of
storage required, as shown in Figure 13. The ver- Sediment Problems
tical distance between the lines represents the
maximum amount of storage required (B,500 ft'). The handling of sediment remains a difficult problem
The peak storage conditions have now been reached in pumping station design. Mechanical engineers
and storage decreases. The routing continues until prefer that as much sediment as possible be de-
the two curves intersect, at which time the basin posited in the storage boxes and the wet well to
will have emptied. Pump 2 will shut off when the minimize wear on the pumps, whereas maintenance
storage volume is equal to the volume ( 597 ft') engineers prefer that the sediment be passed through
associated with the pump 2 stop elevation (1.0 ft); the system so that the station is as maintenance-
pump 1 will shut off when the storage pipe has been free as possible. Although both of these goals may
emptied at the pump 1 stop elevation (0,0 ft). Sub- have merit, they are at cross-purposes, and some
sequent inflows will cause the pumps to cycle as the trade-off must be made.
storm flow recedes; for purposes of simplicity this Because the velocity in the storage pipe is quite
additional cycling is not shown. low ( 1 to 2 ft/sec) , sediment will tend to settle
The design is adequate because the available out in the storage pipe. Some engineers recommend a
storage at the high-water alarm is 8,785 ft'. relatively steep slope of 1 to 2 percent to pass the
High-water design conditions are plotted on the sediment into the wet well. As a general statement,
stage-storage curve (Figure 10) for reference. the steeper the grade the better is the sediment
In the final design, the mass curve routing pro- removal; however, the steeper grade may cause the
cedure can be fine-tuned after the pumps have been station wet well to be driven deeper into the ground
selected. For example, if two equal pumps are and thus increase its cost. A steep grade may also
selected, the pumping rate when only one pump is limit the length of pipe that would otherwise be
pumping most likely would be greater than half the available for storage.
combined rate. Another refinement can be made for It is difficult to analyze flow and sediment con-
the condition that prevails when all of the pumps ditions in the storage pipe; one approach would be
have come on line and peak pumping conditions have
been reached. The pump discharge curve can be ad-
justed to reflect changes in the pumping caused by Figure 14. Pump discharge.
changes in the static head. However, it should be
JO
noted that these refinements do not act on the side
of safety.
ill
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS Flow·
els
10
Pumping Design

The designer now has a complete design that allows 0

10 '1 13 14
the problem to be studied in depth. The peak rate Time - hrs
70 Transportation Research Record 948

to investigate the flushing case. Design publica- Table 4. Trial slopes for flushing concrete pipe.
tions recommend a minimum velocity of 3 ft/sec when
the pipes are flowing full: however, in the pumping Pipe Size Pipe Slope Pipe Size Pip Slope
station case the pumping rates determine the pipe (in.) (ft/ft) (in .) (ft/ft)
velocity. For the flushing case, it is assumed that
24 0.0083 'i4 0 007.R
all main pumps have stopped and that the inflow rate 27 0.0071 60 0.0024
is half the smallest pumping rate to ensure pump 30 0.0062 66 0.0021
cycling. The slope of the storage pipe is then 33 0.0054 72 0 .0019
selected to provide a velocity of at least 3 ft/sec. 36 0.0048 78 0.00172
The flushing case for the example problem is shown 42 0.0039 84 0.00156
48 0.0033 90 0.00142
in Figure 15.
96 0.00130

Note: Velocity of 3 ft/si;c 1 l/S full flow,n = 0.013.

Figure 15. Flushing conditions for
storage pipe.

age pipe is depressed or isolated from the upstream

Stor&gtt pipe
storm drainage, a minimum pipe grade of 0.35 percent
Wet well is suggested to prevent low spots in the pipe.
Q = 3.5 cfs
In summary, the storage pipe and wet well should
V =J.65 fps be designed to handle sediment: however, the pumping
d =O 52' system should be designed to carry sediment-laden
stormwater in case sediment removal does not occur
in the wet well.

[Link]

1. l>. N. Zelensky. Computation of Uniform and Non-

uniform Flow in Prismatic Conduits. Office of
Research and Development, FHWA, 1972.
The selection of the size and slope of the stor- 2. R.H. Baumgardner, S.B. Chase, and P.D. Wlaschin.
age pipe is an important element in the trial-and- Hydraulic Design of Stormwater Pumping Stations
error design procedure. Table 4 gives design slopes Using Programmable Calculators. Hydraulics
for concrete piFeS of various sizes that will pro- Branch, FHWA, CDS 5, 1982 .
duce a velocity of 3 ft/sec when flow is at a depth
of l/B of the pipe diameter. Although these er i-
ter ia are quite rigorous, the resulting slopes for Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Hydrology, Hydraulics
the larger pipes are still quite flat. If the stor- and Water Quality.