Wastewater lift stations, or pumping stations, are an integral part in the transportation and eventual treatment of wastewater and other used water. Wastewater is commonly transported through piping systems, using gravity to move the water from one location to another. Using gravity helps keep costs down during transportation. However, gravity cannot be used when the wastewater needs to be transported to a higher elevation. This is where lift stations come in.

There are three main components of a lift station:

• Wet well – This is a single tank, located underground, where the wastewater is held until it is ready to be pumped (or lifted) to the higher elevation piping system.

• Submersible pump – A submersible pump is lowered to the bottom of the wet well. Its job is to pump the wastewater out of the wet well when required.

• Submersible pressure transducer – A submersible pressure transducer is also lowered to the bottom of the wet well and connected to a control system at the top of the well. Its job is to continuously monitor the level of the wastewater in the well. Users are able to pre-set, via the control system, the max allowable level in the well before automatically turning the pump on and emptying. The pressure transducer will continue to monitor during the pumping process and the pump will automatically turn off when the pressure transducer indicates that the level has reached the pre-set low level.