MMM Design Group provided the evaluation study and design for this replacement pump station near the intersection of Warwick Boulevard and J. Clyde Morris Boulevard. The original pump station had been constructed in 1962 and was later renovated and expanded in the 1970s. Although all equipment and much of the piping had been replaced in 1993, deteriorating material conditions in the wet well and building deficiencies required that the pump station be assessed for existing conditions, needed repairs and future service area capabilities.

For the study phase of the project, MMM provided an inspection team of civil, structural, mechanical and electrical engineers and an architect to evaluate the existing conditions of the station site and to provide recommendations for repairs, upgrades or replacement of the pump station. Evaluation areas included building condition, heating and ventilation, west and east side motor rooms, dry well conditions, plumbing, external and internal electrical equipment and lighting, brick and masonry investigation, pumps and piping and controls.

Flow rates for the service area were calculated for existing conditions as well as for projected flow rates through the year 2021 that anticipated new residential buildout, commercial development, CNU expansion and Riverside Hospital renovations. Based on current and projected demands in the service area, the existing capabilities of Pump Station No. 26 were considered to be undersized and inadequate. Renovation or retrofit upgrades to the existing 40-year-old facility were not considered cost effective in extending the service life of the station for another 25 years. Instead, four alternate site options were offered to the City for replacement of the pump station. Weighing all available factors in replacing the pump station, Alternate 2 was recommended as the most feasible site option, given its location to the rear of the existing station and its efficient connection to the existing influent gravity sewer. This recommendation also included consideration of wetlands mitigation and permitting.