Sewage Pump Stations

Here at KD Drainage, we take pride in fully understanding your pump usage and requirements before making our recommendations.

What is a Sewage Pump Station?

A sewage pumping station, in simple terms, moves sewage from one site to another uphill site when gravity cannot carry out this process naturally. In normal circumstances, sewer pipes carry sewage away from a building and into the main sewers, relying on gravity to push any waste into the main sewer. In areas where the main sewer sits on a level of ground higher than these domestic sewage pipes (found in houses and buildings), this sewage needs to be transported using a sewage pumping station.

How Does a Sewage Pump Work?

A sewage pump is used to transfer both liquids and solids in sewage to a different location and are specifically designed to enable these solids to easily pass through, without clogging up the pump or pipework. A sewage pump is installed at the lowest point of the sewage basin in both households and commercial businesses.

Inside a pumping station is a large tank with an inlet, an outlet and one or more pumps inside that use electricity. This is connected to the sewage pipes from a house or building. This tank (often known as a wet well), will collect all sewage until this reaches a certain level. When this happens, a float switch activates the pump. A motor begins to rotate, and the pump propels the wastewater through pressurisation to the next point of call, pushing it towards the entry point of the main sewer. Pump stations are usually installed when a gravity drain cannot be installed due to difference in drain levels.

Do I Need a Sewage Pumping Station?

There are many instances where you may need a sewage pump station installed, specifically if gravity cannot be relied on to transport the sewage from your household to the main sewer. However, if unsure, call KD Drainage today to speak to one of our drainage specialists directly.

If the floor of your basement is too low to allow the sewage to flow into the main sewer naturally by gravity, then you may need a sewage pump installed to help pressurise the sewage and transport this to the main sewer.

Furthermore, you may need to consider installing a sewage pump system if the cost of groundwork or maintenance to allow the sewage to flow naturally outweighs the cost of installing a pump system- especially if this is a reoccurring issue.

Benefits of Sewage Pump Systems

There are major benefits to the installation of a sewage pumping station.

Sewage Stations are Fitted with Alarms

Major groundwork and construction costs can be saved if you are having trouble transporting waste from your sewer pipes to the main sewer. Furthermore, the remote monitoring systems installed alongside the sewage pumping stations keep operators updated on the status of your system and are fitted with alarms to alert you to any issues or malfunctions of the system. This majorly minimises the risk of the overflow of sewage near your house or a building.

Sewage Stations Eliminate Health Hazards

Pumping stations not only save you money in the long run, but also eliminate the risk of health problems. Sewage pumping stations pump hazardous wastewater and sewage safely through a network of pipes underground. Therefore, there is no need for human contact when using a sewage pumping station, avoiding health hazards.

Quick Guide to Sewage Pump Installation

1. Locate and Excavate

The first step of installing a sewage pump system, is to excavate the opening in the ground, ready to install the system. The correct location of the pump station is marked out and the excavation is carried out using specialist machinery such as an excavator, or in more restricted locations, our engineers may have to dig manually. This depends on the size of the proposed pump station. At this point in the process, it may be necessary to drain away any excess groundwater.

2. Install the Sewage Pump System

Before installing the system, a non-degradable solid material of low absorbency must be laid to create a base for the sewage pump. This is called ‘hardcore’ and should be installed into the base of the excavation. The sewage pump system should then be slowly lowered by professionals onto the hardcore base at the required depth, and the associated pipework connected.

3. Secure the Sewage Pump System

The tank will then be filled with water to allow for external backfill or concrete (dependant on manufacturers recommendations). Once the backfill is complete the pump station is emptied and the pump (including the pipework) is installed. A connection is then made to the electrical supply and our specialist engineers at KD Drainage will carry out a full test of the installation.

Why KD Drainage?

At KD Drainage, we have over 20 years of experience with installing pump stations throughout London and Kent and are committed to helping our customers any time of day.

We also offer regular service and maintenance plans, to ensure that your sewage pumps are working all year round, helping you to avoid any damage and extra costs! Our drainage and pump specialists can undertake regular inspections to highlight areas of concern.

We offer our services 24/7 with out of hours emergency call outs, so you know that you can always rely on us. In the case of an emergency during out of office hours call 01622 919012.

We pride ourselves on our customer service and our drainage expertise and have vehicles covering the whole of Kent and London and commit to a 2-hour response time.

Our specialist engineers work with domestic and commercial clients including schools, universities, restaurants, bars, cafes, shops, hospitals, housing associations, letting agencies, agricultural properties, care homes and more!

Our professional and skilled drainage engineers are specialists when it comes to drainage problems and can resolve any issue under any circumstance.

Contact Us

If you wish to know more about sewage pump installations and are based throughout London or Kent, call us today on 01622 919012 to speak to one of our specialists directly, or fill out the form below.