WESTFIELD – The Flood Control Commission debated two options of rehabilitating the Williams Riding Way pump station last night, then decided that prudence was more desirable than speed.
The 60-year-old station has the capability of pumping both stormwater and sewage into the Westfield River during major flooding events. A back-flow protection device on the stormwater drainage system would close to prevent flood water from backing up through drainage pipes, causing flooding of low-lying areas protected by the levee.
Those same flood waters could shut down the sewage treatment plant, causing effluent to back up in sewer lines, threatening to flood residences and commercial building in the same low-lying neighborhoods with raw sewage. The city, in a flood emergency, would have the ability to pump both stormwater and sewage directly into the flooded Westfield River.
The pump station, located a short distance off Meadow Street, is a major component in the city’s flood control program and is capable of pumping millions of gallons of flood water through a 60-inch pipe into the Westfield River.
The Westfield River levee improvement project, which was substantially completed last year, was required by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to bring the city’s levee system into compliance with standards issued through the federal Corps of Army Engineers in order for the city to qualify for FEMA certification. Rehabilitating the pump station is the last component of that project.
FEMA establishes flood zone maps under which residents and businesses can apply for low-cost federal flood insurance if their property is in a flood zone and is protected by FEMA-certified flood control structures.
The issue discussed last night is that the station has two pumps which have to be repaired. The debate, and vote, by the commission members was should both pumps be taken off line at the same time, disassembled and then rebuilt, or should the most inoperable pump be rebuilt first and when it is operable, rebuild the second pump.
The board decided that to refurbish both at once, the quicker and less costly option, created too much exposure of flooding for residents living behind the Westfield River Levee, the area primarily protected by the pumping facility.
“We’re into the hurricane season which leads right into the (winter) Nor’easter season, then right into the spring thaw,” Commission Chairman Albert Giguere Jr., said. “So my opinion is that we take one at a time, which may take longer and may cost more.”
Freeman said the Engineering and Water Resource departments “feel very strongly that keeping one (pump) available while the other is repaired.”
The pump station rehabilitation work is being done by Delray Contracting of Ellington, Connecticut, which has performed similar pump station rehabilitation projects in Connecticut and New England. The reconstruction project is expected to begin this fall.
The commission members and Assistant City Engineer Greg Freeman discussed the other issue: which pump is more operational. The discussion was further complicated by the fact that neither pump has been operated in recent years because the motor cannot be dry run. Thousands of gallons would be needed to put a “load” on the pumps and protect the motors driving the pumps.
“Before the end of summer we have to determine which pump is most functional and get it to be operational,” Giguere said. “We have to determine which is the better of the two.”
The facility upgrade also includes the installation of a SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system to remotely operate the pump station. During Tropical Storm Irene the crew sent to manually start the station was prevented access because of flooding on Meadow Street. The SCADA equipment will be linked to the Water Resource Department’s operations plant.
