Utilita Water Solutions is a joint venture between Ventia Utility Services and Downer Utilities, delivering maintenance services for Urban Utilities since July 2016.
Urban Utilities is one of the largest water distributor-retailers in Australia, supplying drinking water, recycled water and wastewater services to a population of more than 1.6 million customers across Brisbane, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim and Somerset.
Utilita carries out a range of work for Urban Utilities including mechanical and electrical maintenance and repairs, water and sewer mains and fittings maintenance, reservoir maintenance and vegetation management.
‘Utilita like to implement changes that improve processes, WHS conditions, and reduce downtime.’
Why did Utilita Water Solutions select a Gorman-Rupp new “Eradicator” system?
As part of their client commitment, Utilita like to implement changes that improve processes, WHS conditions, and reduce downtime. As part of this commitment, Mr David Tolliday, Leading Hand Mechanical with Utilita at Urban Utilities’ Luggage Point Resource Recovery Centre, wanted to address a downtime issue with his digester turnover pumps. Although he had world-leading Gorman-Rupp Super T Series pumps on the job, the heavy loading of rags was causing blockages to the pumps twice or three times per day, per pump.
David met with Mr Darren Jones of Hydro Innovations, distributors of the Gorman-Rupp pumps in Australia, to find a solution. Darren suggested a trial with Gorman-Rupp’s new “eradicator” solids management system, which was designed to greatly reduce blockages by stringy materials. This system can be retrofitted to Gorman-Rupp Super T or Ultra V Series sewage pumps, so David was keen to try it. The trial eradicator retrofit kit was duly installed in late March of 2021.
The Results
Mr Jones was keen to find out how the unit was going in the trial and contacted David late in May. David reported that the pump with the eradicator fitted had not had a single blockage in that eight week period, and that he would be ordering upgrade kits for the balance of his digester pumps.
Benefits of the Installation
Gorman-Rupp designed the “eradicator” to address blockage issues associated with the increased use of wet wipes and their infiltration into the wastewater system, ragging issues, and industrial issues such as feathers in poultry processing. The eradicator works by continuously cleaning the leading edge of impeller vanes, and passing the materials through the pump without impacting performance or interrupting service. The system is available for all Gorman-Rupp’s Super T and Ultra V Series pumps, in sizes from 2” [50mm] through to 10” [250mm].
The Pumps
Gorman-Rupp pumps are heavily used in the municipal, food process, and any industry who’s companies don’t compromise on safety and reliability. Because they are surface mounted, operators can access them easily for monitoring and maintenance, and because they are cast, machined, assembled and tested in the USA, reliability, performance and parts support is guaranteed.
- Ability to mount high and dry above the wet well (not in it)
- Low cost of ownership
- Greatly reduced OH&S issues
- Easy access for monitoring or service
- Advanced safety features to protect operators
- Improved maintenance features to greatly reduce maintenance time and costs, with removable rotating assembly
- A variety of materials of construction to handle abrasive and/or corrosive fluids
- New Eradicator Solids Management System
More information on these pumps may be obtained from Hydro Innovations on 02 9898 1800 or info@HydroInnovations.com.au