Mechanic Street Pump Station Upgrade
On January 30, 2023 Mechanic St. residents received the following notice: The city will be conducting work at the Mechanic Street Pumping Station on Monday, January 30, 2023 through January 31, 2023 between the hours of 7:30 am - 4:30pm to install bypass pumping in the driveway of the pump station and to remove a pump out of the building with a crane to have it serviced at an offsite facility. Repairs are expected to take 8 weeks.
UPDATE:
The City of Portsmouth’s Mechanic Street Pump Station experienced an equipment failure in January that left only one of the station’s three pumps operational. The pump station continues to operate and passes the required flows to the Peirce Island Wastewater Treatment Facility. In order to ensure redundancy and manage high flow events, the City mobilized two temporary engine-driven backup pumps in the Pump Station’s parking lot. The pumps are connected with large temporary pipes to the existing infrastructure.
The City is working to complete repairs as quickly as possible and has shipped the main pumps off-site for refurbishment. These large pumps require specialized work and parts. Anticipating a long duration to repair the pumps the City has taken steps to install quiet pumps and modified operations to minimize impacts to the neighborhood.
This emergency repair project only addresses the current equipment need, a larger upgrade of the station has been funded and is currently in design.
For additional information, please contact Shane Nicols the City’s Pump Station Foreman at (603) 957-8003 or Erich Fiedler City Engineer at (603) 380-4704.
Project Description (EF-13-SD-97): The Mechanic Street Wastewater Pumping Station is the largest in the City. The station will undergo a limited upgrade project in FY23/FY24 to extend the lifespan up to ten years. The station will need a comprehensive upgrade (FY30) and it is anticipated the work will be scheduled around the same time as the replacement of the Peirce Island Road Bridge.
Project Status: Hydrology studies planned. Work is not anticipated in FY23.
Estimated Cost: CIP (FY24-29) p. 56. $2 million
Funding Source: Included in June 23, 2022 Sewer Fund bonding for Sewer System Upgrade projects.
