Everyone should know that water flows downhill (that’s not entirely true but that’s another story). So, for the moment, let’s just agree that water flows downhill until it does not flow downhill anymore. And at that point it stops.

It’s the same for the wastewater from our homes, businesses, and industries as it travels through a sewer system to a wastewater treatment plant. The wastewater flows downhill through the sewer until it reaches the low point in the system and then it no longer flows downhill anymore. So, if the wastewater treatment plant is uphill from the low point, how do you make it flow uphill?

Lifting wastewater to higher ground

Lift stations installed in these low points, collect the wastewater in an underground tank or well often equipped with screens or grinders to remove coarse materials. When the wastewater reaches the lift station (which again is located at a low point in the system), sensors recognize when the tank or well is full and activates the pump, which “lifts” the wastewater to higher ground so that it can again continue its journey downhill to the wastewater treatment plant.

Blackwell’s, Inc. Vacuum Truck Services

Occasionally the lift stations receive wastewater containing much more coarse and solid material than the screens and grinders can handle (t-shirts, rope, chunks of wood, and just about anything you can name and a few that you can’t name) which can result in pump failure and sewer backups. If that happens, well, let’s just say it’s not pretty!

That’s when the Blackwell’s, Inc. vacuum trucks get the call for industrial cleaning help. To be more specific . . . industrial cleaning to vacuum the debris and sewage from the lift station to unclog the pump. This allows the wastewater to again be pumped to higher ground in its journey to the downhill wastewater treatment plant.

Capabilities of our vacuum trucks:

• 5,7020 CFM vacuum
• Debris box can contain 12 cubic yards of debris and waste.
• Can carry 1200 gallons of water on the truck in addition to the debris box
• 4000 psi water pump for high pressure cleaning or excavation
• 14 GPM flow rate
• 440,000 BTU heater

Municipal wastewater and corporate industrial facility wastewater systems can both have issues related to clogged pumps in lift stations and the resulting sewer backups. Blackwell’s vacuum trucks can respond to these emergency needs.