Pumping Stations
Inspections & Repairs
The City of Framingham operates 43 wastewater pumping stations. The pumping stations are inspected daily by technicians from the Water and Wastewater Facilities Division.
The technicians inspect and repair pumps and related equipment to maintain the flows from many residential neighborhoods. Wastewater pumping stations are used to pump wastewater when wastewater cannot flow by means of gravity. Wastewater is collected at the pumping stations throughout the city from residential and commercial users and pumped up to were it can flow by gravity.
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
Framingham is part of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) wastewater system. Our wastewater is discharged into the MWRA's collection sewers, which flow to the Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Facility.
System Monitoring
The pumping stations are controlled and monitored by a central computer system that communicates over UHF radio frequency. The system monitors the pumping stations around the clock for:
- Proper flows
- Pumps running
- Security
During an event a technician is automatically paged to respond to the particular stations problem.
Daily Management
The wastewater pumping station program works toward maintaining and improving system assets including the systematic renewal of the electronic controls and pump components at many of the wastewater pump stations. To mitigate the impact of sulfide generation and associated corrosion, a chemical feed system has been designed and constructed at the Worcester Road pumping station.
Challenges
Pumping station staff faces site-specific challenges as they perform their inspections and maintenance work such as:
- Backup power needs
- Confined spaces
- Equipment age and variety
- Grease buildup
- Sulfide corrosion
Program staff performs continual repair and maintenance on outdated station components.