Posted on 07/03/2015 3:43:34 PM PDT by BBell
The world's largest drainage pump station, in Plaquemines Parish, could be opened for a public tour this fall during a campaign to educate West Bank residents about their $4 billion flood protection system. Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West officials are considering an open house as they ask West Jefferson voters for a $5.5 million property tax increase and Algiers voters for a 30-year tax renewal for flood protection.
Officials say the money is needed to cover $34 million in expenses associated with operation and maintenance of 100 miles of levees, floodwalls and floodgates built after Hurricane Katrina. Last year, the authority assumed management of the West Closure Complex, the massive pump station at the junction of the Harvey and Algiers canals. It is designed to keep most of the West Bank dry.
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
BTW, I did not know we could build the worlds largest anything anymore. Other than the worlds largest deficit.
The civil engineer in me is geeking out of this. :)
So, are the generators and pump motors high enough so they don’t flood like in Katrina?
That’s cool.
I used to work in a nuclear power generating station in their engineering department. There is something about the sounds of large pumps and EDGs that I find attractive.
I recently got to tour a cruise ship. We got to walk past the engine room. About 5 x 15,500 HP DHGs chugging away. Wow that was cool.
I don’t believe any of the pumping station generators or motors were directly damaged by rising water during Katrina. A few stations had roof damage and many more stations were abandoned during the storm because they were considered unsafe to the operators. That was a highly controversial decision since it resulted in flooding in areas where pumps were available. I recall only one station that failed during operation and I think that was not a failure of the pump motor, but of the structure’s foundation that prevented effective pumping. In any case, pumping stations are now better armored to withstand Cat 5 storms and to allow crews to remain within the structure.
I saw one documentary where they showed the pump station where it flooded and the pumps stopped due to the flood water.
The World’s largest pumping station?
Not by a long shot.
For example, Duke Energy’s Bad Creek Pumped Storage project on the SC/NC border is a “gravity battery” whereby excess electricity generated at night by the Oconee Nuclear Plant is used to pump water from Lake Jocassee up into the Bad Creek reservoir, over 1000 feet above the level of Jocassee. Then during peak demand in the afternoon, that water runs back down through the pump turbines which now become generators.
This Plaquemines Parish project uses 11 diesels at 5400 hp each, roughly 60,000hp or about 45 MW.
The Bad Creek generators are rated for 250MW each but actually put out 330MW at full pond. Four generators equals one to one point two gigawatts.
1,609,227 horsepower as generators. As pumps, add 10% +/-.
(oops! just read the actual article. Headline states “Touring world’s largest pump station?” Text of article says, “The world’s largest drainage pump station”... )
Drainage, OK, they win.
I worked with a guy that started out as a ME for a specialty pump manufacturer. He said they’d plaster labels all over their ceramic lined pumps (abrasive slurries, etc.) about opening the pump to verify pump-motor-electrical polarity, and people would still end up turning on the newly installed pump, running it backwards, breaking the impeller to bits while it unscrewed in its housing.
That is a good idea using excess electricity to pump water up so you can use it the next day to generate power. I’m surprised it’s legal.{;>)
Lets hope we never have to find out.
That’s not good. Where was this? Sounds like folks didn’t know how to read.
Slick!
Thanks for posting!
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