Reducing overflows through optimized storage and pumping

Pearl and Jennings Road Storage Tanks and Pump Station (PJPS) Upgrade

To comply with a U.S. Environmental Protection (EPA) mandate, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District needed to reduce combined sewer overflows (CSO) into Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River from the Pearl and Jennings Road Pump Station (PJPS). They engaged our team to design an upgrade to PJPS and its storage tanks.

When the design was 60 precent completed, our team faced a unique obstacle. Heightened concerns about risks associated with handling uranium contamination dating back to the Manhattan Project meant a new project site needed to be selected. And the revised design solution had to still fit within the existing project budget and timeline.

Through hydraulic modeling and creative reuse of existing infrastructure, we optimized the proposed design, reducing the number of required storage tanks from two to one by constructing a 1.1-million-gallon (4.2-million-litre) shaft-style tank, 125 feet (38 metres) deep. We also designed the project gravity sewers and force mains to mitigate impacts to existing utilities and businesses. Our team gave special consideration to appropriate construction sequencing to decrease disruption to the community and maintain operations during construction.

With these changes, PJPS is set to achieve a 98 percent reduction in sewer discharges at targeted outfalls, significantly improving water quality in the Cuyahoga River.