{"id":823,"date":"2020-09-16T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-16T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/2020-infraweek-torresdale\/"},"modified":"2022-12-03T11:31:38","modified_gmt":"2022-12-03T16:31:38","slug":"2020-infraweek-torresdale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/2020-infraweek-torresdale\/","title":{"rendered":"Infrastructure Spotlight: Modernizing Our Biggest Pump Station"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb-root\">\u00a0<\/div>\n<p><script async defer crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&#038;version=v8.0\" nonce=\"Z4nWItNb\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p class=\"big\">Our largest pumping station\u2014the <strong>Torresdale Filtered Water Pumping Station<\/strong>\u2014is about to get its biggest makeover since it was constructed more than 70 years ago, and we&#39;re highlighting the project during the week-long <a href=\"https:\/\/unitedforinfrastructure.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">United For Infrastructure <strong>#RebuildBetter<\/strong> campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A long-serving hub of infrastructure, the Torresdale Filtered Water Pumping Station\u00a0supplies nearly<strong> one quarter of the city<\/strong> with <strong>millions of gallons <\/strong>of clean drinking water each day.<\/p>\n<p>Reconstruction at Torresdale\u00a0will result in direct health and safety benefits by increasing reliability for water customers and critical facilities, including hospitals helping Philadelphia weather the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>The pumping stations serves the city by moving water that has been treated at the Delaware River\u2019s<strong> Baxter Water Treatment Plant<\/strong>. Overall, Baxter treats about 60 percent of Philadelphia\u2019s water. Combined with output from the Schuylkill River\u2019s Queen Lane and Belmont treatment plants, we provide an average of more than 200 million gallons of high quality water per day.<\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\"><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/static\/pumpingstation_200917-01.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"'What a Treated Water Pumping Station Does - pumping stations push water into the pipes supplying different areas of the city to ensure there is enough water pressure everywhere, including at higher elevations (where pressure is typically lower), average elevations (where pressure is typically average), and lower elevations (where pressure is typically higher).\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/static\/pumpingstation_200917-01.png\" \/> <\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/static\/pumpingstation_200917-01.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Click to view full size image<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/static\/pumpingstation_200917-01.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <\/a><\/div>\n<p>Torresdale is one of <strong>more than a dozen pumping stations<\/strong> working around the clock to ensure water is delivered at an adequate pressure and can reach every building and fire hydrant in the city.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"semibold\">\n<p><em>\u201cWe are deeply committed to the safety and integrity of our water system and will continue to make these strategic investments to our infrastructure. We are pleased to work with partners like PENNVEST on projects that will improve access to clean water for our residents and business\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n<p><cite>\u2014 Philadelphia Water Department Commissioner Randy\u00a0E.\u00a0Hayman<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>A steam-powered pumping station designed to draw untreated, raw water from the Delaware was first erected at the site of the Torresdale facility in 1907. The facility being upgraded now, the Torresdale Filtered Water Pumping Station, was built in the late 1940s to move treated drinking water, with <a class=\"semibold\" href=\"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/files\/torresdale-pumping-station-news-article.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news reports<\/a> hailing the investment and multi-year construction.<\/p>\n<p>The $73.35 million overhaul is funded by a low-cost loan. It represents the biggest investment in the station since 1949. The loan was awarded by the state-run <strong>Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pennvest.pa.gov\/Pages\/Mission.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PENNVEST<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h4>Improvements include:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Installation of 14 new state-of-the-art pumps<\/strong> that will help distribute clean water around the city<\/li>\n<li><strong>Advanced flow meters<\/strong> that will help increase and ensure efficiency<\/li>\n<li><strong>New electrical controls and equipment<\/strong> allowing for more precise operation of the system<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>The Vision: Improve Reliability, Streamline Maintenance<\/h3>\n<p>The driving force behind the upgrade is a <strong>never-ending push<\/strong> by PWD engineers and planners to improve reliability in the delivery of drinking water while streamlining maintenance.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"semibold\">\n<p>\u201cMuch of the upgrade involves spreading different size pumps into quadrants to increase flexibility, from an operations standpoint,\u201d <cite class=\"inline\">Water Conveyance System Superintendent Bill Neary said. <\/cite> \u201cThe goal is to make it so you can take one pump out of service, fix it and never miss a beat in terms of delivering water.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>He has been working there since 1982 and is set to retire next year, after nearly four decades of service.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to Superintendent Neary\u2019s technical and operational input into our comprehensive <a class=\"semibold\" href=\"https:\/\/phillyh2o.info\/water-master-plan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Drinking Water Master Plan<\/a>, however, his work will continue to shape Philadelphia Water Department infrastructure for decades to come \u2013 some of the projects he is helping to plan for won\u2019t even break ground until the 2030s.<\/p>\n<p>Investments like the one being made at Torresdale are \u201call about reliability and looking well into the future,\u201d said Superintendent Neary.<\/p>\n<p>This is an upgrade that will allow us to reduce risk and increase reliability. There is a lot of risk in taking pumps out of service to work on them, as you decrease the number of units available to meet the daily water demand.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"semibold\">\n<p>\u201cTypically, when you do an upgrade to a facility like this, your hope is to get 25-30 years out of that investment before you have to go back in. With this project, <strong>we are looking to get 50-60 years of life <\/strong>out of the upgrade.\u201d <cite class=\"ib\">\u2014 Water Conveyance System Superintendent Bill Neary<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Rather than taking multiple critical pumps out of service under certain conditions, this modernization allows PWD to make the pumping station more modular, limiting risk.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Simply put:<\/strong> we\u2019ll be able to do maintenance <em>and<\/em> keep things running.<\/p>\n<p>Superintendent Neary said that planning reliability upgrades around more efficient maintenance can often cost more up front, but saves PWD money over the long haul because it means the investment can last <strong>decades longer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3>A Record-Setting Investment<\/h3>\n<p>PENNVEST announced the loan for this complex modernization project in April 2020 as part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.media.pa.gov\/Pages\/Pennvest-Details.aspx?newsid=54\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>$116 million investment<\/strong> in water infrastructure<\/a> throughout the commonwealth.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed center\">\n<div class=\"fb-post\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SenSabatina\/posts\/2602800843289724\" data-show-text=\"true\" data-width=\"\">\n<blockquote cite=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SenSabatina\/posts\/2602800843289724\" class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\">\n<p>It\u2019s great to see this kind of investment in our local water supply infrastructure. This is a major improvement to the&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Posted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SenSabatina\/\">State Senator John Sabatina<\/a> on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SenSabatina\/posts\/2602800843289724\">Wednesday, April 22, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The funding represents the <strong>third-largest award ever granted<\/strong> since the infrastructure funding organization launched in 1988. The offer is part of PENNVEST\u2019s <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/dwsrf\/how-drinking-water-state-revolving-fund-works#tab-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Drinking Water State Revolving Fund<\/a> program<\/strong>, which is backed by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, through a Safe Drinking Water Act provision.<\/p>\n<p>With COVID-19 budget impacts potentially postponing many projects outlined in our Drinking Water Master Plan, the funds come at an especially timely moment.<\/p>\n<p>PWD worked with a broad team of City partners to apply for the funding in early 2020.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"semibold\">\n<p>\u201cThe application required careful coordination between teams at PWD\u2019s Engineering Division, City of Philadelphia Finance (Central Finance and Treasurer\u2019s Office) and PWD Finance,\u201d <cite class=\"inline\">said PWD Deputy Commissioner of Finance, Melissa LaBuda.<\/cite> \u201cThis effort was a true team effort by the City.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Construction could begin as early as summer 2021.<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>Want more infrastructure news?<\/h4>\n<h5>Check out United for Infrastructure&#39;s 2020 highlights on Twitter:<\/h5>\n<div class=\"embed center\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">This is a great example of planning for an EQUITABLE infrastructure future! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RebuildBetter?src=hash&#038;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#RebuildBetter<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/PXipoiHwZO\">https:\/\/t.co\/PXipoiHwZO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 United For Infrastructure (@United4Infra) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/United4Infra\/status\/1306309255054659584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 16, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our largest pumping station\u2014the Torresdale Filtered Water Pumping Station\u2014is about to get its biggest makeover since it was constructed 70 years ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"custom_css":"","custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[28,31,51,63,103],"class_list":["post-823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-infrastructure","tag-delaware-river","tag-drinking-water","tag-infrastructure-investment","tag-northeast-philadelphia","tag-treatment-plant","wpautop"],"acf":{"suggested":null},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/phila.gov\/blog\/2020-infraweek-torresdale\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Infrastructure Spotlight: Modernizing Our Biggest Pump Station","url":"http:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/2020-infraweek-torresdale\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/2020-infraweek-torresdale\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":""},"articleSection":"Infrastructure","author":[],"creator":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"@PhillyH2O Blog","logo":""},"keywords":["delaware river","drinking water","infrastructure investment","northeast philadelphia","treatment plant"],"dateCreated":"2020-09-16T21:00:00Z","datePublished":"2020-09-16T21:00:00Z","dateModified":"2022-12-03T16:31:38Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"Infrastructure Spotlight: Modernizing Our Biggest Pump Station\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/water.phila.gov\\\/blog\\\/2020-infraweek-torresdale\\\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/water.phila.gov\\\/blog\\\/2020-infraweek-torresdale\\\/\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"\"},\"articleSection\":\"Infrastructure\",\"author\":[],\"creator\":[],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"@PhillyH2O Blog\",\"logo\":\"\"},\"keywords\":[\"delaware river\",\"drinking water\",\"infrastructure investment\",\"northeast philadelphia\",\"treatment plant\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2020-09-16T21:00:00Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-16T21:00:00Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-03T16:31:38Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/phila.gov\/p.js"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}