Philadelphia pump station receives generators and upgrades to boost resiliency
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: $6.08 million
Project Description
In the fall of 2021, remnants of Hurricane Ida flooded the city of Philadelphia. The Belmont Raw Water Pump Station, located across the Schuylkill River from the Queen Lane Raw Water Pump Station, was flooded and pumping stopped for 11 days. Water production was severely affected; the distribution of treated water to west Philadelphia was at risk. The station is about 250 feet from the Schuylkill River and is in more danger of flooding as more severe storms affect the area more frequently due to climate change.
The project includes installing two 2,500-kilowatt generators, one 13.2-kilovolt (KV) incoming service switchgear, and one 13.2-KV paralleling switchgear at the 500-year-floodplain elevation level. These will provide power resiliency and utility protection against multiple hazards. These upgrades provide power resiliency; they protect the infrastructure and utility for the pump station to keep serving communities if there is flooding or power loss.