Client

Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District

Location

St. Louis, MO

Services

Civil Engineering, Wastewater Engineering, MEP Engineering

The fourth-largest sewer utility in the United States, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) is currently under a Consent Decree with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Missouri Coalition for the Environment to control sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) within the Deer Creek Watershed. In response, MSD is directing the design and construction of the Deer Creek Sanitary Tunnel and the Deer Creek Pump Station as part of system improvements for the 23-year, $4.7 billion Project Clear program.

Gresham Smith was selected to design the $39.2 million deep pump station, which will comprise a wet well, an influent sump, and two dry wells and a screening structure to be located in three separate 36-foot-diameter vertical shafts, approximately 185 feet belowground. The pumping and screening facilities will receive flow from the Deer Creek Sanitary Tunnel currently under construction.

28
mgd pump station
48
million gallon deep-rock tunnel
36
foot-diameter vertical shafts

The Advantages of BIM

Gresham Smith’s three-shaft pump station solution meets MSD’s needs at a lower cost and higher level of service than that of a typical deep pump station by utilizing a separate shaft for the wet well and each dry well. The unique nature of the design posed a challenge for our multidisciplinary team spread across several Midwestern states. To keep all team members up-to-date with the most current design configuration, the project was developed as a 3D Building Information Model (BIM) and maintained on a shared server. This approach provided added value to the client by allowing MSD to incorporate the 3D model into their asset management program.

BIM model of Deer Creek Sanitary Tunnel Pump Station.

Cost Effective, Resilient and Flexible

Through some out-of-the-box thinking, our innovative solution not only redefines the design of a traditional deep pump station but also the type of software used in its development. The end result is a cost-effective, resilient and flexible design solution capable of dewatering the 48-million-gallon Deer Creek Sanitary Tunnel in less than 48 hours.

Gresham Smith really addressed all of our needs during the design of the pump station. Brad Nevois Assistant Director of Engineering, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District