
Many
 blunders seem
 so
 obvious.
 It
 does
 not
 even
take
 an
 engineer
 to
 avoid them.
 It
 just takes thought-
fulness
 and a
 sense
 of
 responsibility.
 It
 helps
 to
 culti-
vate
 an
 attitude
 of
 asking,
 "How
 can
 this piece
 of
equipment
 be
 maintained, disassembled,
 fixed, and
reassembled,
 or
 replaced?"
Standard specifications
 and
 codes
 are
 identified
only
 by
 their common abbreviations (see Appendix
 E
for
 a
 complete listing).
27-2. Site
Existing
 utilities
 and
 obstructions
 not
 shown
 on the
plans.
 Obtain
 utility
 company information
 for the
 spe-
cific
 site. Prepare
 a
 good site plan
 and field
 check
 the
design.
Location
 in floodplain
 without
 adequate protec-
tion. Interview
 old
 timers about
 high-
 water
 marks,
obtain government
 flood-hazard
 maps, and,
 if
 critical,
compute
 flood
 elevations.
Inadequate
 street access
 and
 parking.
 Plan
 for
access
 and
 enough parking space
 at the
 site (closed
 to
public
 parking)
 for
 maintenance vehicles, including,
 if
appropriate,
 a
 crane.
Nonconformity
 with setback
 and
 other planning
and
 zoning ordinances. Review
 the
 regulations before
selecting
 the
 site.
Site
 plan
 scale inadequate
 to
 show
 all
 details
 of
site
 work. Normally, choose
 a
 scale
 of 1 in. = 50 ft or
larger.
Wells
 located
 too
 close
 to
 sanitary
 hazards
 or
property
 lines.
 The
 site plan should show
 the
 existing
facilities.
 Follow
 the
 state sanitary codes.
Elevation
 of finished
 work incorrect. Insist
 on
 ties
to at
 least
 two
 benchmarks.
 Field
 check
 the
 contrac-
tor's
 work prior
 to
 placing concrete
 for
 critical items.
Ground
 floor too low or floors
 without slope.
Flooding
 or
 drainage problems
 are
 created
 and may
violate sanitary codes. Have
 a
 good site survey
 and
site
 plan, establish benchmarks, slope
 the floors to
drains,
 and
 follow
 the
 state sanitary
 codes.
27-3.
 Environmental
Inadequate
 silencers
 on
 engines.
 Specify
 an
 accept-
able noise level, say,
 55 dB, at the lot
 line.
 Use a
 resi-
dential-quality silencer.
Fans
 too
 noisy.
 Use
 larger
 fans
 at
 lower speed.
Noisy
 machinery located within, say,
 1
I
2
 km
 (
1
I
3
 mi)
of
 inhabited areas.
 The
 alternatives
 are (1)
 relocating
the
 pumping station;
 (2)
 using storage (except
 for
 sew-
age) instead
 of
 standby diesel power;
 (3)
 obtaining
independent, supplementary electrical power
 as a
standby
 power source;
 (4)
 using submersible pumps;
or (5)
 planning
 to
 soundproof
 the
 station
 at the
 outset
of
 the
 design. Take ambient noise-level readings
before
 construction
 for
 protection
 in
 possible
 lawsuits.
Sewer inlet with
 a
 free-fall
 to the
 water
 surface.
 A
free-fall
 of
 sewage into
 a wet
 well might
 (1)
 enhance
odors
 and (2)
 promote foaming
 and air
 entrainment.
Consider Examples 12-4
 and
 12-5
 for
 preventing
ingestion
 of air
 into pipes, and,
 for
 both controlling
 air
ingestion
 and
 reducing odors
 and
 release
 of
 toxic, cor-
rosive gases, consider
 an
 approach
 pipe
 as
 shown
 in
Figure
 12-53.
Odor
 production within about
 1
I
2
 km
 (
1
I
3
 mi)
 of
 res-
idential
 areas.
 The
 alternatives
 are (1)
 relocating
 the
pumping station,
 (2)
 pretreating
 the
 sewage,
 (3)
 plan-
ning
 for
 frequent
 housekeeping
 by
 adding hose valves
(bibbs)
 for
 washing
 out
 odor-producing deposits,
 (4)
sealing
 the wet
 well with manhole covers (see
 Section
23-1
 for
 details
 and
 safety
 precautions
 for
 entry),
 or
(5)
 adding odor-control facilities
 on the wet
 well
exhaust.
Odor
 control. Near residential areas,
 all
 vented
 air
may
 require odor control (see Section 23-2), which
may
 well
 be the
 most expensive part
 of
 O&M. Always
investigate present
 and
 future
 needs
 for
 odor-control
facilities
 if the
 station
 is (or
 will
 be)
 near inhabited
areas,
 and
 design
 it so
 that odor control
 can be
 added.
When using odor-control systems such
 as
 carbon
sorption,
 consider thermostatically controlled heating
to
 prevent
 the
 freezing
 of
 moisture
 in the
 exhaust.
27-4.
 Safety
It
 is
 poor economy
 to
 skimp
 on
 items that have
 a
strong potential
 for
 life-threatening
 or
 hazardous situ-
ations.
Ventilation
Inadequate
 ventilation
 system
 for wet
 well.
 For
 waste-
water
 wet
 wells that must
 be
 entered
 frequently,
 12
 air
changes
 per
 hour
 (ac/h)
 is a
 minimum
 to
 meet most
codes.
 But 12
 ac/h
 can be
 hazardous,
 and an
 exchange
rate
 of 20
 ac/h
 is a
 more reasonable minimum.
 The
California State Department
 of
 Health recommends
25
 and the
 Arizona Department
 of
 Health requires
 30
ac/h.
 Intermittent ventilation, which
 is
 allowed
 by
some codes, including Ten-State Standards [1],
 is
 con-
sidered here
 to be
 entirely inadequate where human
life
 is at
 stake.
 The
 scavenging
 of wet
 wells
 is
 imper-
fect
 at
 best,
 and the
 energy cost saving
 is not
 worth
 the