Upgrading Antique Sewers

by Kevin O'Brien, Coordinator of Wastewater Engrg. and Construction; Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Boston, MA,
Frank J. Killilea, Jr., (M.ASCE), Associate; Metcalf and Eddy, Inc., Wakefield, MA,
Steven T. Johnson, Project Manager; Metcalf and Eddy, Inc., Wakefield, MA,


Serial Information: Civil Engineering—ASCE, 1990, Vol. 60, Issue 9, Pg. 58-60


Document Type: Feature article

Abstract:

In a $35 million, four-year program, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) completely restructed the pumping system serving the sewers under East Boston, Chelsea, Revere and 20 other northern suburbs. Upgrading this North Metropolitan Sewerage System (NMSS) required that the existing system serve as building blocks for the new system, which will meet the area's needs through the year 2000. Two major components of the upgraded system are the Ignatius Caruso Pump Station and the new Chelsea Screen House, which replace two existing pumping stations and a screen house. Design and construction challenges for these components, and for the conduits and connections required to integrate them into the overall system, were compounded by site constraints and the need to keep the existing system operating throughout construction. In addition, the old East Boston Steam Pumping Station, being eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, had to be kept intact. It houses the last remaining operable example of the stationary triple expansion steam engine, first used to pump raw sewage in the late 1800s. For the new pump station, a slurry wall 110 ft below grade formed a shell for excavation. Eventually, it will direct flows to the Deer Island plant to be built in the massive Boston Harbor Cleanup program.

Subject Headings: Pumping stations | Sewers | Residential buildings | Construction sites | Water resources | Pumps | Existing buildings

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