Rowan Pump Station
PRIME: HDR, Inc.
PROJECT OWNER: Louisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District
LOCATION: LOUISVILLE, KY
BUDGET: $ 30.2 MILLION
COMPLETION: ONGOING
The Integrated Overflow Abatement Plan is the Metropolitan Sewer District’s (MSD) long term plan to improve water quality in Beargrass Creek and the Ohio River within Jefferson County by controlling CSOs and eliminating SSOs from MSD’s system. This plan originally contained six CSO storage basins that would collect and temporarily store water that would otherwise enter the Ohio River, but three of these basins ended up being combined into a single deep tunnel with multiple drop shafts called the Ohio River Tunnel (ORT). This tunnel would run 4 miles and included a storage capacity of 55 million gallons. In order to transport the stored water in this tunnel to treatment plants once the flood event calmed, a pumping station was required.
The Rowan Pump Station was designed to dewater the tunnel system following storm events in which the tunnel is filled with combined sewage. Cornerstone provided design, construction administration, and special inspection services for the pump station. One of the major loads that was considered was the large overhead crane that spans the width of the building and moves along the length of the building to access and manage the pumps. This consideration accounts for large moving loads; Cornerstone designed the column pilasters and foundations to accommodate this large load occurring at any place inside the building.
Another big concern with a large, open space is the high shear loads in the walls due to wind, which can get high right next to the Ohio River. Architectural considerations included aesthetics to blend with the surroundings and design of a flat roof system with membrane roofing.
