Maintaining pumps in water treatment plants is no small feat, especially when faced with corrosive environments, aging equipment, and strict compliance regulations. This is crucial for municipality water and wastewater plants as they depend on pumps and cranes for an uninterrupted water supply and healthy waste management.
Equipment used to repair water pump motors, like the cranes used to lift them, is also often at risk from corrosion. Crane maintenance for wastewater plants can be tricky because supply chain delivery times can slow or halt any needed repairs. That can put the entire infrastructure at risk.
An MCE company, Piedmont Electric Motor brings expertise in pump and crane maintenance, inventory solutions, and custom services to help municipalities keep their infrastructures running smoothly. The experts at Piedmont employ best practices to municipal infrastructure operations to help manage the challenges of maintaining critical pumps and cranes.
Many people take clean water for granted. However, getting groundwater from municipalities to communities is a logistical challenge. The solutions require pumps and heavy equipment like cranes to move and treat the water for daily use. Piedmont can help implement maintenance plans for the pumps and cranes that are part of the critical infrastructure of your communities.
Vertical, split-case, and submersible water pumps are the heart of water and wastewater treatment systems. When doing their jobs well, they move water efficiently across extensive networks. An example of how critical these pumps are for a city’s water supply: the City of Kings Mountain relies on 32 pump stations to maintain 107 miles of water and sewer mains and has a capacity of 12 million gallons per day. Some municipality systems are larger and more complex to maintain.
Piedmont specializes in repairing these large, essential pumps, ensuring they remain operational even under corrosive conditions like heavy chlorine exposure. The knowledgeable staff at Piedmont are experts in repair of motors up to 4,000 HP and can advise whether it’s cost effective to repair or replace a pump motor.
Cranes are indispensable in treatment plants and pump stations, where they enable the heavy lifting and replacement of heavy pumps and other components. Regular preventative maintenance of these cranes ensures they can consistently handle the rigorous demands of water operations and pass regular OSHA-mandated inspections. Piedmont repairs, inspects, and builds cranes (up to 30 tons) and provides and files the necessary OSHA crane regulation paperwork for municipalities to remain compliant.
Maintaining pumps and cranes in water and wastewater treatment plants requires customized preventative maintenance and inspection plans to mitigate the effects of wear and tear. Municipalities face numerous challenges to keep pump motors and cranes up and running in peak condition:
Environmental Factors:
Staffing Constraints:
Aging Infrastructure:
OSHA Regulations and Environmental Compliance:
Downtime and Emergency Repairs:
Considering all the factors that challenge many short-staffed municipalities, partnering with MCE company, Piedmont Electric Motor, can significantly decrease the risk of downed operations.
Electric motors are the backbone of municipal operations, but they are also vulnerable to failure due to wear, environmental factors, and inadequate maintenance.
The Value of Preventative Maintenance:
Municipalities can adopt several best practices to maintain motors and avoid unexpected failures.
A. Regular Inspections
B. Routine Greasing and Lubrication
C. Load Monitoring
D. Electrical Testing
E. Reliable Repair & Supply Chain Partner
The Piedmont team provides specialized services, including motor rewinding, bearing replacements, and inspections. For example, they can extend the lifespan of high-temperature pumps by installing ventilation ducts to reduce heat stress, reducing local municipalities' maintenance needs significantly.
With access to a diverse inventory of motors and parts, MCE mitigates supply chain delays. Municipal operators know parts can take six to eight weeks to deliver via the traditional supply chain. That's why Piedmont operates locally with warehouse inventory stocked to ensure municipalities quickly get the components they need. A handful of motor lines ensures flexibility in meeting diverse customer needs across industries and reduces customer reliance on long lead times for new equipment.
Along with a reliable supply chain, Piedmont has state-of-the-art tools, such as core loss testers and balancing machines, to restore motors and pumps to factory specifications—or better. In one instance, Piedmont’s experts used an $80,000 core loss tester to identify and avoid repairing a motor with damaged laminations. Not every repair facility carries these expensive tools and without this intervention, the machine would have failed soon after use.
Piedmont can also fabricate stainless steel and aluminum components tailored to municipal needs to combat corrosion. These solutions are particularly effective in high-chlorine environments like water parks and wastewater plants.
Preventative maintenance is your future insurance policy, protecting the entire operation from costly downtime. The Piedmont team can address even the worst cases where municipal facilities severely damage motors by chlorine exposure. Advanced tools like megohmmeters (meggers) help detect insulation issues caused by moisture and contamination, enabling early intervention to prevent equipment failure. Insulation degradation can lead to shorts, inefficiency, and equipment failure in challenging environments. Regular megger testing can detect insulation problems early and prevent unexpected breakdowns. Piedmont Electric Motor has a host of services (Motor repair, welding & machining, hoist & crane fabrication and installation) designed to prevent damage before it shuts you down.
Regular pump motor maintenance prevents overheating and seal degradation. Piedmont also offers tailored preventative maintenance schedules, helping municipalities prioritize their most critical equipment. One example is when Piedmont extended the operational lifespan of a high-temperature pump by installing ducts to improve airflow, reducing the need for biannual overhauls.
Regular crane inspections, as mandated by OSHA, ensure safety and compliance. Piedmont performs thousands of hoist inspections quarterly, providing detailed regulatory documentation for peace of mind. For example, Piedmont inspects over 4,000 hoists quarterly for a city’s school bus maintenance yard, ensuring compliance and operational safety. Piedmont’s expertise in industrial pump and crane inspections for municipalities helps these critical organizations meet their requirements while avoiding costly penalties.
Piedmont ensures that pumps and cranes meet environmental regulations for water treatment equipment through meticulous inspections and expert repairs. Detailed inspection reports, particularly for crane maintenance, have helped customers avoid liability in safety-related incidents. For example, Piedmont staff use meggers to test insulation resistance, ensuring motors operate safely within acceptable electrical parameters. This proactive approach supports both operational safety and regulatory compliance.
To mitigate environmental impacts, Piedmont employs corrosion-resistant materials and protective coatings. Corroded pump components can be replaced with stainless steel or aluminum parts, extending equipment life while meeting safety and environmental guidelines.
Piedmont designs and fabricates stainless steel components to combat corrosion in high-moisture and chemical-laden environments like water parks and wastewater plants. For instance, Piedmont staff fabricated ventilation ducts for a heat-damaged motor, enabling it to operate continuously for four years instead of requiring biannual replacements. By offering tailored cleaning and coating applications, Piedmont proactively addresses municipalities' specific needs. These solutions help prevent corrosion-related failures, reducing downtime and maintenance costs.
Beyond water and wastewater infrastructure maintenance, Piedmont provides guidance on motor specifications and environmental factors that can influence motor longevity, ensuring that customers use motors suited for their specific needs. This advice can help prevent overstocking or premature failure due to poor motor selection. These recommendations help enhance system performance and ensure reliability under challenging conditions.
With small budgets, repair or replacement is always an issue. Piedmont experts help municipalities weigh the advantages of repairing vs. replacing pumps in municipal plants
based on cost-effectiveness and lead times. In one case, Piedmont refurbished a chlorine-damaged pump, allowing a wastewater plant to avoid a 50-week wait for a new unit. When repairs are impractical, Piedmont provides product guidance and quick access to replacements.
In the event of motor failure, Piedmont offers quick repair and replacement services to minimize downtime. The ability to access motors and parts rapidly (with local warehouse access) allows a quick response to emergency needs, helping customers avoid extensive stockouts and downtime.
Pumps and cranes are the backbone of municipal water and wastewater infrastructure. With challenges like corrosion, aging equipment, and strict regulations, maintaining these systems is no easy task.
The MCE-Piedmont Value-Add for Customers:
MCE company, Piedmont Electric Motor, offers best practices for pump motor and crane preventative maintenance in wastewater plants. With access to a large inventory and custom solutions for heavy equipment repair, municipalities can keep their operations running efficiently.
Ensure compliance, extend equipment lifespan, and avoid costly downtime by partnering with MCE-Piedmont. Contact us to get started on your preventative maintenance and inspection program.