Nine-Mile Sewage Canal Cleaning and Remediation

The Northwest Oil Drain, a nine-mile sewage canal located between a sewer treatment plant and the Great Salt Lake, is responsible for the effluent flow of the city’s primary wastewater treatment plant, as well as the process water from the area’s six petroleum refineries. Because of its location, the canal is prone to hazardous levels of chemicals. For this reason, an EPA-mandated cleaning and remediation process takes place annually.

Sunbelt Rentals was awarded the pumping portion of the project based on our proven reliability in turnkey services and equipment rental.

The scope of work and rental equipment included:

• Design and installation of fluid transfer, a lift station bypass, and construction dewatering
• More than 10,000 feet of HDPE pipe
• Twenty-six pumps; five 18,000-gallon Weir tanks; four oil-water separators; filter skids

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In the primary system, the Sunbelt Rentals setup moved approximately 45,000 GPM, from one end of the segment to be remediated and discharged to the second system.

Next, the crew bypassed a lift station for proper fluid control so the sewage flows would not overwhelm the primary system and compromise the remediation of the segment. The final portion of the project involved the construction dewatering of the Northwest Oil Drain. The filtration of contaminated construction water and the oil removal process were implemented as well.

During the project, our Pump & Power Services team performed pump watch around the clock. Despite high ground water influences, the pumping system performed flawlessly, allowing the prime contractor to finish their portion of the project on time.

Thanks to our early planning and quick thinking, the Sunbelt Rentals team was able to seamlessly deal with operational challenges such as unexpected wastewater flows and power outages throughout the project.