Lift Stations Explained: What They are and how they work

Businesses, industrial facilities, and even municipalities often find themselves facing challenges related to wastewater elevation, distance, or infrastructure limitations. Without an effective solution, wastewater can quickly back up, leading to costly disruptions and environmental hazards.

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That’s where lift stations come into play—efficiently pumping wastewater to higher elevations or distant sewer mains, ensuring smooth and compliant wastewater management. In this blog, we’ll break down exactly what lift stations are, how they operate, why they’re critical, and how ClearBlu Environmental can help your business find the right solution.

Here’s a summary of what we’ll cover in this article:

1. What Is a Lift Station?
2. How Do Lift Stations Work?
3. Why Are Lift Stations Necessary?
4. Industries and Businesses that Benefit from Lift Stations
5. Key Advantages
6. Choosing a Lift Station

WHat is a lift station?

A lift station, also known as a sewage lift station or wastewater lift station, is a vital component of many wastewater management systems. Its primary job is simple but crucial: to move wastewater from lower to higher elevations when gravity flow isn’t possible or practical. This is especially common in areas with flat terrain or where buildings are located below the level of the main sewer line.

Lift stations are used in both municipal and industrial settings to prevent wastewater from backing up and to keep systems flowing efficiently. By using powerful pumps and automated controls, they ensure wastewater is transported safely and reliably—no matter the elevation challenges.

types of Lift stations

There are two main types of lift stations, each with its own configuration and advantages:

• Wet Well Lift Stations: These systems collect wastewater in a basin (or “wet well”) and use float switches or level sensors to activate pumps when the water reaches a certain level.
• Dry Well Lift Stations: In this setup, the pumps and controls are housed in a separate, dry chamber next to the wet well. These are often used in larger or more complex installations.

Submersible pumps are the most common type used today, especially in wet well systems, because they are efficient and require less space.

Choosing a lift station

Selecting the right lift station starts with understanding your site’s specific needs. One of the most important factors is flow rate—how much wastewater your system needs to handle on a daily basis. This will determine the size of the wet well and the type of pumps required.

Another key consideration is elevation. If your lift station needs to pump wastewater over a significant vertical distance, you’ll need a more powerful pump and a system designed to handle the pressure.

The type of wastewater also matters. Industrial or food processing operations often deal with solids, grease, or high-strength waste, which can affect pump choice and may require solids separation equipment upstream.

Space limitations can also influence the design. Some locations benefit from compact or submersible lift stations that take up minimal room and are easier to maintain.

Finally, consider how much automation and monitoring you need. Many modern systems offer remote monitoring and smart controls, which help catch issues early and reduce downtime.

At ClearBlu, we help clients choose and build lift stations that match their exact site conditions, flow requirements, and long-term goals.

ClearBlu Lift Station Solutions

Partnering with Topp Industries, we provide high-quality fiberglass basins that offer several advantages over traditional concrete structures. Fiberglass basins are lightweight, making them easier to install, and their corrosion-resistant properties ensure durability in acidic environments where concrete might deteriorate. Additionally, these basins can be conveniently fitted with high-temperature pumps and pre-plumbed with rail kits for streamlined installation.

In addition to fiberglass basins, ClearBlu offers duplexing lift stations from Topp Industries. These systems incorporate two pumps operating in sequence to ensure redundancy and enhance efficiency. The control systems alternate between the pumps, extending their lifespan, and can activate both pumps simultaneously during high inflow situations. Customization options include visual and audible alarms for failure alerts and dry contacts for remote monitoring via Wi-Fi or cellular connections.

ClearBlu’s lift stations are versatile, capable of handling flows ranging from intermittent small volumes to thousands of gallons per minute. They can be configured with stainless steel rail kits, pumps, and plumbing to withstand harsh conditions, ensuring long-lasting performance.

What is a Lift Station?

A lift station is a pumping station that moves wastewater from a lower elevation to a higher elevation. The benefit of using a lift station in a sewage collection system is that it saves a substantial amount of money in excavation costs, which involves digging for sewer pipes. Sewer pipes live underground and digging trenches is costly. Installing a wastewater lift station at certain points in a gravity pipeline system saves on front-end construction costs without sacrificing efficiency or functionality. They play an integral role in moving sewage to a wastewater treatment plant.

How does a lift station work?

A lift station is an integral part of an effective sewage collection system. Raw sewage makes it's journey underground in sloped pipelines that take advantage of gravity to keep costs down. This type of pipe system is commonly referred to as gravity pipeline. In some situations it's necessary for wastewater to enter the pipe system from a lower excavation. In order for the raw sewage to continue the journey towards a wastewater treatment plant, it needs to be efficiently transported to a higher elevation. This can't happen naturally for obvious reasons -- it would defy the laws of gravity and physics. Fortunately, we have the wastewater lift station to help.

Eventually, the raw sewage reaches a storage container referred to as a wet well, which is essentially a holding cell that empties out once it reaches a predetermined level. While in the wet well, the wastewater is tested and carefully monitored in order to detect sewage levels. Coarse (solid) materials are removed at this stage. Once the wet well is full, a lift station pump will "lift" the sewage upwards using a pressurized sewer force main. A sewer force main is a system that consists of pumps and compressors. It's purpose is the elevate the wastewater to a higher elevation so that it can continue its inevitable journey towards treatment and re-circulation.

Types of Lift Stations :

There are two types of lift stations that your municipality, commercial business, or residential residency may use, they are :

Dry Well

In dry well lift stations, the system is housed in a separate location (usually underground or in a separate chamber). Due to this physical separation, maintenance on a dry well is more hazardous and poses increased safety risks.

Submersible Pump (Wet Well)

Submersible pumps, as the name suggests, are submerged in the wastewater they pump. It is mounted inside the wet well and uses a motor to pump the wastewater. This method is more modern due to the reduced health and safety concerns they offer.

Lift Station Components

Functional lift station pumps consists of multiple working parts and components. Everything from a power supply to remote monitoring and control must be in working order so that wastewater can be effectively collected and treated. Every aspect of the lift station pump needs to be contained and installed in an enclosed structure. Systems can be pre-designed or customized to accommodate the specific needs of the responsible municipality.

Lift Station components include :

• Receiving well (wet well)

  Contact us to discuss your requirements of Commercial Sewage Lift Station Pumps. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

• Screen or grinding to remove coarse materials

• Pumps and compressors

• Associated valves

• Electric motors

• Power supply system

• Equipment control and lift station alarm system

• Odor control and ventilation system

Wastewater Lift Station Standards

In order to be most effective, a well-designed lift station needs to accommodate certain qualities. Lift station pumps need to adhere to the following quality standards :

• Matching pump capacity with the quantity and the quality of wastewater being treated

• Operate reliably and without interruption

• Offer streamlined maintenance and operation

• Not restrict future capacity and expansion needs

• Avoid excessive release of odors

• Have minimal environmental impact on the surrounding area

• Avoid overflow and flooding

Lift Station Maintenance

Sewage is a hazardous material and needs to be handled and treated as such. It is important that wastewater operators are keenly aware that lift stations require routine maintenance. Keeping a maintenance record is not only a best practice, but it's also often a legal requirement. It's important for lift station alarms to be tested so the proper parties can be immediately notified in the event of any operational issues or equipment malfunctions.

Our lift station maintenance services include :

• Clearing of debris

• Inflow/infiltration assessment

• Testing of check valves and pressure gauges

• Float rising

• General cleaning

• Testing system cycling

• Reading accuracy checks

Here at Wind River Environmental we are here for all your commercial businesses, municipalities, and HOA clients' lift station needs from repair and cleaning, to routine maintenance. 

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Commercial Sewage Lift Station.