City council OKs Lake Tyler raw water pump station fixes

Jul 05, 2023

Next up in 5

Example video title will go here for this video

TYLER, Texas — The Tyler City Council approved a $1.3 million design contract on Wednesday to revamp and improve the Lake Tyler Raw Water Pump Station.

Through the KSA Engineers contract approval, Tyler Water Utilities will continue strengthening the pump station, which is one of the most critical points of the water treatment process, according to the city of Tyler.

The city said the Lake Tyler Raw Water Pump Station transports raw water to the Golden Road Water Treatment Plant, where it becomes suitable drinking water. This project will replace outdated variable frequency drives that control the raw water pumps.

"The VFDs allow operators to increase or decrease the flow of water being pumped to the plant, which will help increase efficiency in operations," said Utilities Director Kate Dietz. "The existing VFDs are becoming more antiquated every year, and replacement parts and rehab on them is getting more challenging."

In place of the VFDs, a new electrical and control building is proposed to house the new VFDs and a new electrical service and conduct and wiring on the site. Surge valves will be replaced and workers will make supervisory control and data acquisition improvements as well as add an on-site 1,750-kilowatt standby generator.

The current Lake Tyler Raw Water Pump Station was built in 1998 when the previous intake facility was abandoned. The upgrade should help ensure reliability for years to come. This project is funded with utility bonds, according to the city of Tyler.