Bedford Pumps commissions fish friendly pumps in Canada

Aerial view of the Pitt Polder Pumping Station.
Aerial view of the Pitt Polder Pumping Station.
Installing the pumps at the Pitt Polder Pumping Station.
Installing the pumps at the Pitt Polder Pumping Station.
One of the fish friendly pumpsets being installed.
One of the fish friendly pumpsets being installed.

Bedford Pumps Ltd has completed the commissioning of two fish friendly pumpsets at the Pitt Polder Pumping Station in British Columbia, Canada.

The original Pitt Polder Pumping Station was constructed in 1952 and consisted of two vertical pumps with no backup power. Having reached the end of its service life, the station was allocated federal funds towards the C$6.9 million cost of a new facility that will provide protection to 1650 hectares of land.

Bedford Pumps supplied two submersible axial fish friendly pumpsets for the new Pitt Polder Pumping Station. The two pumpsets will each provide a duty of 3560 l/s at 6.5m head. Each submersible pumpset includes an integral 350 kW (465 hp) 16 pole motor suitable for operation on a VSD.

The canisters, which are configured for below floor discharge, were manufactured in Canada to Bedford Pumps’ exact specification.

Pitt Polder Pumping Station is located within the City of Pitt Meadows which lies at the confluence of the Fraser and Pitt Rivers. Approximately 86% of the city is located within a flood plain and Pitt Meadows relies on a continuous dyke system, comprising of a network of ditches, flood boxes and pumping stations for flood protection.

This is Bedford Pumps’ 6th Canadian order to date with the very first delivered seven years ago to another pumping station in the region, Hatzic Lake, to assist with annual winter flooding problems along the Fraser River.