| Entry: Lift Pump originally posted by ApoXX [last edit 3/22/2004 8:38 AM by MacGyver - edited 1 times] | ||
| In a typical drainage scenario, the tunnels will follow downward sloping terrain, allowing the force of gravity to move the water into a river, swamp, or lake. In very flat places, such as North Dakota, the drains still need to be built sloping slightly downwards, but this trajectory quickly ends up deep beneath the target body of water. The solution is to have a powerful pump placed every here and there along the path of the drain to lift the water back up a few feet so it can flow down the next section of pipe or ditch without getting too deep. The particular pumps in Fargo are electric and run all the time except in dry or frozen conditions. In the event of a flash flood (any moderately heavy rain counts), the pumps are not able to handle anywhere near the full volume of water, so there are large pipes that flow straight through to the higher section on the other side. Massive gate valves open up, and the deep floodwater bypasses the lift pump on it's own power. Once the level of the water drops back down below the bottom of the overflow pipes, the pump again becomes solely responsible for passing the water.
Big thanks to "Macgyver" for providing information and diagrams! edit: clarifications --Macgyver | ||
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