How Lift Station Pumping Works [infographic]

At William Dustin Septic, we understand that while many communities, neighborhoods, and businesses have lift stations, most people are not familiar with how they work or why lift station pumping might be needed from time to time. By sharing information with you on the components of a lift station and how lift station pumping works, we hope to shed some light on a confusing topic. Reach out to us with any questions you might have or to schedule lift station pumping or any of our other services.

• Sewage enters lift station chamber- Sewage moves to the lift station chamber by gravity, just as it would to a main sewer line in a situation where gravity was sufficient.
• Wet well chamber- The wet well chamber holds the sewage up to a certain level. The submersible pump and other piping are located inside this chamber.
• Manhole- A manhole above the lift station wet well chamber provides access for maintenance, including lift station pumping when needed. Pumping is necessary to clean out the chamber periodically to ensure lasting performance.
• Submersible pump- A pump is present in the wet well chamber at a prescribed depth so that waste doesn’t accumulate.
• Pipes- When the submersible pump is activated, it pushes sewage out of the wet well chamber to the main sewer line, which is at a higher elevation than where the sewage entered the chamber.
• Alarm- A built-in alarm is designed to notify if the pump stops working or there is another failure within the lift station system.