The city of Atlanta faced a critical problem in 2013 when the city’s Nancy Creek Tunnel failed due to years of sediment buildup. The tunnel is an 8-mile-long system that runs under northwest Atlanta, built to increase sewer capacity and handle stormwater during heavy rains. The tunnel ends at the Nancy Creek Tunnel Lift Station, which pumps the wastewater to the treatment plant above it. With heavy rains on the way at the time, the city faced potential violations and large fines from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency if the tunnel could not handle the extra flow.

“The city of Atlanta was really in a predicament,” said Shane Rutledge, superintendent for Western Summit Constructors. “The pumps were failing, and the city was really afraid that it was going to [overload] a sewage field upstream.”

The city needed an innovative and efficient solution to manage flow in the tunnel so the sediment could be cleaned out and the damaged pumps fixed. Western Summit Constructors was chosen for the project, and Rutledge subsequently chose to partner with Xylem for their Godwin brand of pumps. “I didn’t hesitate about contacting [Xylem],” Rutledge said. “When we have used other pump contractors, they say they’ll have a pump there in a day, and then it might be three or four days. Or the fusion equipment doesn’t work when it’s on site. In my 16 years of experience, I have vetted out Godwin pumps to be the best to use.”

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