Lake Townsend Raw Water Intake and Pumping Station

The 30-mgd intake and pump station was constructed as part of a dam replacement project at Lake Townsend, the primary water source for Greensboro, North Carolina. Rather than replicate the existing pump station, Brown and Caldwell engineers presented a solution that improves the intake, reduces physical plant construction and requires less than half the horsepower to achieve the required water flows. The design—using innovative pump cans and finding the optimal pumps for the job—saved nearly $1.5 million in construction costs and reduced power consumption by almost 30 percent, a boost for the City of Greensboro’s sustainability goals.