Universal Pump Station

The Universal Pump Station in Zilwaukee minimizes flood damage in surrounding communities including Saginaw Charter Township, Carrollton Township, and the City of Zilwaukee. The station resides at the downstream end of the Universal Drain where it outlets into the Saginaw River, providing drainage to 4,148 acres of heavily populated land. In an effort to upgrade the station’s reliability, the Saginaw County Public Works Commissioner hired Spicer Group to complete an engineering study that took a good close look at the station’s components including the power source, pumps, trash rack, controls/sluice gate, monitoring capabilities, site lighting and safety, and general facility conditions. Spicer Group identified many areas that were in need of replacement, upgrades, and improvements and got to work redesigning the pump station to a state that allows the county’s stormwater infrastructure to be managed more efficiently. Spicer Group developed solutions for the Universal Pump Station that included the advanced technologies of SCADA-based automation and digital monitoring capabilities, a security camera system that can be used to visually observe conditions at the site, and a weather station that was integrated into the control system.