Elevator Shaft Water Removal

after the pump run the water into a interceptor that is designed to remove any oil the run then discharge into the sanitary sewer,the cost of the interceptor is the only significant part of this fix good luck

This was the first plan but the environmental folks went on a rampage and got rid of ALL oil/water seperators some time ago. There is a pump out there that has an "oil alarm" with it. Whne oil is detected it filters it out and onnly permits the water to be pumped to a SS. Another problem is the existing sump is only a few inches deep. I will need a good 24" deep sump. This would cause me to cut through the shaft floor and I would probably end up with more problems. There is to be a meeting Friday with all concerned to see what can get approved and the "best" plan of action.

Where does the oil come from?

Good question. There shouldn't be any at all. Probably it is only hydrolic fluid, unless the contractor hit oil sand when the thing was built.

hydraulic elevator?

Is access such that you might be able to provide good drainage around the outside of the shafts? If doing so costs $45,000, then the payback would only be 5 years -- a good investment in building terms.

This is the best solution to get rid of the water.

The oil must be prevented to reach the water. leaks should be eliminated or spills should be collected before reaching the ground.

This product may be of interest as custom sizes & dimensions can be manufactured to hold more water and it absorbs only water.

http://www.h2ocontrol.com/productsWaterWorm.php

Any Marine Supply Store, IE: West Marine, Boat/US, etcetera, sells oil removal pads and stuff. Boaters put them in the bilges to absorb oil that would otherwise get pumped out with the bilge water.

A search for "oil Absorbent" at; http://www.metacrawler.com/ (the best search engine) turned up over 50 sites.

Good luck.

Good point but I,m sure our friends environmental staff will want dissolved hydrocarbons addressed as well. Can we contain, analyze and then treat the water with activated carbon prior to release? You would certainly want to remove the free phase hydrocarbon prior to treatment.

Our air compressors have oil/water separators that first separate the oil and water through a weir, absorb the oil by passing the remaining mixture through a container of absorbent, then separate further through several more weirs. The cleaned water is then discharged outdoors. We could conceivably run the cleaned water through a second absorbent container to clean it even further. Check with an air compressor supplier. The entire device is plastic, self-contained, and has separate discharge ports for oil and cleaned water.

www.kryton.com

This will stop the water ingress completely.

In 35 years I have never encountered a situation that was not resolvable--from the inside with no excavation.

Most oils float on water. A possible venue?

Current building construction technology and environmental codes in effect in New York dictate one of two approaches to the problem of elevator pit water removal. There are sumps pumps available that will sound an alarm and shut down if oil is detected in the effluent and there are oil separators that must be installed to separate the oil. The latter is an expensive alternative, as the separated oil must then be transported in buried, double wall plastic or fiberglass piping to a double wall underground storage tank with leak detectors. Therefore, the first alternative has become prevalent simply due to cost. Prevention of the seepage would appear to be the best long term solution. However, if the source of the oil is a hydraulic system leak, well, duh, is there a need for further discussion???

I had simyler problem at Flourmill elevator pitt and at Fivestar Hotel Lift shaft pit i was able to solve the issue by digging a jackwell close to the lift pit and water proofing the pitts and pumping out the Jackwell to the nearby garden.You need the adviced of PE Civil eng to loate the jackwell.

CRN

Water from pit cannot be run into sanitary system. It should only be run into the storwater system. Get an oilminder sump pump with alert in case of heavy concentration of oil, which would then signal that it must be cleaned by proper personnel.

JPR - prof. engineer

It sounds as though there is a process materials containment problem to solve first.