Smith Road Pump Station Upgrade Project

The City of Scappoose Smith Road Pump Station Upgrade Project involved the design and construction of key improvements to the City’s wastewater infrastructure. The project aimed to enhance both short and long term pumping capacity, operational reliability, and environmental protection while providing a cost-effective, high quality solution through a Progressive Design Build delivery method.

Infrastructure reliability is defined not by visibility, but by performance and how effectively systems protect public health and the environment under real-world operating conditions. 

Achieving that reliability requires careful planning, close collaboration, and engineering decisions grounded in long-term system performance. 

For years, the Smith Road Pump Station in Scappoose, Oregon experienced frequent pump failures and after-hours alarm events creating operational challenges and increasing the risk of service interruptions. Because the station serves a large portion of the City’s wastewater flow and sits adjacent to homes and a nearby creek, dependable performance wasn’t optional, it was essential.  

Windsor Engineers partnered with construction company Rotschy, Inc , geotechnical engineer Shannon & Wilson and the City of Scappoose’s Department of Public Works to deliver this critical pump station replacement through a progressive design-build approach. 

This project was a successful example of using the progressive design-build approach on a municipal capital project of under $2M in total costs. 

From the earliest phases, the team worked closely with City wastewater operations staff to validate flow data, incorporate operational insight, and develop a solution that balanced safety, reliability, cost, and long-term performance.  

The project site presented significant constraints: limited space, a floodplain location, proximity to a waterway, and the need to maintain uninterrupted sewer service throughout construction. To meet these challenges, the team designed a compact, triplex submersible pump station using an innovative caisson wet-well installation. 

This approach minimized site impacts, improved safety by eliminating confined space hazards, shortened the construction schedule, and reduced project costs by approximately fifteen percent. The station was commissioned in late 2024, completed ahead of schedule, and delivered with less than one percent in change orders. 

Projects like this succeed not through engineering alone, but through partnership, listening, and shared accountability.   

Beyond Scappoose, the Smith Road Pump Station demonstrates how alternative delivery and early collaboration can improve outcomes for municipal infrastructure advancing both community resilience and engineering practice. 

Engineered through partnership and precision, the Smith Road Pump Station exemplifies Windsor Engineers’ approach to high-performance infrastructure in service of the public good.