Royal Avenue Pumping Station

How do you silence a sewage-pumping station in a growing urban neighborhood? Just ask BKL.

Take the Royal Avenue Pumping Station in New Westminster, BC, for example. Originally built in 1977, the station was upgraded and finished in the winter of 1995 by the Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District. The project’s prime consultants, Kerr Wood Leidal, oversaw the design of a visually pleasing, tree-encircled station that features an activated charcoal odour-control system and a 125 kW emergency generator. BKL was tasked with designing noise-control measures that would meet the City of New Westminster’s stringent bylaw and keep the neighbours happy. That meant reducing generator noise—measured at 104 dBA inside the generator room—to less than 55 dBA at the nearest property line, 10 metres away. Also, the odour control and building ventilation systems, which operate 24 hours a day, couldn’t exceed 45 dBA. Adding to the challenge, space requirements limited potential solutions.

Emergency Generator Set

First, BKL identified the primary noise sources related to the emergency generator set: the cooling air intake, the cooling air exhaust, and the combustion exhaust. Because the genset’s radiator fan can accommodate very little static pressure, a large attic plenum space was designed to curtail noise from the cooling air intake. To reduce noise levels from the cooling air exhaust, BKL commissioned two specially-designed acoustical elbow silencers that were installed between the genset’s radiator and the building exhaust louvres. These silencers have very low pressure drop with an acoustical insertion loss matched to the specific genset. The combustion exhaust was also fitted with an acoustical muffler.

Odour Control and Ventilation

The odour control system consists of a high static pressure fan between a wet well and a carbon bed. Although the carbon reduces exhaust noise, BKL recommended a silencer between the outlet of the carbon bed and the building exhaust louvres. To meet the rigorous noise bylaw, BKL’s design also included sound seals on all doors, acoustically constructed ceilings and exterior walls, and silencers for the building ventilation exhaust.

Outcome

With BKL’s noise-control design installed, the sound level measured one metre from the exterior exhaust was 64 dBA—a substantial 40 dBA reduction. At the property line 10 metres away, the resulting noise level was below the ambient level. The final inspection attests to the overall success of the design—and specifically, BKL’s contributions—noting that the “… noise reduction measures are extremely successful. With the genset operating, no noise is detectable on north, east and south sides of the building, while at the west property line (the side where the exhaust louvres are located), only a faint hissing noise is audible.”

* Photos courtesy of Kerr Wood Leidal Associates Ltd.

The People Behind Our Work

Our Technical Leads
Our Team

Brigette Martin

P.Eng., WELL AP

Technical Director, Sound and Vibration Measurements

Brigette Martin, P.Eng., WELL AP

Technical Director, Sound and Vibration Measurements

Brigette Martin graduated from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2009. Before joining BKL in 2015, Brigette worked as an acoustic consultant on various building and environmental projects throughout New Zealand and Australia.

Brigette has extensive experience with environmental noise including assessing noise impacts and designing noise mitigation for gas compressor and pump stations, power generation sites, port terminals, and transformers sites; modelling construction noise, and developing construction noise abatement and management plans; designing noise controls and preparing noise management plans for mines and quarries; and monitoring benchmark noise, developing 3-D noise models, and designing noise walls for road infrastructure projects.

In the area of building acoustics, Brigette has been involved in numerous projects and has consulted on sound insulation and mechanical services design, as well as controlling external noise intrusion and reverberation noise levels, and optimizing speech clarity for critical spaces.

Over her career, Brigette has gained experience with a wide range of technical equipment and software including Insul, SoundPLAN, Cadna/A, SONarchitect, Brüel & Kjær analyzers, and numerous other sound level meters.

Brigette has also developed and presented training courses for using acoustical software and sound level meters for acoustical engineers and clients throughout New Zealand and Australia.
Trevor Cheng

P.Eng., MIOA

Managing Specialist Acoustical Consultant

Trevor Cheng, P.Eng., MIOA

Managing Specialist Acoustical Consultant

Trevor Cheng holds a bachelor of applied science (engineering physics) from University of British Columbia and joined BKL in January 2016, with experience in environmental and architectural acoustics, as well as condition monitoring, and machine vibration analysis and diagnostics.

With BKL, Trevor has primarily been involved in transportation, commercial, industrial, and infrastructure projects. His work experience includes measuring baseline noise conditions, predicting future noise environments, assessing noise impact, and offering mitigation measures where appropriate.

Trevor also has experience in architectural acoustics, working on hospitals, performance spaces, and multipurpose buildings. He is proficient in measuring noise insulation performance, reviewing building designs, and predicting noise levels from HVAC equipment.

Prior to joining BKL, Trevor worked in London, UK, on a wide variety of projects ranging from large-scale architectural renovations to major airport improvement works. He has unique experience in measuring and assessing noise and vibration in buildings from underground rail sources.

He also has experience using sound level meters by Brüel & Kjær, Norsonic, and Larson Davis, and software tools such as Cadna/A. He is familiar with ASTC/AIIC testing and using acoustic software including Insul, SONarchitect, and EASE for indoor noise predictions.

Trevor is a member of the Institute of Acoustics (IOA) in the UK.