GUC's 39 pump stations, located throughout our service area, send sewage to the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). Like all equipment, they require regular maintenance.  During a Lighthouse observation of a maintenance check, the question came up about communicating with employees who are working in the pump stations.  Since the stations are located two stories below the ground, there was no cell phone service, and radios didn't work either.  Employees discussed the many scenarios that could lead to.  Falls, getting stuck in equipment, health issues (like a heart attack, or fainting), and many other things could leave an employee alone in the pump station with no way to call for help.

Staff determined that installing repeaters in the pump stations would allow for cell phone and radio communications. A repeater is an electronic device that receives the signal and retransmits it. Repeaters extend transmissions so that the signal can cover longer distances or transmit to the other side of something blocking the signal; in this case, the depth of the pump station. Since then, repeaters have been installed in all the stations.  WWTP staff took it one step further, so now employees work in pairs in the pump stations when at all possible.

While there had not been an incident to date, a possible tragedy has been avoided and better communications can take place -- all thanks to a Lighthouse observation.