Mallory Pumping Station is a 35 MGD ground water treatment plant constructed in the 1920s and is the oldest water treatment facility in the Memphis / Shelby County area. The facility is an iconic architectural structure located at North Parkway near I-240. At one point in time, it was even able to generate it’s own power using coal fired boilers. Historically the plant had been underutilized and situated in a shrinking part of Memphis, but the rehabilitation came at the right time, as redevelopment in the area, including the Crosstown development and expansions at the St. Jude Campus began to drive up demand.

Initially, SSR came in and accessed the structural integrity of the plant, the reservoirs, the clearwall, the building, and pipe supports—including physically climbing in 36-and-48-inch pipe tunnels and the reservoirs. Following the structural assessment, SSR reviewed the process equipment, to determine what was functioning and what needed repair.

Following the assessment, SSR provided full-service engineering design to rehabilitate the historic facility. Major piping work was required because all of the valves were inoperable, which meant nothing in the system could be turned off or isolated. The project included replacing all the spiral welded steel pipe, gate valves, butterfly valves, double-disc check valves, actuators, pipe supports, and pressure gauges. The project also included items, such as disconnects, to make future maintenance easier for operations staff.

The project also included approximately $6 million worth of structural repairs to the reservoirs. In the basement of the pump house, there was a lot of concrete deterioration and exposed rebar that required repair.

Due to the age of the plant, the project offered several challenges. Many changes had been made to the facility piping and equipment over the years that were not accurately reflected in the available record drawings. From a scheduling standpoint, access to certain spaces was difficult and the team was also not able to shut down the plant.

Overall, the team was able to successfully rehab the facility which resulted in the plant being able to continue to safely and efficiently provide water to the surrounding area for years to come.