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The last stretch of pipe that transports wastewater to a treatment plant in Wichita, Kansas, is 78 inches in diameter and handles up to 61 million gallons per day. That’s more than 42,000 gallons per minute at peak times.
When that interceptor needed to be replaced without disrupting service, the civil contractor doing the job sought a partner it could trust to handle a massive bypass project.
It chose EquipmentShare.
“We have the equipment and the know-how to do these jobs,” said Curt Hogancamp, EquipmentShare’s national program manager for pumping projects.
Many American cities are dealing with aging and insufficient sewer infrastructure. The American Society of Civil Engineers recently gave U.S. wastewater infrastructure a D+ grade. Ignoring the issue can lead to water contamination, environmental damage and service disruptions. EquipmentShare can help keep the water flowing while the sewer systems are being upgraded.
For the Wichita project, Hogancamp helped EquipmentShare engineer a solution involving eight 12-inch diesel trash pumps and more than 7,500 feet of pipe to reroute the wastewater.
Nick Spilker, the territory account manager at EquipmentShare’s Advanced Solutions branch in Grain Valley, Missouri, worked with the customer to meet its needs and complete the winning bid.
“We did a turnkey setup,” Hogancamp said. “We fused the pipe, set the pumps, tested the system — a complete setup.”
With the pumping system in place by the end of December 2025, the contractor was ready to start work in early January. Once the sewer plug was set by the contractor, the EquipmentShare team cranked up the pumps and began diverting the flow.
Because the pumps must be monitored 24/7, EquipmentShare Advanced Solutions service techs work in shifts to make sure the pumps are working properly when the contractor’s workers aren’t on-site. The project is progressing well and also will require smaller interceptor replacements — with bypasses during construction — farther up the line.
Spilker said the success of this job demonstrates EquipmentShare’s ability to be the best equipment partner for full-service pumping solutions on projects of all sizes.
“This shows we’re capable of tackling any size water bypass project, no matter the complexity or obstacles in our way,” Spilker said. “When we put our heads together and work with the customer to come up with a good plan, it shows we’re the premier choice for this type of work.”
