Method for monitoring and controlling the operation of a pump station

A method for monitoring and controlling the operation of a pump station, wherein the pump station comprises a tank for temporary storage of a liquid, at least one pump configured for transporting the liquid away from the tank, and an outlet conduit connected to an outlet of the pump, wherein the outlet conduit of the pump station comprises a non-return valve, the method comprising the steps of:

• a) determining the Geodetic head (Hgeo) of the pump station,
• b) determining the pumped Flow (Q) for a given pump operation duty point,
• c) determining the consumed Power (P) for the given pump operation duty point, and
• d) determining a Normalized Specific Energy (nSE) of the pump station based on the determined values of Geodetic head (Hgeo), pumped Flow (Q), and consumed Power (P), wherein (nSE)=(P/Q)/Hgeo,
• wherein the step of determining the Geodetic head (Hgeo) of the pump station includes the steps of:
• a1) closing the non-return valve, and
• a2) determining back pressure at a downstream side of the non-return valve.