At a picturesque winery, located in the rolling hills of regional Western Victoria, the control of ground water had become a pressing problem. With six connecting dams passing up to 2 mega-litres of water per day, it was not a small challenge.
Even more, there’s the added complexity of very steep terrain, the necessity to keep a herd of expensive black angus cattle happy and calm, plus the need to maintain the aesthetic beauty of the undulating hills for the benefit of the winery visitors.
“All of these factors added up to make this quite a unique project” said Leigh Hunter, Victorian Territory Manager from Sykes Group.
“So, with the Contractor, I visited the winery to conduct a detailed onsite analysis and to clearly understand the exact pumping requirement”.
“It was immediately clear – from a ground water control point of view – that the terrain is extremely unfriendly. Whilst offering stunning views for the winery visitors, the landscape is very steep and so only accessible in a 4×4. In fact, after rainy weather, the pumpset site cannot be reached by car at all” he explained.
After listening closely to the Winery owner’s needs, together with the technical considerations supplied by the Contractor, Leith returned to Sykes Group and crunched the numbers with his team of dewatering experts.
“It was an interesting challenge with a unique set of requirements that confronted us” said Leigh. “For example, it’s a winery that attracts many tourists. And part of the appeal is the natural beauty of the landscape – it’s a beautiful view that people from all over the world come to enjoy. So, our pumps needed to seamlessly integrate with the surrounds and provide an extremely low environmental footprint”.
The need for environmental sensitivity extended beyond the human visitors. As a working farm, the winery is also home to a herd of black angus cattle. It is vital for their health and well-bring that they are not unnecessarily disturbed. Therefore, the need for a very quiet pumpset with minimal visual impact was paramount.
“Taking all this into consideration, I recommended they install two QSCP150iC pumps from the Sykes Group Contractor range” said Leigh.
“Featuring an acoustic canopy, each pump is sound attenuated, so the cattle are not disturbed by engine noise. Plus, the pipes have all been buried to allow the cattle to roam freely. And very importantly, the buried pipes and the pump canopy enhance the surrounding aesthetics for the two-legged winery visitors too” he said.
The Contractors range of pumps from Sykes Group are heavy duty and robustly designed to meet the demands of the construction, mining and rental industries. With pump efficiencies up to 83%, they provide faster and more efficient dewatering which results in big savings.
“For this particular project – with up to 2 mega litres of water passing through 2km of pipes between two pumps and 6 dams – we needed to ensure the pumps were heavy-duty pumping solutions. That’s why we chose like Sykes Group ASCP150IC” continued Leigh.
“The Sykes Group Contractors range of pumps are very effective dewatering units for long-term water control. Even better, with an acoustic canopy fitted, they are whisper quiet”.
“Some other features include dry self-prime and re-prime, close-coupled SAE Bearing Frames, ‘snore’ mode and a vacuum priming option available for ground dewatering”.
“World-famous for exceptional reliability and low-maintenance costs, Sykes Group pumps also offer the choice of diesel, electric or hydraulic drive, all providing low emissions with industry leading fuel economy.”
“With the two pumps now installed and commissioned, the land owner and the contractor are both extremely happy with the custom install” said Leigh proudly.
To learn more about pumpsets and dewaterting, visit the Sykes Group website or contact Leigh Hunter on 0499 025 324 or email leigh.hunter@sykesgroup.com.
