A new pump station on Lake Road in Kyabram is now complete, despite several setbacks in the pump testing phase.
The project was carried out by Girdwood Constructions and involved the construction of three new pumps and all required infrastructure to monitor and control the pumps, as well as the decommissioning and removal of the original pumps.
A site cleanup was also completed to improve the appearance of the site and to allow better access to the new pump infrastructure.
Spokesperson for Roads Ian Maddison said apart from the setbacks the project was completed well under budget.
“This has been a difficult site to develop.
“The basin and pumps are critical infrastructure that provide protection to the town when it rains. It was essential at all times that the basin and pumps remained operational until such time as the new pumps were constructed,¨ Mr Maddison said.
“Starting this work was not helped due to rain over the first few weeks of the project as well as the discovery of a very soft layer where the new pump structure was to be built.
“When the new pumps were installed and the project reached testing phase, there was no water in the basin. It was essential to have as much water as possible in the basin to enable all the new pumps to be tested to their full capacity.”
Mr Maddison said this resulted in a period of several months during which the pumps couldn’t be tested, causing significant delays and pushing back the completion date.
“Thankfully we were able to test the pumps after May rains, and they have had a good test with further rain in May and June. I am confident these new pumps will serve the Kyabram community well into the future.
“We also made sure the older pumping systems were running while the works were happening in order to provide flood protection. This project had a lot of elements to it, all of which had to come together,” Mr Maddison said.