Significant progress has been made to restore the Darwin River Dam pump station after a flooding event inundated the facility on March 9.
This came after a particularly intense wet season pushed the dam to more than 110 per cent capacity.
As of 3pm ACST on Wednesday, Power and Water Corporation had brought two pumps back online, “enabling us to fully meet the water needs of the Greater Darwin Region once again”.
“We are progressing to complete full restoration and hope to soon have Darwin River Dam back to normal operational capacity,” the utility said.
On March 10, NT Health issued a boil water alert for the Greater Darwin and Palmerston regions due to the dam flooding, encouraging residents to only use cooled boiled water or bottled water for essential uses such as drinking and preparing food. This alert remains in place.
Darwin’s wet season had seen the dam’s spillway overflowing since early in the year, with additional rainfall and flash flooding pushing water levels at the reservoir to unprecedented volumes.
The Darwin River Dam is a key source of drinking water for the Darwin region, making the restoration of pumping operations critical to maintaining supply reliability for residents and businesses.
Power and Water Corporation is implementing a succession plan for the 50-year-old dam, which will see the revival of the Manton Dam after sitting idle for decades.
The Manton Dam return to service project is advancing at pace, with a new pump station almost finished along with the refurbishment of an intake tower. A pipeline from Manton to the new Strauss water treatment plant is also nearing completion, with at least 50 per cent of the Strauss facility constructed.
Subscribe to Pump Industry to discover all the latest industry news, technical articles and thought-leading content from Australia’s only dedicated pump magazine.
