Upper Ringarooma irrigation scheme
Client: VEC Civil Engineering
Location: Tasmania, Australia
Date: June 2013 – October 2013
Optimising pipeline and pumping design to create an efficient, cost-effective and successful irrigation scheme.
Background
The Upper Ringarooma irrigation scheme (URIS) is intended to deliver up to 5700 ML of water to the district over the summer irrigation season. The scheme comprises pipelines, pump stations and associated works (PPSA) and the Dunns Creek Dam.
Tasmania Irrigation awarded the design and construction contract for the URIS pipelines and PPSA to VEC Civil Engineering, who engaged Entura to provide tender design services for their submission.
Solution
The Dunns Creek Dam will be filled by winter flows from Dunns Creek and supplemented as required by pumping surplus winter flows from the Ringarooma River through the pump station at Cottons Bridge. The URIS PPSA includes a supply line from the Dunns Creek Dam to the Cottons Bridge pump station, two main distribution lines and other distribution lines to supply water to the property outlets throughout the irrigation district.
During the design phase of the project, Entura provided detailed design services for the URIS and PPSA for the pipeline, pump station and weirs, including:
- specialist advice on flora, fauna and Aboriginal heritage
- site surveys
- a flood study to estimate the flood levels at the main pump station site
- hydraulic and detailed design of the 38 km pipe route, including development of a network model and analysis of the system operation and hydraulic transients
- civil and mechanical design of the 750 kW (installed capacity) main pump station
- design of a Coanda weir river intake and wet well for the main pump station
- preparation of design drawings, pipeline alignment sheets and design documentation.
Outcome
Entura contributed to the successful awarding of the contract though our optimisation of the pumping requirements and the pipeline alignment.
We were able to reduce the overall pumping requirement and reduce the energy consumption of the scheme while still meeting Tasmania Irrigation’s requirements.
