Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment's Rockhampton branch working closely with Dowdens Pumping - Mackay's Industrial & Fabrication Workshops have successfully designed, manufactured and commissioned a Customised Dewatering Pump System for YANCOAL Australia. YANCOAL own and operate the YARRABEE Coal Mine & Boonal Joint Venture Coal Load Out Facility that is located 40 kilometres north-east of the township of Blackwater, QLD in Central Queensland's Bowen Basin. The Boonal Joint Venture is a coal load out facility located on the Capricorn Highway in Central Queensland, Australia. Coal from both the Yarrabee Coal Mine and Jellinbah Coal Mine are transported via rail link to the Port of Gladstone from the Boonal coal load out facility.

After initial site visits Dowdens Pumping - Rockhampton were able to measure the height and distance required for the dewatering pump system, as well as clearly establish pipe sizes and required flow rates to adequately meet the clients onsite dewatering requirements. This led to the in-house design of the unit by Dowdens Pumping - Mackay's Engineering Department. Once the proposal had been accepted by the client CAD drawings were immediately created and passed onto the Dowdens Industrial Fabrication Workshop.

Boonal Joint Venture's Customised Dewatering Pump System Supply Scope:

• The Yanmar diesel engine recommended by Dowdens Pumping - Rockhampton ensured long term problem free operation
• All fabrication, assembly and performance testing was conducted by Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment in-house & onsite guaranteeing product quality

As Dowdens Pumping are an authorised FLOWSERVE Pumps Distributor, we were able to quickly and easily size and source a FLOWSERVE Hydro Titan Pump. The Hydro Titan 100x65-250 Pump has a capable duty of 14 l/sec (@ 50m total head) and perfectly matched the clients site requirements. From here Dowdens Industrial Fabrication Workshop welded the skid base together which was then bunded and fully hot dip galvanised. This innovative system utilised a universal coupling, installed between the pump and motor to reduce the chance of miss alignment occurring between the pump and engine.

Dowdens Industrial Fabrication Workshop then proceeded to assemble and mount the 125l diesel fuel tank, Yanmar 3TNV84TEPP-PE 3-Cylinder Diesel Engine, Hydro Titan 100x65-250 Pump and install the universal coupling. Dowdens Electricians then connected the battery and solar array charger module to the canopy [pictured below], whilst mounting the Yanmar 'Engine Protection Unit'. The engine was then taken outside and tested. Once all this was completed it was transported to site where final commissioning was successfully completed.

The complete Boonal Joint Venture's Customised Dewatering Pump System was designed, installed and commissioned by Dowdens Pumping on time and within budget. Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment's Rockhampton branches design philosophy for this project was: Cost Effectiveness - Innovation - Ease of Installation - Simple & Effective Pump Operation - Engine Longevity - System Reliability & Reduced Ongoing Maintenance.

Boonal Joint Venture's Customised Dewatering Pump System - Key Components:

• Hydro Titan 100x65-250 Pump with Universal Coupling
• Yanmar 3TNV84TEPP-PE 3-Cylinder Diesel Engine
• Mine Site Specification Compliance achieved

• Custom hot dipped galvanized pump base fitted with bunding to house diesel fuel tank
• Custom in-house design undertaken by Dowdens Project Engineering Department
• Custom in-house fabrication undertaken by Dowdens Pumping Industrial Workshops

Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment [Mackay] have delivered a Height Adjustable Hard Hose Boom Irrigator to a local Victoria Plains, QLD Sugarcane Farm. Farmer Ian Stevenson operates a number of sugarcane farms in and around Victoria Plains, QLD. Due to lack of rainfall during the 2015/16 growing season, and a desire to lower his overall irrigation costs Ian decided to purchase a MONSOON 125mm x 540m Hard Hose Irrigator, combined with a RAPTOR 47/55 Folding Boom to better facilitate irrigation of his cane.

Wanting to purchase his new irrigator from a dependable Australian business Ian contacted Monsoon Irrigators, who in turn engaged the Dowdens Mackay Agricultural Sales Team - one of the most experienced Ag sales teams in Australia, with over 125 years of combined irrigation system design and operational experience between them. As a company that has built its foundation on the servicing and development of agricultural pumping systems, Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment have the experience to engineer a solution to suit any agricultural application.

Brett Hayes from the Dowdens Mackay Agricultural Sales Team had several phone conversations with Ian to begin the investigation and design process for the most appropriate system. Brett then met with Ian in the Dowdens Mackay branch to present the irrigator and irrigation plan that was best suited to Ian's 800 acre property parcel under cane. Ian's experience over many years of irrigation on his property helped both parties recognise the MONSOON Irrigator Dowdens proposed was a perfect match.

Taking into consideration the terrain, the farms location (near the coastline - a high wind region), existing pump capabilities and source water availability (30psi gravity fed via the Eton Water Supply Scheme) and with Dowdens being Authorised Monsoon Irrigator Distributors Brett suggested the MONSOON 125mm x 540m Hard Hose Irrigator & RAPTOR 47/55 Folding Boom.

The Stevenson's farm is located in Victoria Plains near Kinchant Dam, meaning their mains water comes via the Eton Water Supply Scheme. Kinchant Dam, situated near Mt Kinchant, 6kms southeast of Mirani, is the only major storage in the Eton Water Supply Scheme. It was constructed to capture runoff water from the small portion of the catchment of Sandy Creek and water pumped from the Pioneer River. Three water harvesting pump stations are located at Mirani Weir below the confluence of Cattle Creek and the Pioneer River, and divert water into an 8km diversion channel into Kinchant Dam.

As this storage dam is predominately used for the irrigation of sugar cane, water from Kinchant Dam is reticulated through open channels and pipelines to the customers by gravity and relift pumping systems. The channel supply system distributes water from Kinchant Dam through 35kms of open earth channels to the various sections of the scheme including gravity fed channels supplying water to Victoria Plains farmers to the east.

30psi inlet pressure and 20psi pressure at the boom (with an average flow of 12L/sec), meant that when Dowdens Mackay Agricultural Sales Team were designing Stevenson Farming's new low pressure irrigation system they did not need to include an electric or diesel booster pump set. This resulted in drastically reduced operating costs for Stevenson Farming as the irrigator can be operated by one man, 24/7 without the need to supply power or fuel to any booster pumps.

The MONSOON Hard Hose Irrigator & RAPTOR Folding Boom is an extremely efficient and reliable low pressure irrigation system that when installed and operated correctly saves farmers water, energy, time and money - whilst increasing overall farm crop yields. Operating off a low pressure gravity fed line of 20psi (at the boom) meant the MONSOON 125mm x 540m Hard Hose Irrigator combined with a RAPTOR 47/55 Folding Boom was perfectly suited for this Victoria Plains farm.

Key MONSOON Hard Hose Irrigator & RAPTOR Folding Boom features listed below:

• Monsoon Hard Hose Irrigators are constructed from High grade Aluminium and Galvanised steel which resists corrosion in the harsh Australian climate, with a unique steering system allows boom tracking to lay of P.E Hose
• Monsoon irrigators low operating costs can be up to 50% more cost efficient than conventional traveling gun irrigators
• Designed to give uniform precipitation at low pressure - making them ideal for use in & around the Victoria Plains region (being a part of the Eton Water Supply Scheme)
• Irrigators are a one person operation and are fully transportable within minutes

• RAPTOR 'open-close' operation is facilitated by the particular foldable structure made of by galvanized steel. Very little time is required & installation is carried out by just one person
• OPEN the RAPTOR boom can be loaded onto irrigator for small movements & CLOSED the boom can be loaded onto irrigator for transportation (pictured below)
• Hydraulic version has the ability to vary the working height from 1 to 3m above the ground
• Each nozzle is mounted on a ball valve for closing as required

For well over 40 years Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment have been selling & servicing irrigation products throughout Central & Northern Queensland - designing each and every system to improve farming efficiencies, reduce downtime and increase the longevity of pumps / irrigators. CONTACT US today and let us help improve your farms productivity while lowering your overall irrigation operating costs!

Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment have successfully designed, installed and commissioned a specialised Ultraviolet filtration system for the Queensland Health Mackay Renal Unit.

Project Requirements: The original system operated by pumping town water to individual filtering stations where the water would pass through a 5 micron, 1 micron and carbon filter on its way to the dialysis machine (which has an internal reverse osmosis filter).

The issue Dowdens faced was the original system filters were only lasting between 5 - 15 hours, and by this stage they were black and needed to be replaced!

After reviewing detailed water test results, Dowdens designed a compact, reliable system where the existing pump was upgraded, a water softening unit was added to remove iron, calcium and manganese. Large cartridge filters were also installed to pre-filter the water before it entered a dedicated UV steriliser.

Using the above system the Mackay Renal Unit now only needs to replace the systems filters every 7 to 10 days - saving thousands of dollars in ongoing system maintenance costs!

Key Plant Features:

• Due to limited space the system design had to be compact and robust
• Complex pipework was needed to reticulate above and around existing equipment
• All water treatment system components needed the ability to be isolated to enable easy service and system part replacements
• PURION water softening unit to remove iron, calcium and manganese
• All plumbing and pipe fixtures installed by Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment
• Grundfos pump supplied on request from Queensland Health

Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment's Mackay Branch has completed commissioning of the Moranbah 'whole-of-town' Automated Irrigation System. This Dowdens designed irrigation system was delivered to improve the control and ongoing maintenance of township irrigation within Moranbah, QLD.

Isaac Regional Council (IRC) specified a number of key criteria during the tendering process that the system was to deliver. These system criteria included, but were not limited to: provide the ability for night time automatic irrigation to numerous local Athletics Fields that have previously been irrigated manually (using static sprinklers and travelling irrigators) during the day; to replace an aging irrigation system located on Mills Ave. and achieve an overall reduction in labour relating to ongoing maintenance.

Dowdens Mackay successful tender was centred on an innovative Central Control System that enabled remote monitoring and maintenance of the 52 irrigation sites throughout Moranbah. The Dowdens designed controller is based in the Goonyella Road Council Depot. Dowdens Central Control System comprises of a desktop computer, irrigation software, an online weather station and localised communication/data collection infrastructure (routers, modem and radio transmitters/receivers).

This irrigation system is the first time Central Control System architecture has been utilised anywhere in the Isaac Regional Council shire. The system transmits all data collected / collated via several forms of communication i.e. radio frequencies, internet connection (Wi-Fi / 3G) and direct wired connections.

The Dowdens designed Central Control System has the ability to communicate to all Toro Sentinel Controllers via either radio frequency or internet connection. The operator has the ability to program and monitor all controllers via the Central Controller. The operator can set independent watering days, start times and run times for each and every station (valve) connected to Sentinel Controllers. Each day a detailed activity report is sent to all operators notifying them of all system activities, such as no. of actual stations operated, how long for, if any stations recorded abnormal flow (high or low), system communication success or failures, abnormal solenoid coil current (high or low) and the status of all soil moisture sensors. Reports can easily be generated to show the history of all/specific system activities such as those listed above.

A wireless Weather Station and remote Soil Moisture Sensors were installed and connected to the Central Controller to efficiently monitor the regions weather conditions in real-time, and then adjust the systems parameters accordingly. The Weather Station and remote Soil Moisture Sensors are used primarily to prevent irrigation occurring during and after localised rain events and to calculate Evapotranspiration (ET) based irrigation running times. For example the Central Control System is programmed to turn all irrigation off for 3 days (adjustable timeframe) when more than 10mm of rain is received on any 1 day (adjustable timeframe). Weather Station calculates the daily ET and automatically adjusts irrigation duration accordingly (lower ET = lower run time).

This systems has provided IRC control and monitoring capabilities of 52 irrigation sites throughout Moranbah from one central site. Delivering vastly improved energy and water use efficiencies this Dowdens designed irrigation systems features automatic shutdown of all irrigation during rain events; automatic adjustment of irrigation run times based on ET; daily automatic reporting of all irrigation sites activity; automatic irrigation for 75% of median strips located on Mills Avenue; addition of quick coupler valves to flush lateral lines thereby minimising blockages; automatic irrigation of Little Athletics / AFL Sporting fields resulting in reduced labour required for manual setup of irrigators; reduction of effluent contact with public via system only watering at night; filters on effluent mainline have minimised blockages to irrigation valve and sprinklers, thereby reducing labour required to clear blockages.

Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment's design philosophy for this project was: Cost Effectiveness - Current Best Practice - Ease of Installation - Simple & Effective System Operation - System Reliability & Delivering Greatly Reduced Ongoing Maintenance Requirements.

Moranbah Township Irrigation ~ Key System FEATURES & Components:

CENTRAL CONTROL ROOM Components

TORO Sentinel Water Management System software - EATON Computer with Printer, Router, UPS - DAVIS Vantage Pro2Plus Weather Station Console (Inside Temperature, Humidity, Barometric Pressure Sensors) - DAVIS Vantage Pro2Plus Integrated Sensor Suite (Anemometer, Tipping Rain Collector, UV Sensor, Solar Radiation Sensor, Outside Temperature Sensor, Outside Humidity Sensor) - WEATHERLINK Software - TORO NSN Support Systems (24/7 Phone Support for IRC operators)

FIELD CONTROLLERS Overview

Field (or Satellite) Controllers were installed at 52 sites throughout Moranbah. These units control the irrigation at their respective sites by direct wire connection to solenoid valves. The field controllers act as stand alone units, operating independently from the central controller. However all of the Controller's programming information comes via the Central Controller. This allows Field Controllers to operate even if the Central Controller is not operational for any reason (loss of power, phone network outages etc.). The Central Controller and Field Controllers automatically communicate at the end of each day to tabulate current programming changes, and again each morning to receive detailed system activity reports. The Field Controllers can be powered by AC if available on site, or DC via by 12V batteries trickle charged by solar panels.

Controllers were either mounted on existing structures or on Dowdens fabricated galvanised steel posts, hinged to allow access from ground level. Each of the 4 irrigated Sports Field sites have a wireless soil moisture sensor attached. The Field Controllers can be set to prevent watering when the soil moisture is above 50% of capacity (all are adjustable). A Mobile Soil Moisture Sensor was also supplied to allow IRC operators to manually test and record soil moisture levels at any location. All Field Controllers have a built in radio for communication to a 'Base' or 'Node' Controller. Base Controllers also have a 3G modem to communicate with the Central Controller.

MILLS AVENUE - MEDIANS IRRIGATION Overview

This portion of the project involved the design, supply and installation of 17 irrigation systems for all median strips on Mills Avenue, Moranbah (running from Goonyella Road to Clements Street). The existing systems were old, had unreliable battery powered controllers and required high levels of IRC operator maintenance. Most of the medians were generally turf with established large trees, approximately 10 metres wide, ranging anywhere from 10 - 230 metres long.

Each median irrigation system that Dowdens supplied consisted of: DC Sentinel Controller with radio, battery, panel, antenna, hinged pole, connection to existing Effluent mainline, flow sensors, isolation ball valves, solenoid valves / valve boxes, Toro T5 pop-up sprinklers with flexible risers and quick coupler valves placed at the end of the lines for flushing purposes.

LITTLE ATHLETICS / AFL FIELD IRRIGATION Overview

This portion of the project involved the design, supply and installation of an irrigation system for the Moranbah Little Athletics Field. The existing system consisted of a large travelling irrigator, which involved the IRC operator setting up the machine, manually turning it on and off and moving it to each position on the field. This produces uneven watering and often resulted in irrigation needing to undertaken during the day which goes against the applicable effluent re-use guidelines.

The irrigation system that Dowdens supplied incorporated: AC Sentinel Controller with radio & antenna (also incorporating AFL coverage), connection to existing Effluent mainline, 80 mm semi-automatic filter, flow sensors, isolation ball valves, solenoid valves / valve boxes, Toro 640 pop-up sprinklers with articulated risers and a wireless soil moisture sensor was installed on the AFL field to monitor soil moisture content.

MAINLINE FILTERS Overview

This portion of the project involved the design, supply and installation of semi-automatic filters at various locations along the effluent mainline. A 200 mm filter was installed in the mainline behind Moranbah High School, a 100 mm filter at Tallon Street and an 80 mm filter at the Athletics / AFL Field. Each of these filters included galvanised steel pipework to allow filters to be mounted above ground, isolation valves, filter, concrete pad and a Dowdens fabricated lockable enclosure. The filters are easily cleaned by opening a valve / turning a handle to allow the suction scanners to clean the entire filter without needing the removal of the element - a huge time saver for the IRC operators.

Aurizon Holdings Limited have engaged Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment [Mackay & Brisbane Branches] to deliver a Water Treatment Plant (WTP) at their Coppabella Township, located on the Goonyella Rail Corridor (the world's largest metallurgical coal rail system) - 159 kilometres South West of Mackay, QLD.

The township of Coppabella was primarily designed and built to service the junction of two railway lines (one from Goonyella Coal Mine and one from Saraji Coal Mine) and to provide accommodation to the regions coal mine workers in work depots. The town was established in three stages, with the first being completed in 1971, the second in 1977 and the third and final stage in 1984. The town is wholly owned and operated by Aurizon Holdings Limited and contains: stations, residences, single-quarters, work depots, hotel, a shop, swimming pool, football oval, caravan park, school, ambulance, fire brigade and of course the new Dowdens Water Treatment Plant which is capable of producing of up to 900kL of potable water per day.

Dowdens engineers and service crews designed, manufactured, installed and commissioned the Coppabella WTP to treat raw water to Australian Drinking Water Standards. As the Principal Contractor Dowdens were provided a set of feed supply water parameters coming into the WTP, and water quality requirements for the delivery of the town's drinking water. From these basics the $2.5 million project came to fruition. The Dowdens WTP replaced the existing water softening plant (located adjacent to the new WTP), whilst future-proofing the growth of the Coppabella township by increasing the WTP's maximum daily drinking water production capacity up to 900 kL/day.

The new WTP is completely automated and user adjustable via the GE Human Machine Interface (HMI) situated in the purpose built site Control Room / Office, minimising the need for direct operator interaction / intervention on-site. A dedicated remote monitoring / alert messaging system was also provided so that in the event of a critical alarm the EDAC 700 RTU will call the WTP Operators advising them of system alarm status via pre-recorded spoken messages.

Security of the WTP site was significantly improved with the establishment of a controlled compound restricting access to authorised personnel only (pictured below). Dowdens also eliminated the need for repetitive manual handling of typical WTP chemical consumables on-site (Salt, Liquid Chlorine and Soda Ash) via the integration of various bulk storage systems.

Dowdens were successful in the tendering process due to:

• The proximity of Dowdens head office [Mackay] and ongoing presence in the region
• Dowdens vast in-house engineering capabilities and proven competencies
• High level of detail provided in the preliminary engineering proposal
• Proposed Water Treatment Plants cost effectiveness

Dowdens coordinated the design, build and commissioning of the WTP from project inception through to final handover. This included, but was not limited to: preliminary design - detailed design - risk assessments (with client and consulting engineers) - preliminary civil works establishing the site (levelling site) - under boring Peak Downs Hwy for installation of raw water pipeline - installation of all underground services - pouring of slabs - construction of the Ion Exchange (IX) building - installation of process equipment - installation of all interconnecting pipework - electrical installation of control panel and field instrumentation / equipment - commissioning of instruments / equipment - commissioning of PLC program and HMI - successful completion of 'Proof of Performance' testing and all necessary operator training.

The inclusion of a unique Brine generation system was a novel approach that incorporated a salt bulk bag unloader (capable of lifting 1200kg bags - pictured below) and a proprietary piece of equipment from the USA [BRINE ExtremePro]. The IX system is flexible in its design and is capable of producing between 150 - 900 kL/day of potable water with the IX system constantly analysing and compensating for variations of incoming bore water hardness levels.

The existing water softening plant (located adjacent to the new WTP) and raw water supply needed to be retained during the new WTP construction. The old plant was decommissioned over a period of 3 months. Nearing project completion a wet weather event (February 2016) resulted in additional water flows through the WTP site causing some minor displacement / erosion of soil and stone that required a brief plant shutdown to rectify the damage. Dowdens performed this work efficiently and effectively eliminating any risk to the township's drinking water supply.

Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment design philosophy for this project was: Cost Effectiveness - Current Best Practice - Ease of Installation - Simple & Effective Plant Operation - Plant Reliability & Reduced Ongoing Maintenance.

Water Treatment Plants Key Components are listed below:

• Control Panel c/w HMI and Remote Monitoring / Automated Alert Messaging System
• Ion Exchange Process used for Bore Water Softening
• Raw and Treated Water Analyser Sampling Systems
• 2 Off Panel Storage Tanks (250kL & 500kL)
• Raw Water Pump Skid

• Brine Generation / Storage System c/w Overhead Bulk Bag Unloader
• Waste Water Distribution System c/w Tank & Pump Set
• Chlorine Dosing Pump / Storage System
• Soda Ash Pump / Storage System

Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment's Rockhampton branch were engaged by local beef cattle graziers Lance and Colleen Sypher (located in Alpha, QLD) to deliver a unique surface mounted Solar Array and Pump Float to supply onsite dam water to both their residence and the property's many cattle watering troughs.

Lance and Colleen Sypher approached Dowdens Rockhampton seeking a design for a solar pumping system with the ability to float on their dam, eliminating the need for any power cables or pump modules to be placed on the bank as is the case with traditional dam solar pumping systems. Having the unit completely isolated (floating) on the surface of the dam would remove the potential for the pumping unit sustaining damage from cattle walking along the edge of the dam. Cattle are known to cause damage to solar pump modules (in particular the associated power cables) that are situated on the edge of dams.

The innovative solar pumping unit design that Dowdens developed needed to meet a required flow rate (during the summer months on average the pumps required duty is 25,000 L/day @ 10m total head). Part of this new design incorporated the solar arrays being installed level with the dams surface, the main advantage of this design feature means the pumps power supply is not affected if the floating pontoon swings or floats across the dam. Having the solar arrays set at an angle, as is found on most traditional solar pumping units, would mean the pontoon would need be to be anchored to the floor of the dam (to avoid any rotation away from direct sun), thereby substantially increasing the overall cost of this project. Angled arrays would have also increased the potential for the arrays to catch any high winds, potentially flipping the unit over into the dam.

Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment's Rockhampton branch specialises in the design, manufacture and installation of innovative customised Solar Pumping systems for the commercial, agriculture and mining sectors of Central Queensland and the greater Capricorn Coast regions.

The final design incorporated a Mono Pumps 600 Watt SUN-RAY SRX Solar Pump due to it's highly efficient, self-priming helical rotor pump. The pontoon has been designed in a way that it can accommodate a wide range of solar pumping units, making it customisable for whatever site requirements are presented. Dowdens believe this is the first time any pump shop has mounted both the solar arrays and pump unit on a float for this application. Having the solar pump operating independently saves the customer spending time and money travelling to and from the dam each day to switch on the pump.

The entire solar pump float system was designed, manufactured, installed and commissioned on time and within budget. Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment's Rockhampton branches design philosophy for this project was: Cost Effectiveness - Innovation - Ease of Installation - Simple & Effective Pump Operation - System Reliability & Reduced Ongoing Maintenance.

Dowdens Pumping Rockhampton's Unique Solar Pump Float - Key Components:

• Mono Pumps 600 Watt SUN-RAY SRX Solar Pump
• 2x solar arrays horizontally mounted to customised pump float

• Custom in-house design undertaken by Dowdens Project Engineering Department
• Custom in-house fabrication undertaken by Dowdens Pumping Industrial Workshops