Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment [Mackay] have delivered yet another High Profile Soft Hose Boom Irrigator to a local Ilbilbie Sugarcane Farmer. Longtime Dowdens customer Brian Stevens operates a number of sugarcane farms in and around Ilbilbie, QLD. Due to lack of rainfall during the 2014/15 growing season, and a desire to lower his overall irrigation costs Brian decided to purchase a RAINSPAN SB2000 High Profile Soft Hose Boom Irrigator to better facilitate the irrigation of his cane.

Wanting to purchase his new irrigator from a dependable Queensland business Brian contacted 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.

Jeff Roberts from the Dowdens Mackay Agricultural Sales Team visited Brian's farm on a number of occasions to investigate, design and then match an irrigator and irrigation plan to best suit the 121ha property. Taking into consideration the terrain, the farms location (near the coastline - a high wind region), existing pump capabilities and source water availability shortages Jeff suggested Brian purchase a RAINSPAN SB2000 93m High Profile Soft Hose Boom Irrigator.

Sugarcane farmer Brian Stevens had for some time wanted to shift away from high pressure irrigation at his Ilbilbie farm, this was due in part to the high coastal winds the property endures year round playing havoc with his irrigation sprinklers. High pressure irrigation was no longer viable for this particular farm as it equated to water was being blown off crop, Brian's associated pumps working hard to deliver high pressure source water to existing soft hose irrigators and excessive mains power being consumed to run said pumps.

Moving from high pressure sprinklers to a low pressure RAINSPAN SB 2000 Dowdens has been able to deliver Brian considerable savings with his overall irrigation costs. The RAINSPAN SB2000 only requires approximately half the pressure to run compared to the previous high pressure irrigators. This has seen between a 30% - 40% decrease in farm irrigation electricity costs.

The low pressure RAINSPAN SB2000 Boom is far less susceptible to high winds, meaning Brian now has the potential to irrigate day or night, regardless of wind conditions. Essentially doubling his irrigation potential each day (the previous high-pressure system needed to be shut down during high winds experienced each night).

The RAINSPAN SB2000 Boom was found to be between 15% - 25% more efficient with its water application uniformity and distribution compared to the previous high pressure sprinkler irrigators. Simply put, Brian can now irrigate his sugarcane in a more cost-effective manner, utilising the limited water available to him more efficiently.

The RAINSPAN SB2000 is an extremely efficient and reliable low pressure irrigator that when installed and operated correctly saves farmers water, energy, time and money whilst increasing overall farm yields.

Key RAINSPAN SB2000 Boom Irrigator features listed below:

• Nelson R3000 Rotator Sprinklers were fitted specially to suit the windy conditions, giving a large wetted footprint & better instantaneous application rate
• Pulls 300m x 4" Snap-Tite Irrigator Hose (Dowdens are the sole authorised Snap-Tite hose dealer in Mackay, Whitsundays & Rockhampton)
• Gearbox for smooth safe operation specifically designed for the Irrigator - the most efficient in the industry
• A 93m boom was fitted to the RAINSPAN SB2000 - to seamlessly fit with farms existing lane spacings
• New Generation Turbines that are the best in the industry
• Hydraulic Boom Slew & Speed Compensator
• Made in Australia

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!

Whitsunday Gardens Estate situated in Proserpine, QLD is a new land release subdivision located just 25 minutes from the iconic Airlie Beach.

Relag Group Pty Ltd are responsible for this new urban housing development and subsequently engaged Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment [Proserpine branch] to design, supply and install a Precast Concrete Pump Station for use in Stage 3 of the Whitsunday Gardens Estate subdivision development.

Stage 3 of the subdivision development required a standalone sewage pump station to be installed capable of handling the residential waste water and sewerage borne from 20 subdivided lots. The land was used to farm sugarcane before the development began in 2013.

Before the design and construction phases could begin Dowdens met extensively with the Whitsunday Regional Council's Water & Sewage Executive Managers to discuss the suitability of the Caprari-CPC Sewage Pump Station, the design peculiarities required for the working in the region (a high water table onsite) and how Dowdens could adapt the Caprari-CPC system to best suit the site requirements.

Multiple options were presented in the initial design drawings helping to satisfy Whitsunday Regional Council (WRC) specifications; including locally designed and engineered aluminium access covers requested by the WRC [ensuring uniformity with all other waste water assets held in the region], inhouse manufacturing of specific handrails to meet municipal safety codes and working with WRC's preferred switchboard manufacturer [Belmont Electrical].

During the initial project scoping Relag Group Pty Ltd reviewed three options for their sewage pump station system: pre-fabricated fibreglass, mould formed precast concrete and concrete pour in situ. The Dowdens Caprari-CPC Sewage Pump Station won the selection process due to the following product benefits:

• All Caprari-CPC All precast chambers are made from Angaston Marble calcareous aggregate. The properties of Angaston Marble are unique in Australia, providing the highest possible resistance to sulphate attack endemic in sewers
• Lifting points designed into the TOP section of each component of the CPC system, simplifies cranage, installation and safer removal of lifting clutches
• Caprari-CPC chambers utilise four large support columns running down the entire vertical length of the chamber, providing incredible compression strength and additional protection in harsh environments and / or difficult installations
• Caprari-CPC chambers arrive to site ready to be installed (pictured above)
• The timeframe of delivery and installation was tight, due to the regions high water table (water present only 1.5m beneath surface). The Caprari-CPC system enabled Dowdens to quickly place all components 5.5m below surface, build and then backfill the trench within one day.

Project engineering consultant (Trevor Glasson) utilised the dedicated Caprari-CPC Selection software to assist matching the correct system layout to the site specifications. Caprari-CPC Selection software allows registered members to generate an integrated design solution for the selection of an appropriate chamber, pumps and mechanical components for specific applications. The integrated design solution includes: GA Drawings of the chamber along with a "CAD Kit" providing all CAD elements to enable rapid transformation of the GA drawing into a full production drawing; Full component listings, including mechanical specification for your customised fit out; System curve, total system duty, pump recommendations and a budgetary quote is available on request.

Trevor was able to design the system and submit that to WRC for approval. Once selected the Caprari-CPC Pump Station was installed, commissioned and the whole projected managed by Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment [Proserpine branch].

Key Project Features:

• The Whitsunday Gardens Caprari-CPC system was installed with x2 Grundfos SEG.40.31.EX.2.50B Submersible Pumps, in a duty / standby arrangement
• Dowdens manufactured a custom built stainless steel 6m vent pipe that incorporated a carbon filter and rotary ventilator for onsite odour control
• The system included an in-line flow meter installed in a separate Concrete chamber to monitor flow, and an overflow pit to prevent spilling in the event of loss of power at the pump station
• In an emergency shut-down the overflow pit screens any sewage before waste water is discharged into local waterways

• Custom designed (built to Whitsunday Regional Council's Water & Sewage Executive Managers specifications) control panel
• Built by Belmont Electrical the Control Panel monitors whole system flow, pump performance, pump operating hours, and is linked to Whitsunday Regional Council's water infrastructure monitoring systems [for data transfer and in case any alerts need to be sent]
• Whitsunday Drainage contractors assisted Dowdens with onsite installation.

Peabody Energy Australia have engaged Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment's [Mackay] Engineering Department & Fabrication Workshop to deliver a Specialised Pontoon Pumping System for use at their Moorvale Coal Mine, located 156 kilometres South West of Mackay, QLD. This project presented a number of challenges for the Dowdens Mackay engineering and fabrication staff, including but not limited to an extremely tight delivery timeline of only 8 weeks!

Peabody Energy's Moorvale Mine is an open-cut coal mine that produces low-volatile pulverized coal injection (PCI) coal, coking coal and thermal coal for export markets. The Moorvale Coal Mine is particularly challenging for its operators due to the coal seam being quite narrow with a number of fault lines. This requires excavators often having to work in confined areas. The three piles that make up the Moorvale coal seams are mined independently of each other.

Dowdens Specialised Pontoon Pumping System was needed to provide Peabody Energy more reliable access to good quality Raw Water from an on-site dam. This raw dam water was then to be pumped directly to the onsite Coal Handling & Preparation Plant (CHPP). The existing supply water was limited and of poor quality. Dowdens new pontoon pumping system allowed for an increased volume of water to be pumped from a dam containing higher quality raw water. Subsequently the Specialised Pontoon Pumping System that Dowdens supplied has helped facilitate an improvement in the CHPP's daily operations.

This project required both Dowdens Engineering Dept. & Fabrication Teams to deliver an innovative solution not previously attempted in-house. It was the first time Dowdens had manufactured 12m length gangways or a pontoon with a total weight of over 6 tonne. The total pontoon weight includes all steel work, flooring, pumps, piping etc. and is displaced using HDPE (high density polyethylene) Floats. The longest gangway Dowdens had supplied previously measured 8m in length, with the largest pontoon previously fabricated weighing in at 4.5 tonnes.

The new system meant Dowdens existing in-house designs had to be modified / improved with new floats being selected in order to safely carry the increased platform weight. Additional weight saving measures were implemented by Dowdens Engineers such as the use of light weight / high strength aluminium mesh flooring.

The timeline to design this pontoon pumping solution, manufacture the components and have them delivered to site was extremely tight. Engineering - Concept Design - Drawings & In-House Fabrication of the unique Pontoon Pumping System was completed & delivered to Moorvale Mine within their specified 8 week time frame!

No other pumping / manufacturing / engineering firm in Queensland are able to deliver such an all-encompassing product solution within the above mentioned time-frame.

Dowdens design philosophy for this project was: Fast Turnaround - Cost Effectiveness - Ease of Installation - Simple Plant Operation - Plant Reliability & Reduced Maintenance.

Key Project Features:

• 2 x 12m long gangways - with one being suspended and one floating on the dams surface
• Gangways Design, Fabrication, Fitout & Supply included all necessary concrete mooring blocks, lights, cables & trays
• 6m x 3.3m floating pontoon - weighing over 6 tonnes
• Pontoons Design, Fabrication, Fitout & Supply included lights, suction and discharge pipework, priming system, cables & trays

Kurrajong Pastoral Company have engaged Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment [Rockhampton branch] to design, install and commission a large solar powered stock watering system on one of their rural properties located near Alpha, QLD.

The solar powered stock watering system is required to transfer onsite bore water to existing water storage tanks. These water tanks are used by Kurrajong Pastoral Co. primarily to water the 1,000 head of cattle onsite.

Kurrajong Pastoral Co. specified each head of cattle was to be allocated a minimum of 10gal per day (approx. 45L/day), meaning the pumping system needed to deliver over 10,000gal per day (45,461L).

Water is pumped from the 5" onsite bore (pump set at 35m) with 75m total head into 3 storage tanks via poly line pipe.

The Kurrajong Pastoral Co. solar pumping system was designed to keep overall operating costs down whilst still delivering a regular supply of water to cattle with negligible ongoing service or labour required. Dowdens Pumping & Water Treatment [Rockhampton] designed the system to be more cost effective than running additional wiring and connecting any onsite pumps to mains power.

The new solar pump replaces a B Head Mono Column and Shaft pump - originally powered by an onsite diesel engine. Dowdens solar powered system has thereby significantly lowered the environmental footprint of the entire pumping system.

Key Project Features:

• System is powered by 18 x 250W solar modules mounted on 3 x 6 modified fixed arrays - this solar array can deliver 4,500W [max]
• The solar power generated is fed to a Grundfos RSI 3000 inverter
• The inverter then in turn powers a Grundfos SP5A-21 submersible pump delivering 46,000L/day @ 75m total head