Improved flood resilience at Eppalock pump station

By Campaspe News

Jul 18, 2024

Veolia staff Steven Hunter and Damien Molloy inside the restored Eppalock pump station. Photo by Contributed

After nearly two years of work to restore one of the region’s most crucial pieces of water infrastructure, the Eppalock pump station is back online.

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Jointly owned by Coliban Water and Central Highlands Water, the pump station is located just beyond Lake Eppalock’s dam wall.

Coliban Water managing director Damian Wells said the pump station was damaged after it was swamped by 2.7m of floodwater in October 2022.

“While we carried out readiness work ahead of the flood, removing equipment and disconnecting power, a condition assessment completed after floodwater subsided identified significant damage to the pump station’s internal switchboards, pumps, and motors,’’ he said.

Mr Wells described the pump station as a complex and unique asset and said that many of the replacement parts could not be purchased off the shelf.

“We ordered custom-made parts from as far away as Canada, including variable speed drives to run the pumps.

“Other work included replacing 14 large glass windows with strengthened polycarbonate panels, upgrading electrical assets in our high voltage switch room, plus a new roller door and upgrades to the mezzanine floor,” he said.

The station provides a back-up water supply to Bendigo and Ballarat.

While it was offline for repair, Coliban Water could supply water from Colbinabbin if required.