Crusader Hose has helped to deliver an environmentally critical water project in Victoria.
Farming, cattle grazing, and the construction of dams have all contributed to changes in the waterways of the Lower Yarra River Floodplains in Melbourne, Victoria.
Melbourne Water undertook to re-water the Annulus Billabong to conserve many indigenous plants and birds. The Argyle Reel System equipped with Waterlord layflat hose from Crusader Hose was the temporary pipeline solution that helped deliver the project.
Annulus Billabong story
The waterways around Melbourne’s Lower Yarra River Floodplains have gone through many changes with urbanisation. Areas that were once natural habitats for indigenous plants and birdlife were converted to support farming, cattle and horse grazing.
The regular flooding of rivers by rainfall, which is responsible for the life cycle of billabongs, was affected by the construction of the Yarra Dam in the 1950s and climate change. As a result, many billabongs located in the Yarra Flats dried up slowly, affecting the delicate ecosystem. The Annulus Billabong was one of these.
In the 1980s, efforts were undertaken to re-water the billabong using windmills and pumps. An island was created in its centre, promising a haven for birdlife. Over time, however, the trees around the windmill grew too tall, and funding ran out.
The Melbourne Water Healthy Waterways Strategy listed the Annulus Billabong as a key waterway within the wildlife sanctuary and conservation area. Maintaining water levels is critical for the survival of many indigenous plants, attracting birds and restoring the indigenous landscape. The re-watering of the billabong was commenced in October 2020 by pumping water from the Yarra River and bringing various organisms into the billabong ecology
Flexible pipelines – the superior solution
Layflat hose was chosen for the temporary pipeline for several reasons. Wound onto reels, smaller, lighter vehicles are used for their transport. Flexible layflat hose takes on the contours of its environment, reducing the need to dig or alter the terrain. The large diameter Waterlord hose was a seemingly perfect solution for this re-watering project. However, knowing that unrolling and rerolling flexible pipelines is physically demanding, the engineers at Crusader Hose dedicated significant effort and consideration to developing a solution. The blueprint for a compact reel system was designed.
“Knowing the challenges of unrolling 200m lengths of eight-inch Waterlord hose, we were keen to design a reeling system to remedy the situation. Our engineering experts designed the Argyle Reel System,” Crusader Hose Managing Director Francois Steverlynck said.
“The main objective was to create a reel system that was agile and efficient.”
Key to success
Coates Hire Operations Manager Thys Stryker, who undertook the project again in September 2021, was more than pleased at the ease with which the Argyle Trailer-mounted Reel System deployed the hose. Before, it took a whole day to roll out the hose manually, but with the reeling system, it took only three hours with much less physical strain. The labour force was delighted.
“This ingenious reeling system can quickly and easily deploy up to 200m of hose in a fraction of the time it would take to do it by hand,” Stryker said.
“We are confident this will make the use of layflat hose a lot more desirable for many municipal works.”
Apart from the reel system’s efficiency in deploying and retrieving the pipeline, the aim of being mindful of and concerned for the environment cannot be dismissed. No larger than a trailer, the Argyle Trailer-mounted Reel System fulfilled the requirement of reducing the potentially detrimental effect of using heavy trucks to bring in long lengths of poly pipe, the historical mainstay of water transfer.
Nimble, lightweight, and small, the reel system was strategically placed without much disturbance to the area. The flexible pipeline was then laid out alongside and around the delicate flora. A winning solution for everyone involved.
The Annulus Billabong re-watering is now scheduled to be carried out every two years. The Argyle Reel System with Waterlord layflat can reduce the time and effort to complete water-transfer projects. It’s proved itself as the system of choice.
For a solutions-driven approach, turn to Crusader Hose.
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This feature also appears in the September edition of The Australian Pipeliner.