Specon pipeline shutdown: Repairs finish ahead of time
Lepelle Northern Water says the replacement of the Specon pipeline, which dates back to the 1970's, will minimise downtime at the scheme.
POLOKWANE – Lepelle Northern Water (LNW) says the planned 48-hour Specon pipeline shutdown was completed ahead of schedule in 36-hours.
LNW stopped pumps at the Olifantspoort Water Treatment Plant that feeds the Specon reservoirs yesterday, which supplies bulk water to the Capricorn and Polokwane Municipalities, respectively.
LNW spokesperson Joe Makhafola says despite the heatwave, the team was all hands on deck to commission a new 800mm pipeline, which can be time-consuming to ensure no damage was caused to the existing 800mm pipeline.
“The commissioning was completed at 08:00 this morning (December 5) which took non-stop 32 hours instead of the planned 48 hours. During this shutdown, a damaged 600 mm x 20 m long bypass feed pipeline at the reservoir was also discovered and was replaced to terminate severe water losses. The old pipelines date back to the 1970s,” he says.
Makhafola added that a team of LNW engineers stopped pumping water after scouring the 7km section of the pipeline from Mamaholo to the Specon Reservoir that is being replaced by the newly constructed 800 mm pipeline.
“The scouring was complete at 07:00 and the existing pipeline was empty, allowing Cerimele Construction Company to commence with the cutting of the old pipeline to install the new 2 x 800
mm sweep tees. All the welding, coating, lining repairs, and refitting of the sweep-tee that connects the old Specon pipeline with the new Specon pipeline was completed and flogging commenced in the early hours of this morning as the air valves were opened on the newly commissioned pipeline at Mamabolo,” he explained.
LNW says the replacement of the Specon pipeline will minimise the downtime of the scheme, thus resulting in sustainable and reliable water for the residents of the Capricorn District and Polokwane Municipalities.
