Pipe Specials Aquarius was involved in the installation of the plug at the Hartebeespoort Dam. Due to the extreme age of the dam (+- 80 years), the outlet system (which consists of 75mm diameter valves) and the back-up system through the dam wall failed, caused the uncontrollable release of water at approximately 9m2/sec.
There was fear that the continuous vibration of this uncontrollable flow of water through the outlet structure could cause damage to the outlet tower, therefore it was necessary to plug the outlet and fix the pipe work. The daily heavy flow over the dam wall as well as the extreme depth of the outlet (22m under the water level) made the project more complex to plan and complete.
The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry approached Aquarius to plug the outlet hole and to replace all the valves including the affected pipe work in the dam wall. The plug used in the operation was designed by an independant organisation and then manufactured, lowered and installed by Pipe Specials Aquarius using a specially built float. The dam wall was closed for traffic from Thursday morning for the prepatory work, the actual lowering of the plug and the placement in the outlet was done on a Saturday and Sunday.
Aquarius is currently on contract for mechanical maintenance work in Limpopo and the Northern Province as well as the civil work in the Northern Cluster for the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.
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