Morwell River Diversion

Project Details

Brief

After unseasonal heavy rain, the Yallourn River broke its banks and flooded the Yallourn Open Cut mine threatening to jeopardise Melbourne’s power supply. GEM Industrial Services was engaged by Tru Energy (now Energy Australia), Yallourn Power Station in Gippsland, Victoria to design and construct an emergency dewatering pipeline that would be used to divert the flow of the entire Morwell River around the open cut mine and into the adjacent Latrobe River.

The project would include some 3.8 kilometres of 1600mm diameter HDPE pipeline in a single string capable of delivering a flow rate of up to 8000lt/sec at a maximum of 8 bar pressure.

Challenge

Specialist fusion equipment and operators were deployed to the site and commenced fusing the 12mt long, 5ton 1600mm diameter pipeline sections into 120mt strings”. The pipe fusion & stringing process was “ran 24 hours per day, seven days per week. The assembled strings were then towed into alignment via specially built pipe trailers and heavy plant.

Steep embankments, under road crossings, river crossings and inclement weather were but some of the technicalities encountered throughout the project, but sound planning methodologies and execution saw the final pipeline section moved into place and connected to the pump station at the Morwell River within 3 months of being contracted. 

Solution

During the design phase it become evident that in order to join the ‘strings’ together, given the gross weight of the pipeline and various technical site restrictions, further specialist HDPE butt fusion equipment would have to be procured to deliver this task. GEM took delivery of a 10 ton McElroy MegaMc 1600 High Pressure welder from the USA on a special air-freight cargo plane delivery into Melbourne Airport. The McElroy 1600 HP fusion machine is the only one of its type in Australia, and 1 of only 7 built for the worldwide market at this time. The MegaMc 1600 was transported to GEM’s facility in Leongatha, Victoria. Immediately assembled and commissioned for operation at the Yallourn Mine producing the 1st ‘tie’ weld of 240mt.

GEM was also concurrently engaged in dewatering works associated with the flooded section of the mine. Three welding crews utilising McElroy T900 & T500 high pressure welding plant were deployed in assisting with the construction and delivery of 35klm of 500mm & 630mm dewatering pipelines. Dewatering barge connections, design and construct, all-terrain field ties and specialist fusion services all formed part of the scope undertaken for the client.

GEM delivered the project for the client ahead of time and well within cost budgets.