Ketek was recently asked to remove, repair and reinstall a 75-foot-tall vertical turbine pump at the Dickson Dam, southwest of the City of Red Deer.
The dam controls the flow of the Red Deer River, providing an assured water supply to the city year-round. It also creates Gleniffer Lake reservoir, a popular spot for boating, swimming and fishing, and there’s a 15 MW hydro-power station on the site.
Two submersible pumps under the spillway prevent the pressure of groundwater from potentially heaving it upwards, but one of them wasn’t working.
Ketek removed the pump and transported it to our yard in Edmonton. We took it apart and repaired it.
Once repaired, it was time to put the pump back in place. First, five-foot-long lengths of pipe – the water column – had to be lifted to the top of the pump house. They were lowered into the tower, where Ketek pump technicians fitted the pieces of drive shaft, oil tube and water column together. As each section was added, the pump was lowered deeper into the well.
After all 15 sections were assembled, Ketek’s pump technicians installed the discharge head and the motor. Our electrician wired the pump in and turned it on.
It worked beautifully.
Slideshow
The Dickson Dam, its spillway, and the west wingwall tower (right) in which the 75-foot vertical turbine pump is housed.
A 90-tonne crane from Myshak Crane & Rigging was hired to lift the sections.
The screen and two of the three pump stages can be seen here, starting their descent.
It was a “blind lift” for the crane operator so Ketek’s crew boss, Bayo, was in constant communication with the operator and the guys a floor below him, who were assembling the pump as it came in.
Ketek’s pump technicians worked in cramped conditions, fitting one piece of pipe to the next and gradually lowering the pump into the well.
The Dickson Dam controls the flow of the Red Deer River, providing an assured water supply to the city year-round. It also creates Gleniffer Lake reservoir, a popular spot for boating, swimming and fishing.
