Temporary pump system to keep a polder dry

On Tuesday afternoon, we received an urgent request: would Eekels be able to deliver and install a large temporary pump system and have it operational within 24 hours? The customer had run out of pump capacity during refurbishment of a polder pumping station, and the weather forecast was not favourable.

Our specialist immediately drove to the site with our foreman to make an assessment. We took measurements and discussed the project with the customer at the site. Within an hour, our customer had a complete, clear-cut offer in his email inbox. The order came back almost immediately. The pumps and piping were loaded up that same evening. On Wednesday morning, Eekels’ assembly team started installing the pumps and the pipelines at the site. The weather gods were not on our side - it rained cats and dogs. The site, which was partly grassland, became muddy and unstable, requiring Eekels to deploy a caterpillar crane to move and hoist the equipment into position at the location. Road plates, dragline support mats and big bags filled with sand were also used to stabilize the intended pipeline route. The pump system was operational by Wednesday evening.

On Thursday, the customer asked us to install a pipe bridge section in the pipeline that had already been laid. The pipe run crossed a public roadway which, on reflection, had to remain open for traffic. That task was also tackled with appropriate urgency and the entire system was operational by Friday afternoon.

The pump system consists of three heavy-duty diesel engine pump sets, each with its own discharge line and a shared 12-metre-long pipe bridge. The distance between the intake and the discharge points is approximately 130 metres.

The pump system will pump away surface water for several months so that the water level in the polder behind it remains at the required level.