Pumps manufacturer KSB Pumps & Valves is supplying eight ultra-efficient pump sets to State-owned water utility Rand Water’s Palmiet pumping station, near Alberton, to help boost potable water supply to the Gauteng region.

The large-diameter pumps are to be installed in tandem on four pumping lines, each delivering 200-million litres a day at a head of 206 m. This is achieved with the use of four slow-speed suction pumps to keep the net positive suction head requirements down, as these pump directly into the four booster pumps, boosting the pressure to the required 290 psi. The pumps are driven by two motor sizes, 2 080 kW for the suction pumps and 4 130 kW for the boosters.

KSB fluid systems manager Dale Croker says the pumps are, large by any standard, with an 800-mm-diameter suction, a discharge diameter of 700 mm and an impeller larger than 1 m in diameter. Each of the eight pumps weighs 8.9 t, with individual sets (pump and motor) weighing up to 20 t each.

“These are among the largest split-case water pumps sold in South Africa in recent times and, on installation, will go a long way towards taking pressure off the existing system,” says Croker.

He adds that, despite the massive power of the pump sets, the overall average efficiency of 92% exceeds the original quoted efficiencies by a considerable margin and will result in a significant saving in electricity consumption, which, considering South Africa’s intermittent power outages, is a valuable benefit.

“When tested at our factory’s test facility in Halle, Germany, the new pump sets surpassed the expected performance and reinforced the contractor’s decision to specify the KSB pumps. In addition to the high performance, our pumps were chosen due to the company’s high levels of customer service, which has been proven over many decades of sales, support and service of pumps supplied to the water utility,” says Croker.

New projects
Croker notes that, in addition to the Palmiet pumpstation project, KSB is also in the process of supplying similar pumps to Rand Water’s Vereeniging pumpstation as well as to other water projects throughout South Africa and the Southern African Development Community region.

“We currently maintain many of the country’s water pumps and recently signed a contract to refurbish old KSB pumps from a pumpstation where they were originally installed in the 1960s,” he comments.

Croker concludes that this just goes to show that, while its pumps are able to meet the highest specifications for output and efficiency, they are also able to last for many decades and ensure a constant supply of water to households throughout the country.