Four air valves crucial to the operation of Cairn Curran Reservoir in Victoria, Australia have been replaced and successfully tested for the first time in 62 years.
While the valves are relatively small components, they have an important role to play in helping to regulate air pressure within the dam’s pipes.
“We knew the valves were approaching the end of their life as the dam was built in the late 1950s,” Goulburn-Murray Water Managing Director Pat Lennon said. “In certain situations a vacuum can be created inside the pipes, which is why the air valves are so vital, to release the vacuum. “The safe operation of the system depends on this equipment.”
The four valves cost USD 127,000 and were replaced on two pipes – one of which supplies irrigation and the other hydro power to AGL.
Dry seasons in recent years have delayed valve testing until now.