Unless there is effective groundwater control, even the best run sites could become hindered by expensive and challenging problems. This will not only cause programme delays but could also have an adverse effect on health and safety.

Lee Vine, managing director of Integrated Pump Rental, cautions the market that dealing with dewatering activities are as not as simple as merely purchasing or renting a pump.

“It is essential that contractors deal with a supplier that understands dewatering applications and is able to provide the correct level of technical assistance as this will ensure that the most efficient method of dewatering is selected for a specific site,” Vine says.

Integrated Pump Rental is responsible for marketing the Sykes range of dewatering pumps in southern Africa. Vine says these pumps have an established reputation for the fast and effective control and removal of sub-surface water.

The most typical application of Sykes dewatering pump technology is on building and construction sites, civil engineering projects, local municipality works, flood disaster recovery, load-out stabilisation, slurry transfer, ash handling, water boosting and pipeline filling and testing as well as general dewatering activities to lower the water table.

Sykes pumps are designed to offer robust and reliable performance and can handle high volumes of water with ease.

The Sykes Primax Contractors Range of diesel driven pumps offers the market reliable dewatering coupled with cost efficiency. These are fully automatic priming pumps and can run dry for extended periods due to the oil bath mechanical seal assembly. This allows priming with long suction hoses and suction lifts of up to 9 metres.

Vine explains that as suction levels fluctuate, the pump will “snore” until the liquid is available for the pump to fully reprime itself automatically.

Constructed using quality materials, the pumps are fitted with a 316 SS impeller and wear plates as standard. The pumps are capable of handling solids up to 90 mm.

Vine says that Integrated Pump Rental is achieving successes across Africa with the Sykes brand and he attributes this to his team’s understanding of pumping application requirements and the Sykes pumps’ ability to meet the harsh operating conditions on the continent.