Emergency pump hire
arrangement keeps Cumbrian
salmon farm operational
Sykes Pumps Hire was recently
approached by a salmon farm in
the Lake District, with the client
requiring a solution to prevent
and monitor low water supply.
The client is based near a
Cumbrian reservoir that was
highly affected by the 2018 sum-
mer heatwave, which subse-
quently caused the availability of
water to almost completely dry
up. Amazingly, water levels got
so low that the ruins of a previ-
ously submerged village began
to reappear following a massive
depletion of water. The small
town was deliberately allowed to
flood approximately 80 years
ago in order to create a reservoir
to provide water for Manchester
and the North West of England.
The well-known farm is used
to nurture salmon before being
transported to Scotland for fur-
ther development. Agricultural
land is then fed with a regulated
water supply from the reservoir,
but this had become critically
low because of the lack of rain.
Sykes' team visited the site
and installed 4 general purpose
diesel super silent pumps which
could be operational during the
night time without causing dis-
turbance to people living nearby.
The equipment proposed
pumped water from a different
source of the dam before deliver-
ing it to the farm's main intake
water tank – bypassing the origi-
nal supply system. Due to the
abnormally low flow rate, the
water was monitored with a flow
meter via gate valves.
Had Sykes not reacted quickly
enough, the low water levels
could have potentially affected
the distribution of fish to whole-
salers across the country and
beyond. Instead, the customer
was extremely satisfied with the
outcome of the project which
was supported by a comprehen-
sive contingency service plan for
additional peace of mind. The
swift intervention of Sykes'
regional technicians helped cir-
cumvent a potentially serious
challenge and overcame the
problem with minimal fuss.
160 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
CASE STUDY
