Reservoirs are notoriously tricky to maintain: from the surrounding area plenty of sand and silt is brought in by the river and the material deposits at the dam. As reservoirs are usually rather deep, dredging can be quite a challenge.
For the Tablachaca dam in Peru another challenge was added; the location high up in the Andes required a modular dredger due to transport restrictions.
For this challenging task, Damen recently delivered its DOP dredging package to the area.
The set included a DOP350L dredge pump which has a mixture pumping capacity of 2.400 m3/h as well as the diesel hydraulic power pack which drives the DOP submersible dredge pump, plus the hoisting winch.
This winch enables the DOP submersible dredge pump to be lowered on a cable to a dredging depth of -35 m. Moreover, a jetwater pump unit was delivered for supplying the DOP’s suction head with pressurized water.
The modularly constructed DOP dredger furthermore included a standard Damen operator cabin, an A-frame for lowering the DOP pump plus the wires and sheaves to do so, as well as dredging instrumentation.
On deck, a separate unit is located housing flow and density meter, which gives the operator a clear view of the dredging process.
The DOP dredger 350L was commissioned in February by Damen Field Service Engineers.