Well, more accurately two new flash screw pumps, all the way from the Netherlands.
The Stead St pump station is well into a major upgrade and work may be finished in less than six months.
It will also be fish friendly and fit for the future.
The $11 million replacement for the old Stead St pump station in Invercargill will be fitted with twin Archimedes screw pumps manufactured in the Netherlands by FishFlow Innovations.
The old one was commissioned in the 1960s and relied on two 1950s axial flow pumps.
Environment Southland (ES) integrated catchment general manager Paul Hulse said the technology was of regional significance because it was future proofing a pump station that was critical to the 116 properties in the immediate area and was a lifeline for the airport.
"It will, minimum, go for 50 years, but it is expected to go for much longer — 70 to 80 is more likely," he said.
The old pumps were well past their use-by dates and the new pumps would use less power and were more efficient.
The pumps were essential because more floods were expected in Invercargill over the next 30 years because of a meteorological phenomenon different from climate change called interdecadal Pacific oscillation, Mr Hulse said.
"There were floods in the late
’70s, ’80s and ’90s, that was the last positive phase.
"We’ve had 20 years where we have not experienced those floods, however from 2020 we re-entered that phase for the next 20 to 30 years."
The new pump station would have an increased capacity of 3cumecs, compared to the existing axial flow pumps capacity of 1.8 cumecs, he said.
ES complete project and project manager Scott Paterson said the Archimedes screw design ensured a safe passage for fish, a requirement under the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management which came into effect in September 2020.
"The fish can pass through at any time when they’re on and there is also a fish return passage pipe which runs back from the estuary into the inlet drain."
The pumps were made of steel and fibreglass and little maintenance was required on them, Mr Paterson said.
This was only the second ever installation of the pumps anywhere in the world, he said.
The pumps were in storage in Invercargill while construction on the pump house was under way.
The plan was for them to be installed over one week in March next year.
Dry commissioning was expected in late March 2024, and wet commissioning at the end of April 2024.
No more road closures in Stead St were expected for the rest of the duration of the work.
