Overview
Vyeboom Irrigation Board operates one of the region's largest pump stations, drawing from Theewaterskloof Dam, a key source for regional irrigation and agriculture. The planned upgrade raised a difficult question: how to modernise while safeguarding ongoing supply.
The decision wasn’t simply about equipment.The upgrade was about ensuring farmers would have water when the season opened. The irrigation board faced a narrow shutdown window, a station operating under demanding conditions, and two very different options.
Soft starters were the familiar choice in medium-voltage systems, while drives carried the perception of added complexity. On paper, the drives promised smoother starts, lower energy use, and generator compatibility, but the board needed more than a specification sheet. They needed confidence that the upgrade would deliver reliably when it mattered most.
The Challenge
The board had only a short seasonal shutdown to complete any upgrades. Missing that window would have delayed the project by a year and extended the risks to infrastructure and supply.
Challenge 1: Equipment wear and downtime
Traditional starting methods placed a significant load on the pumps, as is common in long-serving stations. Bearings and seals wore out faster, increasing the need for frequent maintenance. Breakdowns risked interrupting water deliveries during critical periods. Water hammer also damaged valves, cutting their service life in half and driving up replacement costs.
Challenge 2: Limited backup options
Pumps of this scale draw high current on start-up, even when fitted with soft starters. This made generator operation impractical without significantly oversizing the sets, an approach that adds cost in most irrigation systems. The result was limited resilience during grid outages.
Challenge 3: Inefficient pumping
Operating a mix of pump sizes on a shared line made flow optimisation challenging. Instead of maximising flow, energy was lost in turbulence, meaning more power was used without delivering more water.
The Solution
What turned a complex upgrade into a workable plan was not a single specification but a coalition that knew where its responsibilities overlapped. The irrigation board carried the pressure of keeping crops watered on time, supported by a consultant engineer, who carefully evaluated both technical and financial factors. On-site support was provided by system integrator WJ Cotter, who was responsible for installation and PLC/SCADA integration.
Bridging disciplines
To support them, partners stepped in with complementary expertise. EM’s engineers in Cape Town and Johannesburg tested electrical assumptions against the hydraulic redesign commissioned from a leading pump manufacturer. At the same time, WJ Cotter handled site integration and controls, ensuring the upgrade meshed with day-to-day board operations. That study confirmed that larger, more efficient pumps could be matched with medium voltage drives to work in step rather than at odds. When scheduling challenges arose near the end of the shutdown window, EM helped keep the project on track by holding the equipment.
Closing efficiency gaps
Delta’s role was equally critical. Their MVF2000 drives, each rated for 800 kW and configured to take 11 kV input while delivering 6.6 kV output, replaced the station’s step-down transformers and closed a long-standing efficiency gap. With more than 96% efficiency, low harmonic distortion, and tolerance for the voltage disturbances common in South Africa, the upgrade delivered both technical assurance and operational resilience. The integration ensured these drives were embedded into the control environment seamlessly, giving the board confidence in everyday operation.
A site visit to a previous EM project allowed the board and the consultant engineer to see medium-voltage drives in operation, shifting the discussion from specifications to practical outcomes. They observed smooth starts and stops, spoke directly with operators, and confirmed how the technology performed under real conditions. The visit helped strengthen confidence in the decision to proceed with the upgrade. By the time Vyeboom’s drives were commissioned, the project was no longer viewed as a risk but as a proven, long-term solution.
The Outcome
When the new drives finally started the pumps, the first difference was obvious. Starts and stops were smooth, water hammer was gone, and farmers could count on water without interruption. But the bigger change unfolded in some unexpected ways.
At Vyeboom, the board gained renewed confidence in modernisation. Seeing the system work in practice gave them the confidence to plan similar upgrades across their other stations — decisions that, only months earlier, had seemed out of reach.
Looking Ahead
The Vyeboom project demonstrated that lasting progress in infrastructure depends on collaboration as much as on hardware. It’s about building the confidence to change what already works, and that confidence comes from collaboration. Boards, consultants, suppliers, and engineers each brought their own perspective, but it was the way those perspectives connected that turned risk into momentum.
For farmers, the outcome was reliable water at the right time. For irrigation boards, it was proof that modernisation can be approached with confidence. And for the partners involved, it was evidence that independent expertise, when combined, can deliver outcomes greater than the sum of its parts.
For Vyeboom, modernisation became a reference point. For you, it could become a starting point. The future of infrastructure isn’t decided by equipment alone… It’s decided by who you choose to build with. Contact EM to start the conversation.