Blairich Irrigation Reservoir

Client: Whitehaven Blairich Vineyard, Awatere Valley (Marlborough)

Collaborators: Marlborough Management Services (Engineer), Gilbert Haynes & Associates (Designers) and Viking Containment (Reservoir Lining)

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Taylors constructed an irrigation reservoir to hold 79,838m3 of water for a new vineyard being built for Whitehaven Wines.

The job was awarded at tender based on Taylors’ experience and ability to use scrapers, which enabled the team to move large volumes of dirt quickly.

Wind and weather

Working on the project from October to January meant dealing with high temperatures, wind, and dust. At times, it also meant putting out fires. But there was also one day when it snowed!

Using the mudstone in situ to form a binding layer for the liner and dealing with the wind was frustrating at times. Wind made it impossible to lay the liner as it could pick the liner up and blow it away.

“We were under the pump to get the whole inside down before Christmas, before shutdown,” says Blair, “but we just knuckled down and got it all done.”

Scraper maintenance

Scrapers, while a key tool for this particular project, can be quite temperamental.

“There were a few breakdowns, but the workshop was really good and even though the project site was three hours away from the workshop, the team’s help meant that any issues with the scrapers never delayed the project too much.

Working away from home

For many of the team members, this was their first time working away from their families.

“All credit to the partners and families for dealing with the home life while the guys were away. You’ve got to have a good working culture when you’re working away from home. It’s not just working together during the day, you’re seeing each other every night as well.

“If everyone is open and talking to each other it’s the sign of a good environment, because people feel like they can talk. The talk’s always positive. After work you can switch off and still talk with each other about other stuff. You don’t just go into a shell and hide away. You work through problems together and you don’t blame anyone. Having a good culture and having the right guys on the job makes a big difference.”

Low river levels

“When we were finished the rivers were too low for the vineyard team to fill it; they couldn’t draw out of the river to fill it. So it sat empty for a while.”

Impromptu fire response

The first day on site, the Taylors team assisted fire crews with a fire on the farm that had got out of control. Fire crews used the Taylors water cart to fill their trucks, and Taylors assisted with the water cart for almost two days. This was one of two fires the crew had to help put out while on the job (the fires were not related to Taylors’ activities).

“They had had some burn offs previously. They thought the fire had gone out, but it relit and spat embers up into the gum trees and it was away.”

Laying the liner

Blair says that working alongside Viking Containment was a great experience, and the Taylors team received some really positive feedback about their preparation work.

“It was cool to hear them say they’d never had a surface prepped so good. It was nice and smooth, consistent, and without any issues.”

Other highlights:

• No accidents on the job
• Good teamwork/culture
• Adam Hall and Richie McGlashen trained new operators (Ryan Ching and Jay Wright). There was an opportunity on this job to train up some of the less experienced guys on some of the bigger machinery
• Excellent relationship with the farmer who had sold the land to Whitehaven for their vineyard
• Footage of the scrapers operating that we shared on Facebook went viral!

Interesting facts and figures:

• 56,774m3  moved with scrapers
• 580m of pipe was laid for the subsoils
• Fossils were found in the soil that was being moved (mussel shells and cockle shells) and we were 200m+ above sea level