Cotter Pumping Station

EB managed to organise this for us last week.

I've been past this place multiple times and have even peeked in the windows, but I finally actually got to go inside!

Cotter Pumping Station

One of Canberra's water supply pipes
Cotter Pumping Station

Very old but also very cool picture of the heights of the various facilities.  They prefer taking water from Corin/Bendora because it's gravity fed to the Stromlo treatment plant.  They actually only pump from Cotter a few days a month.
Cotter Pumping Station

Another infographic showing the various water networks
Cotter Pumping Station

And then we got to go into the pumping room.  The pump in the first pic, and the one on the left in the second pic are the original pumps.

Cotter Pumping Station

The one just behind the first one was put in during an expansion, and is the only pump made in Australia.

Cotter Pumping Station

Some more views of the room

Cotter Pumping Station

Cotter Pumping Station

As they replaced the pumps with more modern pumps, they just left the old ones there and kept expanding the hall

Cotter Pumping Station

A view back

Cotter Pumping Station

And then through a doorway to the next part of the hall which is two storeys high and has the two current pumps used for Canberra water supply

Cotter Pumping Station

Cotter Pumping Station

Notice the blue wall and black line half way up the wall?  (see in previous pics too).  That's the level of the 1956 flood.  Which inundated the hall to that level.  !!

Cotter Pumping Station

So when they put these pumps in, they put the motors upstairs!

Cotter Pumping Station

Upstairs looking down into the old hall
Cotter Pumping Station

These are the motors for the pumps downstairs
Cotter Pumping Station

Another view out the back
Cotter Pumping Station

This used to be a worker's cottage
Cotter Pumping Station

The front of the pumping station
Cotter Pumping Station

The back of the transformer house
Cotter Pumping Station

Inside the transformer house
Cotter Pumping Station

A new pump house.  They're going to start building a new pumphouse with four new pumps in August, then decommission the current ones

Cotter Pumping Station

After that, they're going to turn the old Pumping Station into a full on museum.  

Very cool :)