Waterfabriek Casus Hoog-Nederland

Introduction

The pressure on the groundwater reserves in Noord-Brabant is increasing due to increasing demands and decreasing supplies (increasing levels of drought over the last couple of years). To anticipate more extreme climate conditions STOWA initiated this research project to better understand the options for a more circular use of water in the region. This study assessed the options of effluent reuse from three RWZI’s and one AWZI to reduce the intake of groundwater and drinking water in the industrial and agricultural sectors. Aquavest has been applied in this study to identify the optimal system solution consisting of water treatment and transport infrastructure assuming a pre-defined restriction on total yearly groundwater extraction volumes.

The central question was:
”In the event of a restriction on groundwater extraction of 15 million m3 per year, how can the effluents from the three RWZI’s and one AWZI be best utilized to meet the demands for water from municipalities and the industrial and agricultural sectors?”.

Objective

The overall objective of the project is to reduce the intake of groundwater and drinking water from the industrial and agricultural sectors by using effluents with an equivalent quality. The study therefore requires that supply and demand are wisely matched, taking into account the water quality requirements from the industrial and agriculturalwater users and the transport distance from the RWZI’s/ AWZI to the industrial and agricultural water users.

The following applies; see the topography picture below

• The effluents are supplied by three RWZI’s (Aarle-Rixtel, Dinther, Asten) and one AWZI (Bavaria)
• The total of 1200 agricultural groundwater extraction wells in the area have been reduced to 12 ‘priority areas’ for groundwater extractions
• The irrigation demand for agriculture occurs in the months from April to August. Outside these months, there is no need for effluents
• The drinking water and/or groundwater intake for each industrial user is known. These intake volumes are assumed constant throughout the year

Impact

AquaVest has generated an optimized system solution, an overview of water use (groundwater, drinking water, effluents) per sector and an overview of the total costs (CAPEX + OPEX) over time. Please contact us for more information!

An article about this project was published on H2Owaternetwerk.