Central wastewater plant AquaReuse officially opened:
Netherlands: 100 hectares of glass in closed water cycle
Wastewater
The system was developed by Naaldwijk company Aqua-Terra Nova and built by PB Engineering. By bringing back the wastewater back into the greenhouse as irrigation water, nothing is squandered and the 0-emission benchmark is achievable. Despite the official opening, the irrigation water has yet to be returned to the greenhouse. The distribution system (three km for the 12 companies) is still to be completed, which will happen this month. "Then we'll monitor everything," says Paul Brabander of PB Engineering. "On this basis we can continue to roll out the project."
The AquaReUse system is an innovative system, signifying an interesting challenge for the folks at PB Engineering. "In itself it’s not all that complicated, but all the individual pieces put together represent a complex system," says Brabander.
Joint venture
What’s particularly special about the AquaReuse system in Bleiswijk is that it’s a joint venture of a group of growers. An example of collaboration, Brabander thinks. "For individual growers, such an investment is fairly excessive. Applying this on a small scale is not feasible. It can only work as a collective venture." The project in Bleiswijk is a pilot demonstration project, but according to Brabander, the system is interesting for other grower collectives as well.
The installation is duly christened.
The AquaReuse system does not only garners national attention. Internationally, the system offers opportunities for regions where little water is available. "In many horticultural regions, water scarcity is a major problem. Water is pumped up from the ground and the water level drops. Then recycling becomes an important issue," says Brabander.
More information:
PB Techniek
Paul Brabander
paul@pb-techniek.nl
tel 06 – 5107 4882