Underground water storage makes reuse residual water possible

In Dinteloord (North Brabant), the modern agri and food cluster 'Nieuw Prinsenland' was developed in 2010 by Suiker Unie and the Horticultural Development Company (TOM): 50 ha business park and 200 ha greenhouse horticulture for the cultivation of, among other things, tomatoes and eggplants. Continuous availability of a very good and reliable quality freshwater is essential for the growers, but difficult to realize in an environment with limited freshwater supply and brackish groundwater. Despite the fact that all rainwater is collected in conventional aboveground basins, a significant freshwater shortage remains in dry periods.

Suiker Unie processes over 3 million tons of sugar beet into sugar from September to January, a process in which a lot of water is released. After all, a sugar beet consists for three quarters of water. Part of this residual water is now purified to high-quality fresh water, and is available to the growers as an additional irrigation water source. Horticultural crops thus grow on residual water from sugar beets. However, the challenge remained: where do you store this large volume of water for a few months or even for years until the times of demand? The subsoil offers a solution.

Every year, the underground water storage system provides 300,000 m3 of additional irrigation water, on top of the rainwater that is stored by growers in aboveground basins. The additional irrigation water is stored in the ground with eight ASR wells. In times of drought, these wells can supply 200 m3 of irrigation water per hour to the local growers, who are connected to the underground water storage by means of a ring pipeline. In this way, the growers are always assured of sufficient fresh water, without using a lot of scarce space above ground while maintaining the high water quality. In addition to the supply to greenhouse horticulture, the pure water is also used by the sugar factory itself. The system is a good example of how the subsoil can contribute to achieving water objectives in the circular economy.

The underground water storage facility Dinteloord has been developed by the KWR water research institute and the Horticultural Development Company (TOM) and is the cooperative property of the growers. Engineering and realization was done by Codema Systems Group. This year, the management of the system is being carried out by SALutions, a public-private partnership between KWR and international consultancy firm Arcadis under the banner of Allied Waters. KWR and Arcadis are jointly active in the worldwide introduction of this type of innovative, practical applications for groundwater management, with the aim of protecting, increasing and sustainable use of freshwater sources in coastal deltas and delta cities.