Case

Less iron and calcium in the drinking water in Eeklo thanks to the new De Watergroep water treatment plant

With more than 100 years of experience and knowledge, De Watergroep is an important partner for drinking water in Flanders. With a pipeline network of over 34,000 kilometres, De Watergroep supplies drinking water to 177 municipalities in West and East Flanders, Flemish Brabant and Limburg.

Sustainable water management 
Quality and sustainability are very important to De Watergroep. The integrated water company ensures an economically and ecologically sustainable management of the water chain and has several reliable partners who share the same vision for sustainable production. Together with companies such as AVK, they do not only ensure better water quality, but they also limit unnecessary water loss, by focusing on constant innovation. This makes De Watergroep a reliable partner for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 – Clean water and sanitation.   

Water production in Eeklo
"We use groundwater here," says Lien Bentein, project leader at De Watergroep. “The groundwater is first aerated, and then softened and de-ironed with a flocculant and additives. Next process is sedimentation and filtering of iron and other particles whereafter the ammonium is nitrified.  The last step is active carbon filtration, which ensures further removal of ammonium, manganese and micropollutants. Just before the water leaves the treatment plant, it gets a mild disinfection with sodium hypochlorite to guarantee drinkable water right up to the tap.”

Lien Bentein says, "Making groundwater drinkable is a very special process, that we don't always think about when we turn on the tap at home." 

In the production of potable water, selection of the right equipment is very important. AVK has a very wide product range, and the valves feature low head losses, which means a higher efficiency of the pumps. Combined with the high product quality and durability AVK therefore offers a lower total cost of ownership.

Project Detail

• Company: De Watergroep
• Location: Eeklo
• Production capacity of the water treatment plant: 240 m³/h
• Date of commissioning: January 2019
• Pressure class:  PN10
• Diametre:  DN50 to DN800