Project in the picture - PLANET

At the end of May, we received a lot of press attention for the work that is being carried out at the Ardo Ardooie (BE) site to construct a buffer basin that will enable the irrigation of 500 ha of agricultural land via an underground network of pipes. This project is undeniably unique in Flanders: 47 farmers united under the INERO CVBA cooperative and collaborated with the processing industry to safeguard their water supply. This type of project will become all the more crucial in the future in order to protect the agri-food sector against water shortages.

From August 2018 onwards, purified waste water from Ardo Ardooie will be stored in a buffer basin measuring 150,000 m3. The water will then be pumped into a network of 25 km of underground pipes via a nearby pump station. The network will be spread over 500 ha of agricultural land and will have 150 outlets. At each outlet, the water pressure will be at least 8 bars. This means that farmers need only to attach their irrigation system to their outlet point to begin irrigating.