water action plan
Today, Flanders is one of the regions in Europe with water scarcity. As a company, we want to underline the importance of sustainable and smarter water management by putting maximum effort into water management and water circularity. Because of the historical entanglement with water on our site, we know better than anyone else how important a well-considered and balanced water balance is today. Always with respect for the environment and the neighbourhood, of course.
water context at SVK
Clay was first mined on our production site in the early 1900s. The clay mining pits formed were naturally filled with rainwater, creating 3 beautiful ponds with clear water. The collected water is still used today as a raw material, energy carrier, utility, ... and is home to an indigenous fauna. Throughout our history, a spatial and functional intertwining has been created between the production activities and the captured rainwater from the ponds. This is based on natural balance, direct reuse and multifunctionality. Today, we take this a step further by focusing on smart water management and water circularity.
Circular water usage
We all know that a circular economy is better for the environment, and the same goes for water. Improving water circularity can be done, for example, by reusing wastewater, sharing water and so on. A typicalwater recycling rate of a fibre cement production line is at least 3, which means that water can pass through the production line at least 3 times until a water no longer meets quality requirements and is discharged within the margins of emission limits. But SVK is raising the bar.
SVK is working on a pilot project towards a fully closed water circuit. It wants to fully reuse its wastewater through additional treatment of its wastewater. The technology for this would be a low-temperature evaporator with increased energy efficiency through vapour recompression. The first results look very promising. In this way, we hope to contribute to a water-efficient society.
waterbarometer
We also participated in the Water Barometer process. This VITO tool provides companies with deeper insight into their water management and suggests targeted optimisation actions. The risks of water sources are mapped and at the same time we get an environmental analysis with nearby alternative, sustainable water sources. Using the Water Barometer helps us select the right measures. Together with VITO and Antea Group, a detailed water balance was worked out and improvement points formulated, which will be studied and worked out in a later phase. Feedback was provided from us on the water barometer as an instrument. In this way, this mutual cooperation provides a handy tool that should pave the way for efficient and sustainable water use in Flanders from an industrial perspective.
sophisticated water management
The Westerbuurt is a dense urban neighbourhood with a high degree of paving. The water vulnerability and flooding sensitivity of the neighbourhood is partly mitigated by the largest pond on the site, which serves as a buffer basin. The buffer basin provides delayed runoff during peak downpours. SVK is also participating in the Molenbeek revaluation project, which will see a complete separation of the wastewater and stormwater systems. In future, the curved Molenbeek will only collect rainwater, offering an opportunity as a landscape element. In this way, we are doing our bit to achieve a good status for our water systems thanks to sustainable water management.
Blog & news
Read more about our sustainability blogs.
Talk to an expert
Do you still have specific questions? You can always contact our technical team without obligation. They will be happy to advise you on the specifications, installation and colour selection of our products.