Fresh asparagus thanks to optimal water treatment

April 2012 Valves, Actuators & Pump Control

For more than 20 years sera dosing pumps have been used for water treatment by the Hessisches Ried water board in Biebesheim. The water board was founded in 1979 and is responsible for the needs of the approximately one million people who currently live in this region of the Upper Rhine valley. Another main task is to keep the ground water table at a normal level. Water is drawn in from the Rhine and treated in the extensive modern plant to produce a product of drinking water quality. The sera dosing pumps have played their part for over two decades in keeping the water table constant at the required level.

Five million cubic metres of water for agriculture

As well as maintaining the ground water table, the water board also provides agricultural sprinkling irrigation water for the Ried area. The capacity of the Biebesheim water works is 5400 cubic metres per hour, which is 43 million cubic metres a year.

Up to 5 million cubic metres are available for agricultural sprinkling. This means that vegetables can be grown perfectly in the fields, even during long periods of drought, to supply the whole region with fresh asparagus and crisp lettuce. The average natural precipitation of 600 mm a year in the region, is not sufficient on its own for the water needs of the crop. Irrigation during the growing season is therefore essential to ensure the harvest and subsequently guarantee the economic success of the region.

Eight steps guarantee best drinking water quality

The water from the Rhine is processed in eight consecutive steps and then made available as optimum quality drinking water, ground water or for sprinkler irrigation.

In the fourth part of the water treatment procedure, the sera dosing pumps at the Biebesheim water works add iron (III) chloride to the water in the primary flocculation process. Step by step, bigger and bigger flocs form in the four attached flocculation basins, trapping the particles of dirt (heavy metals and micro-organisms amongst others) and letting them sink to the bottom where they can be removed. Iron chloride is again used in the secondary flocculation to trap, where the last muddy flocs are isolated and removed in the subsequent multi-layered filter.

The sera pumps are optimally sized and rated to facilitate efficient and precise dosage of chemicals as well as a safe and economical treatment. sera has been a reliable partner of the Hessisches Ried water board since the 1980s and has proved itself by providing solid, reliable and dependable processing pumps for water treatment.

For more information contact Wally Feldon, sera DoseTech SA, +27 (0)11 397 5120, [email protected], www.sera-web.co.za

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Valves, Actuators & Pump Control

Fresh asparagus thanks to optimal water treatment

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