DuCoop starts vacuum system in city building 'Melopee'

Fotostadsgebouw2

For the first time in Flanders, toilets are connected to a vacuum sewer network: an underpressure system collects the wastewater in a central wastewater treatment plant. Up to 90% less rinse water is used than in traditional sewer systems.

Yesterday drinking water utility Farys opened the district sports hall in the city building 'Melopee' on the Ghent residential area Nieuwe Dokken. Together with the kindergarten of the City of Ghent, it is one of the first buildings that are linked by the sustainability cooperative DuCoop to the innovative water purification system "ZAWENT" (Zero Wastewater with Energy and Nutrient Recovery). This system closes the cycles of energy, raw materials and water within the district by means of a number of new technologies. DuCoop also realized a first for Flanders in collaboration with the German company Roediger / Aqseptence. For the first time, toilets are connected to a vacuum sewer network: an underpressure system collects the waste water in a central water treatment plant. Unique is that this system uses up to 90% less flushing water than conventional toilets.

The city building and the sports hall are only a first phase of users who are connected to this 'ZAWENT' system. At the beginning of next year, the first 90 homes will be inhabited in the district and the structural work for a next phase of 120 homes will start. By 2024, up to 400 apartments will be developed in this sustainable residential area, good for 1,200 resident equivalents. All the waste water from these residents, about 30,000m³ per year, is treated for reuse. In addition, DuCoop will also recover approximately 2,500 MWh of residual heat via a local district heating network.