Drinking water companies use both water towers and reservoirs to store water. In Bredene, a small town on the Flemish coast, a reservoir was built about 10 years ago to supplement the existing water tower in order to have an additional water buffer on the coast during the summer months. The reservoir in Bredene is located lower than the water tower at ground level, allowing the water in the reservoir to reach a high pressure. In order to give the upstream consumers, the same pressure at all times while filling the reservoir, the reservoir is filled in a slowed manner each time by “pinching” an electrically operated valve.

The Water Group's ambition is to be energy neutral by 2030. To achieve this goal, it is not only focusing on the big projects, such as installing solar panels and wind turbines, but also on smaller projects. The project described in this application will realize the pressure guarantee and reduction of the reservoir in Bredene through the installation of a frequency-controlled pump generator or turbine. This can then provide the necessary pressure drop and at the same time generate electricity, which can then be used for the installation process, resulting in net energy savings.