Revolutionizing Water Supply in Namur Province: The Florennes-Beauraing Water Project

2023-09-18 15:35:00

Restrictions, tanker trucks arriving urgently and hasty distributions of bottled water… For several years, we have become accustomed to this big broom in the south of the province of Namur.

In this region, water supply has always been a problem. “This situation of water distress has worsened over time, despite the drilling of numerous wells, pointed out this Monday the mayor of Beauraing, Marc Lejeune (Les Engagés), while evoking a growing demand driven by the increase in the population, agricultural or economic activities. Ultimately, it is global warming that has sounded the death knell for our fragile autonomy with ever longer and more intense heat waves.”

Florennes-Beauraing water supply. ©Cyrille Lesuisse

Technical engineering

However, this complex situation should now be a bad memory. The water supply project between Florennes and Beauraing is completed.

Florennes-Beauraing water supply. ©Cyrille Lesuisse

This Monday morning, the fruit of several years of work was the subject of an inauguration with great fanfare, at the Trois Moulins farm in Beauraing. After all, the moment is historic and places our contemporaries in the lineage of ancient ancestors, who were also confronted on several occasions with the channeling of blue gold, the source of life.

Because if in Wallonia there is enough water for everyone, some regions are much less served than others. However, to respond to tomorrow’s demographic and economic developments, securing network supply is crucial.

21 million euros

Led jointly by Inasep and SWDE, with the support of the Region and the European Investment Bank, the water supply project between Florennes and Beauraing represents an investment of some €21 million. In total, no less than 40 kilometers of pipes were laid underground.

Florennes-Beauraing water supply. ©Cyrille Lesuisse

The whole is the subject of some great challenges such as the suspended crossing of the Meuse, at the height of the Hastière bridge, the passage under a railway or even an imposing drilling under the Calestienne! In addition to laying the pipes, we will also note the construction of a pumping station and a 1000 m3 reservoir in Blaimont, as well as an underground mixing chamber in Mesnil-Saint-Blaise.

Human genius and technical mastery were required. And from the start of the chain. The water which will supply Hastière, Beauraing and Houyet comes from the Ry de Rome dam, the Flavion and La Valette catchments, but above all the mine water from quarrying in the Florennes region. Present, the Minister of the Environment, Céline Tellier (Ecolo), was keen to underline the exemplary nature of the approach, as well as its “circular economy” dimension. (…) Because the idea is not to pump more water, but to reuse water used for industrial uses.” In total, no less than 19,000 m3 will be produced each day.

A more resilient Wallonia

In the future, the network should be even more secure. The Mesnil-Saint-Blaise mixing chamber should thus be interconnected to a connection coming from the Eupen and Gileppe dams, to extend the supply towards Wellin and Daverdisse, where a 2,000 m3 water tower will be built . The icing on the cake is that the whole thing will be reversible. The Florennes region will also be secure.

Finally, let us emphasize that the connection between Florennes and Beauraing is only one link in an even larger regional plan of 12 water highways throughout Wallonia.

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