On Easter Monday, the parking lot below Place Patenier experienced a malfunction in its water evacuation system, causing the alarms to go off. The primary pump had burned out, and the secondary pump’s seals had blown, leaving only two pumps that were insufficient to keep the parking lot dry. As a result, the lot filled with 20 centimeters of water, and city technicians had to urgently install an emergency pump to drain the “pool.” According to works alderman Robert Closset, a new primary pump will cost between 15,000 and 20,000 euros.
Keeping the Patenier car park dry is an expensive endeavor, even when all four pumps are functioning correctly. The permanent pumping system consumes a significant amount of electricity and requires constant monitoring, as any malfunction might result in the flooding of the parking lot. Unfortunately, this is not a new problem, as the parking lot has required constant pumping since its inauguration 11 years ago, which has resulted in a significant drain on the city’s resources.
Furthermore, the design of the parking lot was flawed, as it was built above a small stream, Jauvelant, which requires constant pumping and evacuation into the nearby Meuse river. If the main pump fails, a significant amount of water quickly accumulates in the parking lot, causing significant damage to cars and infrastructure.
Overall, the Patenier car park has become a significant burden for the city, costing them 5 million euros and requiring constant maintenance and repair. It’s clear that a new, more efficient design will need to be implemented to prevent these ongoing issues.
This happened on Easter Monday, at the start of the followingnoon: the alarms in the parking lot under Place Patenier went off, warning the firefighters and the municipal services. The main pump which evacuates the water rushing permanently into this structure had burned out. The second pump, because the system operates in cascade, also stopped, its seals had blown. There were two left, pumps, but not enough to keep the underground parking lot dry. That’s how we waded through it in 20 centimeters of water.
City technicians intervened urgently to place an emergency pump and empty the “pool” which was beginning to form. The following ? A new main pump will have to be ordered and, according to works alderman Robert Closset, this costs between 15,000 and 20,000 euros.
It’s been pumping for 11 years
Keeping the Patenier car park dry represents a huge budget. Even when the four-pump system is working: electricity is not for nothing. Clarification: these pumps work constantly, otherwise the parking lot fills up like a bathtub. At the slightest failure, it is necessary to intervene, quickly. As was the case during the Easter weekend.
It’s been going on for eleven years. The Patenier car park was inaugurated on May 16, 2022. The City is still in court with those who designed and built it. Since then, it pumps, it pumps and it pumps once more. Not small amounts. A year ago, we visited the technical room where the pumping system is located. The latter swallows a real “permanent waterfall”. It’s quite impressive.
Alderman Closset repeats it: it was a question of building a kind of large “tupperware” completely waterproof (we are on the banks of the Meuse), it is completely missed. It is not the waters of the river that infiltrate. The infrastructure was built above a small stream, the Jauvelant. Small, but it constantly delivers water, pumped, then evacuated towards the Meuse, which is only the receptacle of all these cubic meters.
If the main pump fails, like this Monday, in an hour, there’s 20 centimeters of water in the parking lot.
A plague for the City, this Patenier car park, when it cost it the tidy sum of 5 million euros. At that price, we might have built a swimming pool.
The Patenier car park in Belgium has been causing headaches for city officials since its construction over a decade ago. The recent failure of one of the main pumps which keep the underground structure dry resulted in 20 centimeters of water flooding the parking lot. The City has had to order a new pump, with an estimated cost between 15,000 and 20,000 euros. The ongoing issue has cost the City a significant amount of money in electricity and other maintenance costs. The car park, which cost 5 million euros to build, has become a veritable plague for the City. It seems that more work needs to be done to ensure that the Patenier car park can function as intended without causing further headaches for city officials and visitors alike.
