Case study

Xylem’s Flygt Concertor

The Rock Werchter music festival attracts 150,000 people to the village of Werchter in Belgium, each year. As well as host to this annual cultural event, Werchter park is enjoyed year-round by walkers and cyclists. In 2016 torrential rain caused the entire fes-tival site, including camping sites, to flood. That same year, 2016, Live Nation (organizers of the Rock Werchter festival) invested heavily in pumping equipment and sand to ensure that festival goers could still enjoy the event and the festival could go ahead.

The following year, Werchter Park BVBA, the company that owns the park, decided to invest in a buffering and underground drain-age system to ensure that the park could be used all year long and that wet weather wouldn’t hamper its use. The system consists of a detention tank equipped with Flygt’s controls and software, as well as two Concertor pumping systems. This underground drainage system ensures that the park remains dry, free of flood water and open for music and fitness fans all year long.

End user: Werchter Park BVBA

Client: Werchter Park BVBA

Order date: 2017

Completion: 2017

Xylem’s role: Solving clogging problems

Xylem Product: Flygt Concertor

Wastewater pumping system keeps Rock Werchter festival in tune

Wastewater

TM

The challengeAs torrential rain was not a regular occurrence, the company needed a system that could be adapted to local weather con-ditions. The solution needed to have dual functionality so that it could operate optimally during both wet and dry conditions.

Wout Hamers, Technical Manager, Xylem said, “The client required a smart solution that could cater for a range of different scenar-ios. The solution needed to keep the site drained and dry while also storing rain water which could be reused during the festival for sanitary purposes. It was also important to Werchter Park BVBA that the system we designed and installed would be energy effi-cient, and as ‘smart’ as possible.”

Overview of the festivalsite where Xylem placed the drainage system and the concertor pumps.

“the system had to be energy efficient, and as ‘smart’ as possible”

The pump unit at the entrance

Electrical main unit where everything of the drainage system is centralized

Seen from the sky to get an overview how the drain-age system is build ( the brown roads are the main col-lectors, underneath the grass are the small pipes which directs the rain to the collectors)

If wet weather was forecast before and during the festival, then a large buffer tank would be required in order to collect rain and buffer excess water. In the event of heavy rain, the solution also needed to have the capacity to drain the reservoir, as required. If dry weather was expected during the festival there would be no need to drain the buffer tank and water collected during the weeks and months prior to the festival taking place could be used to flush toilets on site as well as for irrigation.

The solutionThe Xylem team proposed Flygt Concertor, as the heart of the be-spoke solution. This wastewater pumping system with integrated intelligence senses the operating conditions of its environment, adapts its performance in real time and provides feedback to pumping station operators.

Field tests conducted around the world validated significant im-provements with Flygt Concertor, including energy savings of up to 70 percent compared to a conventional pumping system, re-duced inventory by up to 80 percent due to flexible performance, clog-free pumping operation and clean wet wells saving up to 80 percent in vacuum cleaning costs and a compact design, reducing cabinet size by up to 50 percent.

Xylem’s solution incorporated two Flygt Concertor wastewater pumping systems that were installed underground (one in an adja-cent pump station and the other one at the entrance to the festival site). An electrical cabinet with a MyConnect unit and HMI touch-screen, which enabled Werchter Park BVBA to monitor the pump-ing performance, was installed above ground for each pump. The drainage system consists of 2,158 meters of 100cm diameter pipes and smaller 50cm diameter pipes, running underneath the roads and grass of the park, leading to an underground basin with a ca-pacity of 2,380,000 liters. Two pump stations (one housing Flygt Concertor) located on different sides of the site receive the flows from the basin. The flow rate can be easily adapted with the turn of a valve.

As the system had a dual functionality the Xylem team also de-signed a bespoke software program which allowed the work-ing mode to be selected. Therefore, if wet weather was expected and the organiser wanted the buffer to be drained of wastewa-ter to make way for more rain water he could do so at the touch of a button. If instead, he wanted the wastewater to be diverted and used to flush toilets on site during the festival he could simply select that operating mode.

“the fact that we can monitor its operation from a laptop is very convenient”

Xylem Water Solutions Belgium b.v.b.a Vierwinden 51930 ZaventemTel +32 2 720 90 10www.xylem.be

As the system was installed underground it was crucial that it could be monitored remotely. The smart monitoring and control system Xylem designed and installed enabled the customer to observe and regulate the system from both office and home.

The installation needed to be completed within a strict timeline so that it would be finished in time for the festival which takes place on the last weekend of June each year. Ground work for the system began in November 2016 and by April 2017 work on the pumping system and accessories was underway. It was crucial that the application was completed and installed by mid-June to allow time for the system to be tweaked as necessary before festival goers began to arrive at the end of June.

The unique system has been operational since June 2017 and has performed exceptionally well since installation.

Wout Hamers, Xylem said, “We have a lot of experience helping customers to implement resilience-building strategies in the face of extreme weather events. We designed a bespoke, smart, energy efficient solution for the customer that accommodates a number of different requirements as well as changing weather conditions. The solution we designed for Werchter Park ensures that, not only can the rock festival and other events go ahead in very wet conditions, it can also benefit from the rain and flood water collected, using it for essential sanitary operations and irrigation.”

Dirk Geerts, Director of Werchter Park, BVBA said, “We are very pleased with the system overall and the fact that we can monitor its operation from a laptop is very convenient. All in all, it has given us great peace of mind knowing that the festival can go ahead and the park can be enjoyed by everyone, whatever the weather.”

The pump unit at the woods.

The outlet of the pump from the picture above.

“The unique system has been operational since June 2017 and has performed exceptionally well since installation”