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In all the challenges faced by construction consortium De Groene Boog on project A16 Rotterdam, water management runs like a thread through everything. In the broadest sense of the word. In short: how do you keep water where you want it and how do you get water away from places where you don't want it? The answer: with the right pump, in the right place. Eekels Pumps is the designated specialist for the pumping work around this major project. Mark Verweij is project manager at Eekels Pumps and knows all about the pumping solutions installed by Eekels. We talk to him about a nice piece of expertise in water management.
"The Green Arch brought us to the table as early as the design phase of the tunnel," Verweij begins. "Even before pre-loading would take place. This had to do with a temporary pumping station in the Schieveense polder, in subarea 1. A pipe had to be sunk there, where our expertise was requested. From there we became further involved in the project." The pipe work itself was handled by the contractor; Eekels made the calculations for the immersion of a pipe in the Berkelse Zwet, which discharges water into the Delftse Schie. "A stretch of 1,000 meters of immersed pipe. We then installed and prepared the pump installation," Verweij outlines. On site, Eekels installed a pump with a generator, with the necessary telemetry. Verweij: "The water levels in the waterway are monitored remotely and the flow rate is registered. The aggregate also has telemetry; we can remotely monitor running hours, see whether a service is needed and keep an eye on things like oil pressure and fuel levels."
Next, Eekels installed two smaller pumping units on the Tempeldijk, equipped with alarms. "These smaller pumps use hybrid generators. Partly powered by a combustion engine, partly by batteries. Another good step towards working more sustainably." At Bergweg Zuid in subarea 2, Eekels was then called in for an overpumping operation: "We have been pumping a watercourse there for a year and a half now."
There was no shortage of pumps at Eekels, much to the happiness of The Green Bow. "We were used for many more issues. For example, we rent out a variety of drain pumps and dirty water pumps to De Groene Boog," said Verweij. "We also run several diesel pumps equipped with telemetry on the project. Remote monitoring is crucial when pumping at critical locations. After all, you want to guarantee the performance of the pumps. Roughly speaking, we can say that our pumps are used for reclamation, managing groundwater levels and pumping water as a result of pre-loading. Water gets everywhere. Preload causes water to be pushed up elsewhere. Our plants are leased for periods of 1 to 3 years. Some pumps have been running for 1.5 years. Project-wise, the crucial pumps have been capped, but the rental of individual pumps continues as usual. One phone call and it's settled."
