De Vlaamse Waterweg and Port of Antwerp-Bruges maintain the water level in the docks and the Albert Canal with a temporary pump installation
The Albert Canal is the source for 40% of the drinking water in Flanders. Normally, the Meuse provides the supply of water in the Albert Canal. However, due to the ongoing drought in Flanders, the water level of the Meuse is currently at an all-time low.
De Vlaamse Waterweg is tackling this problem by using water sparingly and working as efficiently as possible, for example by having ships pass through the locks in groups. Currently, however, it is so dry that these measures are not sufficient. Therefore, in addition to the fixed pump installations at the lock complexes on the Albert Canal in Olen, Ham, Hasselt and Diepenbeek, De Vlaamse Waterweg placed additional mobile pumps at the Wijnegem and Genk locks that pump water back to the upstream part of the canal.
De Vlaamse Waterweg and Port of Antwerp-Bruges decided to install four temporary pumps at the Berendrecht lock as well, which will pump additional water across from the Scheldt to the docks if necessary. Together, these pumps can pump 4 m³ of Scheldt water into the docks per second.
After Port of Antwerp-Bruges conducted successful tests with mobile pumps in the spring of 2021, De Vlaamse Waterweg installed a temporary pumping facility at the Berendrecht lock this summer. As of the beginning of this week, this facility is now actually in operation.
