Xylem wins pump technology contract for ‘Europe’s largest’ wastewater plant

Water technology provider Xylem has won a contract to supply submersible pumps and monitoring and control technology as part of a project to upgrade Europe's largest (and the world's second largest) wastewater treatment plant located near Paris, France.

Xylem will supply its Flygt brand submersible pumps and related accessories to recirculate water and sludge through basins and feed the facility's biological tanks with wastewater.

The Achères Seine Aval wastewater treatment plant treats about 1.5 million m3 of wastewater in the Paris region every day. Service Public de L'assainissement Francilien (SIAAP), the municipal authority that manages the city's urban wastewater treatment facilities, has undertaken a development program to expand the existing bio-filtration units and build a new membrane treatment line in the plant.

Modernisation of the system is necessary to meet the requirements of the European Water Directives which set objectives and standards for future water protection in Europe. The upgraded technology will contribute to maintaining the water quality of the Seine River as well as increasing the treatment efficiency of the plant. The project is due to be completed by 2021.

'It is important for us to be able to provide our customers with energy-efficient technologies and to reduce the operating costs of the plant,' says Gaël Brion, project director for the consortium responsible for overseeing the development project. 'The majority of pumps we are using incorporate Flygt's N-technology which prevents clogging and enables sustained high efficiency, helping to minimise energy consumption.'

The first deliveries of Flygt pumps and controls will begin in March 2015 and the upgrade works are due to be completed by July 2018.