Glabbeek Wastewater Treatment Plant

For Aquifin’s new water treatment plant in the municipality of Glabbeek, Smet Group, as the contractor, was responsible for all electromechanical equipment and dewatering of the construction site.

  • Client: Aquafin
  • Period: 2023–2025
  • Location: Glabbeek, Belgium
  • Solution: Electromechanics – Drainage
  • Technology: Engineering (piping and electrical schematics) – Electrical wiring – Design, construction, and installation of electrical panels – Installation of instrumentation – Odor control system – Process water system – Dry vacuum system

Behind the Scenes

Aquafin aims to increase the wastewater treatment efficiency in its service areas. The goal for the municipality of Glabbeek? To achieve the target treatment efficiency of 50% by 2027. This serves as an example for many other municipalities, as Europe expects all member states to treat their wastewater by then.

All project preparation was carried out in-house. This included drawing up electrical schematics, preparing mechanical plans, and building control panels… which allowed us to respond quickly to the customer’s needs. For the on-site installation, we were able to rely on our own technicians to assemble and connect the system.

Our teams have already renovated or built dozens of wastewater treatment plants, such as this one in Glabbeek. That’s why Aquafin was able to rely heavily on our expertise and entrust the work to us with complete peace of mind.

A Sustainable Approach to the Project

Treating wastewater has many benefits for people and the environment. We contributed by:

  • Increasing the purification rate, which is healthier for humans
  • Installation of odor control measures that reduce odor nuisance for nearby residents
  • Discharge effluent into a wadi so that the water first infiltrates the soil before being channeled toward the Velpe River

The new wastewater treatment plant now treats wastewater from 3,700 households in Glabbeek. The facility itself can treat 3,000 m³ per day from about 70 streets.

  • SDG 6 – Clean Water Through Reduced Discharges and Improved Water Treatment
  • SDG 12 – Protection and Sustainable Use of Water