The Nitra Strategic Park, with a total area of 700 hectares, is located in the immediate vicinity of the Nitra River. During the construction of the industrial park, the state, through the company MH Invest s.r.o., implemented a project to lower the groundwater level in the park to 140.0 m above sea level.For this reason, a groundwater level reduction system was built in the park area, which is unique in Slovakia in terms of its location and use. The project was carried out in cooperation with the Slovak Technical University, which prepared the documents for the implementation of the project for this purpose.
For ENGIE, the provision of comprehensive management of the groundwater and stormwater control systems in the park is also a pilot project, which is divided into two levels – groundwater level reduction and management of the storm sewerage system that diverts surface rainfall water.
Lowering groundwater levels
In order to reduce the groundwater level, a sewage network with a total length of 7 km, 38 wells (boreholes) approximately 15 m deep and two pumping stations has been built in the area. All facilities, boreholes and flow rates are monitored online and adjusted to maintain a maximum common pumping rate of up to 70 l/s.
In this part of the project, ENGIE provides, in addition to the management, monitoring and operation of the entire system, warranty and post-warranty servicing of the pumping equipment, servicing of the monitoring system, cleaning of the pumping pipes and regular water analyses.
Storm water drainage management
The Nitra Strategic Park is located in the immediate vicinity of the Nitra River. In order to protect the area from the thousand-year water, the dam of the Nitra River was raised by approximately 1.5 m. To avoid the risk of flooding due to possible torrential rainfall, 15 retention basins (approx. 200 m x 20 m x 8 m) have been built within the factories in the industrial park, into which rainwater from paved areas and roofs is fed and which are connected to the storm sewer. The rainwater is then pumped into the Nitra River via three pumping stations. The stormwater pumping stations have a much higher flow rate – between 800 and 3 000 l/s, in contrast to the pumps designed to lower the groundwater level.
The storm sewer system is also monitored online, remotely controlled and operated by ENGIE, which, among other things, provides regular maintenance, repairs and
cleaning.
Expertise, monitoring and reporting
The industrial park is managed by trained staff with the highest authorisation to operate Class 1 flood protection systems and authorisation to operate public sewers. In accordance with the legislation in force, they regularly carry out inspections and cooperate with the Slovak Water Management Company, which assesses the functionality and validity of the flood protection system on an annual basis.
As part of the services provided, ENGIE provides regular inspection and daily online monitoring of equipment, systems and groundwater levels in wells. The monitoring data is stored in the cloud and used in an information system through which the entire flood control system can be managed via remote access. ENGIE also monitors meteorological conditions, performs accredited water analyses and reports on the amount of water abstracted. All data is then processed and reported on a monthly basis to the client and the relevant authorities.
“The project for the comprehensive management, maintenance and repair of the groundwater level control system and storm drainage system in this industrial park is unique for ENGIE. It confirms our readiness to respond flexibly to customer needs and, based on the expertise, experience and expertise of our employees, to offer solutions also in areas and segments in which we have not been active so far. We are delighted and proud that winning the retendre of this project and the customer satisfaction with our services clearly proves this,” concludes Tomáš Korpáš, Key account manager for Region West, ENGIE Services.
Energy