3. The water basin of Kwekerij de Zuidplas

The water collected via the roof and pipes ends up in the water basin of Kwekerij de Zuidplas.

The water basin serves as a central storage facility for collected rainwater. Here, the water is temporarily stored before entering the system towards the plants. The basin is continuously replenished during rainfall and drawn upon daily for use, creating a dynamic balance between storage and consumption.

To maintain the quality of the water, the basin is covered. This prevents external influences from stimulating the growth of algae and bacteria. In this way, the water remains suitable for further processing without the need for intensive treatment first. Without this procedure, a much smaller proportion of the water would be usable.

The basin also plays an important role during extreme weather conditions. For instance, Kwekerij de Zuidplas features an innovative underground water storage system. This underground storage ensures that we have much more rainwater at our disposal during the summer. On average, two-thirds of the water that goes into the ground can be pumped back up. When the basin is filled to more than 75%, we infiltrate the rainwater into the ground. This ensures that water is almost never lost by flowing into the ditch. Approximately 30,000 m³ of water enters the ground annually. By infiltrating this water into the ground very slowly, it acts like a balloon that we alternate between filling and emptying as often as possible.

During dry periods, the basin serves as an essential reserve. In doing so, the greenhouse contributes not only to its own water security but also to preventing flooding in the region.