Waternet will create more drinking water for Amsterdam with the construction of so-called slow sand filters in Weesperkarspel, a water treatment site between Amsterdam and Weesp. The Amsterdam council has approved plans to expand the drinking water supply.
Amsterdam is growing. More neighborhoods and therefore more inhabitants are being added. As a result, the municipality expects the demand for drinking water to rise in the coming years to 122 million cubic meters per year in 2050. Currently, Waternet produces 95 million cubic meters of drinking water per year.
Waternet is working on solutions to provide enough drinking water in the future. The agreement of the Amsterdam City Council allows Waternet to build slow sand filters in Weesperkarspel. By expanding the treatment plant, up to an additional 6 million cubic meters of water per year can be extracted from the existing wells Bethunepolder and Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal and purified into drinking water. The additional slow sand filters will also make it possible to purify the water even better.
"Construction of the slow sand filters will be put out to tender soon. Design and construction is expected to begin in 2024 and be ready in 2028," said Ewoud de Jong Posthumus, commissioning asset manager at Waternet.