Lelystad Airport Business Park

At Lelystad Airport Business Park, there was a need for a future-proof water solution that aligns with the area’s sustainability goals. The traditional approach—relying on gravity-fed sewer systems, high drinking water consumption, and centralized treatment—would result in high costs, a large ecological footprint, and limited flexibility in area development.

The business park therefore needed a system that:

• Drastically reduces drinking water consumption
• Collects and transports wastewater more efficiently
• Enables local water cycles
• And fits within an area where the soil is challenging and dynamic due to the high groundwater level

To achieve this, Qua-vac supplied a fully underground vacuum sewer system (Vacuflow®), combined with vacuum toilets in the commercial buildings on the site. This forms the backbone of the circular water system at LAB.

Underground vacuum infrastructure
The vacuum sewer system offers several advantages:

• Lightweight, shallow pipes that do not rely on gravity, ideal for areas with complex or soft soil.
• A fully enclosed system, preventing infiltration and exfiltration and minimizing environmental impact.
• High operational reliability through continuous monitoring and controlled discharge of wastewater to local treatment plants.
• This allows wastewater to be efficiently collected and directed to local treatment technologies, where it is then reprocessed into, among other things, process and firefighting water.

Vacuum toilets in the buildings
Vacuum toilets have been installed in the buildings on the industrial park. These make a crucial contribution to the circular water concept:

• Up to 80–90% less flush water consumption compared to conventional toilets.
• Highly concentrated wastewater streams, making local treatment more efficient and energy-efficient.
• Flexible placement without relying on deep-laid pipes.

Thanks to this combination, a robust system is created in which collection, transport, and water use are all optimized.

Qua-vac’s vacuum water system is an essential component of the circular water model at the Lelystad Airport Business Park. The key results:

• A drastic reduction in drinking water consumption, as vacuum toilets are extremely water-efficient.
• Efficient wastewater transport, even in challenging soil conditions.
• Improved effluent quality for local treatment thanks to concentrated wastewater streams.
• Lower installation and management costs, due to the shallow and flexible installation of vacuum pipes.
• A key component within a fully circular water chain, in which water can be reused locally for purposes such as firefighting and process water.

With this vacuum solution, Qua-vac makes a direct and demonstrable contribution to the business park’s sustainability goals, and the project serves as an inspiring example for other areas seeking to implement circular water management.

Would you like to learn more about our vacuum solutions? Please contact our specialists!