Noorder Zoo hosts some 1,500,000 visitors annually. Water consumption in the park is enormous; for drinking, of course, but the vast majority for industrial use, to flush toilets and to clean buildings and animal quarters. The individual animal basins, over forty of them, for flamingos, crocodiles, elephants and other animals, are also filled with industrial water.

Latest technology
Application of the latest purification technology in the Water Factory has led to an almost closed sustainable water management system in the “Noorder Dierenpark” Zoo in Emmen, the Netherlands. A single system for all water; fresh, salt, warm and cold. No wastage and the detrimental effect on the environment is kept to a minimum.

Water consumption
Purification in an enclosed cycle has led to a drop in drinking water consumption for the Noorder Zoo from 180,000 m3 to 30,000 m3 per year. Moreover the quality of the water in the basins and pools has improved dramatically. Visitors can now see for themselves how the penguins, so clumsy on land, can move under water with great speed and elegance.

Water purification in a closed cycle
Effluent from the zoo is purified biologically in a fully enclosed cycle inside the Water Factory, making it suitable for use as industrial water. Only drinking water comes from the mains supply of WMD.The sewers are connected to the Water Factory in their entirety. Waste burden on the sewers: approximately 1500 Inhabitant Equivalents (IE).

Expertise
The expansion of the zoo is to be realised in an area where groundwater is protected. All activities are subject to very strict rules. The Velt and Vecht water board and Water supply company Drenthe (WMD) have joined forces, combining knowledge of sewage treatment with expertise in the purification of drinking water. The Water Factory also houses the central operating plant for the water supply in south-east Drenthe.