Is Sustainable Water Use In Quarries Possible?
Why Save Water?
Water is everywhere after all, and the skies seem to be full of it most of the time, so why on earth is there all this fuss? Water is essential to everyday life – washing, cooking, growing. It’s essential to keep our bodies functioning and essential to supporting the life of every plant and animal that we share the earth with. Whilst water seems to be everywhere, the amount of fresh water is limited – just 2% of water on earth is fresh. The rest has to be treated, through desalination, or purification. Understanding that fresh water is a finite resource, and that every drop of wastewater has to be treated to make it usable helps clarify the need to save water.
How Can Quarries Support Sustainable Water Usage?
It seems incongruous to see quarries as a champion of responsible water usage. Nonetheless, understanding the options for dealing with wastewater and the possibility of creating a closed loop system where water is repurposed without having to leave the quarry environment make this ideal possible. Building an effective system that can cope with intense downpours, as well as managing regular collection means that run-off can be slowed, and that water that is harvested from standing sites can be reused on site.
Whilst this kind of operation can present challenges for a smaller mine, in terms of initial outlay, practicality and access to equipment, having a sound understanding of how to respond to variations on hydrological conditions, will reduce environmental impact, and reduce costs sustained by knee-jerk water management as well as providing the long term fiscal benefits of a closed loop system.
How Can Atlantic Pumps Help?
At Atlantic Pumps we’re dedicated to supporting our customers' goals for sustainability. We’ve developed a portfolio of products designed to manage water and move quarries closer to the goal of the closed loop system. We carry a range of pumps that are designed to use 20% less energy, as well as pumps that can adapt to the varying needs of the quarry environment. We also offer equipment for short term hire, which is ideal for operations that have neither the space nor resources to store a high volume of water management tools.
At Atlantic Pumps we’re dedicated to supplying a portfolio of products that help you manage water and reach the environmental goal of creating a closed loop system that means quarries no longer cost the earth. Get in touch today to speak to a member of our team for expert advice.
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