Cosucra, a Belgian producer of pea protein and chicory root fibre, and SWDE Walloon have signed a long-term partnership to promote the growth of the Belgian family business, aiming to ensure sustainable environmental management through the rational use of water resources in the Tournai area.
To meet growing demand, the Belgian company plans to increase production in the coming years, which will generate an additional need of drinkable water.
Today, Coscura is supplied with water mainly via the Scheldt river and through an underground water well. It’s situated on the carboniferous limestone groundwater table which extends from Namur to Lille.
The level of this table has been reducing since 1910 and reached a critical threshold at the end of the last century. In 1995, Wallonia, Flanders and France committed to reduce water intakes from the table, as the equivalent volumes were supplied by the Transhennuyère complex at Gaurain-Ramecroix, built on this occasion and operated by SWDE.
Since the implementation of this system, there has been a gradual rise in the carboniferous limestone groundwater table, although it’s still far from reaching its historical levels, Cosucra says.
To contribute to sustainable water resource management, the company will obtain its water supplies from SWDE from 2024. The agreement extends over the next 25 years, and SWDE will perform the necessary work to enable Cosucra’s installations to be connected to the water supplies.
Eric Van Sevenant, Chairman of the SWDE Executive Committee said: “In the collective effort necessary to achieve the sustainable management of our water resources, this agreement is exemplary. It emphasises the responsibility and role that private stakeholders can play in the matter and bears witness to distribution companies’ capacity for adaptation and innovation in taking into account companies’ economic needs. SWDE is proud to be able to contribute in this way to the development of a Walloon company and global leader in its sector.”