The KSB Group was commissioned by the national Algerian supplier of drinking water, “L’Algérienne des Eaux”, to equip four pumping stations with a total of 26 pumps and the corresponding hydraulic equipment.

The pump package consists of 22 axially split volute casing pumps with double-entry radial impellers and of four multi-stage high-pressure pumps. The largest of these pump units each transport more than 2,000 cubic metres of water per hour, to a head of more than 100 metres.

The pumping stations have been installed at a distance of about 60 km of one another. They pump 200,000 cubic meters of drinking water a day from a desalination plant at the Mediterranean cost near Oran to some 1.3 million people who live in the region of Tlemcen.

To balance out the difference in capacity of the individual pumping stations, several water reservoirs have been put into place. From these, the drinking water is passed on to the next pumping station, partly with the help of gravity.

Another special technical feature is the arrangement in the first pumping station, where two pumps are always operated in series as a pump group. Commissioning of the pumps is planned for early 2010, once the desalination plant has been completed.

The reason for the Belgian KSB subsidiary winning this order is its 30-year experience in successfully designing and selecting pumping stations. In Algeria, it has equipped 268 pumping stations to date.

Picture: Installation of a double-entry radial impeller, like in the pumps intended for the “Tafsout project” for supplying drinking water to Tlemcen, Algeria.