Securely supplied
Part of the building’s facade has been clad with 37 white solar panels. Together with the additional 200 panels mounted on the roof, Viteos generates approximately 74 MWh of clean electricity annually for its own use.
State-of-the-art lake water treatment in Neuchâtel
In summer 2022, after three years of renovation work, Neuchâtel energy supplier VITEOS and the city of Neuchâtel inaugurated the pumping station and water treatment plant at Champ-Bougin. As part of the renovation, the site on the northern shore of Lake Neuchâtel was equipped with a state-of-the-art filter system. The control technology was supplied by Rittmeyer.
Built in 1947 and expanded in 1967, the station was in need of comprehensive renovation: all electrical installations had to be replaced, and the building structure had also suffered during its 70 years of existence. Micro-pollutants and higher levels of organic substances in the lake water also required new treatment processes to ensure high drinking water quality. In 2015, the Neuchâtel City Council finally approved an investment of around 23 million Swiss francs, 40 per cent of which was covered by the canton. Construction began in January 2019.
An important part of the cantonal water supply
The water pumped from the lake supplements the water supply from the Areuse Gorge for the city of Neuchâtel. Thanks to numerous network connections, the drinking water produced in Champ-Bougin covers a significant portion of the canton of Neuchâtel's water needs, especially during low water and dry periods. It was therefore important to keep this supply point in operation throughout the entire renovation period – despite the partial demolition of the building and the extensive redesign of the entire structure.
"Rittmeyer is a truly professional company. The collaboration was excellent."
Thierry Broglie, Project Manager, Expert in the Technical Office of Water Supply at Viteos
Mobile processing
During the construction work, the raw water was fed through four mobile containers, each equipped with an ultrafiltration unit. These were temporarily installed next to the Valangines reservoir, located about 90 metres above the lake. At the Champ-Bougin site, only two pumps remained in operation; the rest of the plant was shut down and completely dismantled. "This allowed us to start demolition work unhindered in the almost completely cleared building," explains Thierry Broglie, an expert in the water supply technical office and project manager for this extensive project. In retrospect, this was one of the key decisions for the success of the project. Although this approach proved to be more expensive in terms of the initial investment, it was safer and more efficient in terms of maintaining the water supply while shortening the duration of the work.
Latest state of the art
Following the renovation, the plant now boasts state-of-the-art technology. The previous treatment chain, consisting of a single-layer sand filter, activated carbon filtration and chlorination, has been adapted and expanded to include ultrafiltration and ozonation stages. As Viteos also supplies very remote areas, the impeccable quality of the water is extremely important due to the sometimes long retention times. "The ultrafiltration stage enables us to reliably remove suspended solids, bacteria and viruses. With ozonation and subsequent filtration through activated carbon, we also reduce the traces of micropollutants that may be present in the lake water," explains Frédy Baggenstoss, who is responsible for control technology, adding enthusiastically: "This enables us to significantly and reliably improve the quality of the water we supply." To this end, the raw water at the entrance to the treatment plant and the treated drinking water at the exit of the station are also closely monitored. Various pump groups then transport the water to two higher-level reservoirs for the lower and upper networks, from where it is distributed throughout the extensive network.
Control technology from Rittmeyer
The lake water treatment plant currently operates autonomously and is monitored and controlled by a RITOP control system. Pumps and treatment systems are integrated via nine RIFLEX process stations and a comparable number of substations. The most important process data is transmitted to the control center in Champ-Bougin. However, the medium-term goal is to merge the water treatment plant in Champ-Bougin with the control center in Neuchâtel into a single RITOP system. The three control centers in the distribution network in Neuchâtel, Le Locle and La Chaux-de-Fonds will then have identical structures.
Focus on energy efficiency
During the renovation of the plant, great importance was attached to the energy-efficient operation of the entire facility. The entire pump system was redesigned to optimize electricity consumption. In addition, Viteos installed a photovoltaic system on the roof of the building and on the south-facing façade. These provide part of the electricity needed to operate the station. "The white-coloured photovoltaic façade is the first of its kind in the canton of Neuchâtel," emphasizes Thierry Broglie. The estimated annual production is around 74 MWh of clean electricity for the station's own consumption.
Challenging installation
The complex project was ultimately implemented with the support of Building Information Management (BIM). This made it possible to reduce technical and structural conflicts early on in the planning phase, thereby optimising the construction time. According to Thierry Broglie, the new facility posed a major technical challenge. Implementing the complicated topology across three floors within a listed building made this even more difficult: "I was very happy to have Rittmeyer, Wabag Wassertechnik and our planners from the engineering firm RWB on board, three truly professional companies. The collaboration was really excellent," Thierry Broglie is happy to confirm. In the long term, Viteos would like to use the 3D models created as part of BIM to introduce computer-assisted maintenance management.
Future secured
With the completely redesigned water treatment plant in Champ-Bougin, Viteos has created an important element in the security measures for supplying the Neuchâtel population with drinking water – reliably and safely, using technology from Rittmeyer, among others.
About VITEOS
VITEOS is a private limited company that was formed from the merger of the municipal utilities of Neuchâtel, La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle. It is wholly owned by the public sector of the canton of Neuchâtel. VITEOS operates and develops activities in the procurement, generation and distribution of electricity, gas, water, heating and cooling.
Products and services for this solution
RITOP process control system
Modular SCADA system for water and energy applications – intuitive, secure and scalable for any plant sizeRITOP is the investment-safe SCADA platform for the utility industry – whether local, virtual or in the cloud.
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RIFLEX M1 automation and remote control system
Scalable and consistently object-oriented automation and telecontrol system for critical infrastructuresThe highly available and modular RIFLEX M1 automation and remote control system was developed specifically for critical infrastructures. In addition to redundancy functions, it integrates state-of-the-art communication protocols. This ensures simple and efficient connection to the process control system RITOP and other systems. Thanks to continuous development by our experts, ICT and OT security are also taken into account.
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