Hidrostal’s Betsy aids flood victims

The Hidrostal Betsy pump is the perfect solution for providing mobile emergency pumping. It was originally developed by Hidrostal’s Dutch distributor Eekels Pompen in co-operation with the Dutch River Authority,,and was trialled as part of the project to protect the areas around the River Maas, in Middle and South Limburg between Roermond and Eijsden, against marsh water flooding. Betsy is totally self-contained and can be transferred easily from site to site. It is designed to be quiet and energy efficient and because it is built around the Hidrostal screw centrifugal impeller with its large free passage and impeller geometry it is able to pump unscreened sewage and floodwater at speed without blocking. There are now some 50 ‘Betsy’ pumps stored in a central warehouse. When required they are transported to mounting platforms located throughout the Roer en Overmaas catchment. Each platform has permanently installed suction and delivery pipe work to permit rapid installation. If the water levels of the River Maas rises and people are troubled by marsh water, all pumps can be installed and operational within two hours.

In the UK, many Water Companies, Environment Agencies and Drainage Boards are now benefiting from the unique attributes of Betsy. The Goole and Airmyn Internal Drainage Board is one example. Covering an area of 1,842 hectares with a population of 24,000 within the catchment, the District is a very low lying peninsula surrounded by 3 tidal Rivers namely the River Ouse, River Aire and River Don. The area is a flood plain which is protected by flood banks to a standard of 1 in 200 year storm. The Hidrostal Betsy arrived with them on 18th of June 2007 just one week before the serious storms which had started on the 24th of June 2007. These storms saw some 3.5 inches of rainfall in the area within 20 hours. Prior to the storm, the Board had commenced its programme of annual maintenance of the pumps. A large screw pump had been removed for refurbishment from the Pumping Station that serves a new Industrial Estate as well as a large proportion of the Town itself. The new ‘Betsy’ pump was mobilised and put into the Station area and within a short time was working to full capacity lifting a head of water 6 metres before discharging it into the Board’s system. Calculations show that the system was pumping some 360m3 of water per hour during the first 24 hours.

Ken Barclay, Clerk of the Board said: ‘The Hidrostal Betsy Pump contributed greatly towards ensuring the potential flood problem of the Town was alleviated. The Board has been extremely satisfied with the pump’s high standard of delivery and the environmentally friendly system which fits well within the Board’s own environment policy. .. for this Board we can certainly say that Betsy saved the day!’