Case study: Deschacht Research Department and contractor Aclagro make the difference at Lubbeek construction site
The Endepoel business park is rising in Lubbeek. Contractor Mathieu-Gijbels is building 36 SME units there on a 1.3-hectare site. Project developer FUTURN engaged contractor Aclagro for the demolition of the existing buildings, earthworks, and sewerage. The engineering department of Deschacht and the contractor from Wondelgem transformed a brief sewerage plan into a watertight file that convinced sewer manager Fluvius.

Technically best file
Dirk Smet, head of estimating for ASA at Aclagro: “Deschacht’s proposal came out on top, both technically and budgetarily. The client’s tender included a summary drainage plan, which we developed further together with Dirk Stuyven and his team. The challenge was to meet all legal regulations regarding rainwater storage and infiltration, as well as wastewater discharge, in the most efficient way possible within the allocated drainage budget.”
SIRIO calculation tool
“Indeed, in consultation with Dirk and starting from a few sketches, we developed the implementation plan and defended it with Fluvius,” says Dirk Stuyven, head of engineering and the design office at Deschacht. ”In doing so, we used, among other things, the SIRIO calculation tool (developed at KU Leuven in cooperation with VLARIO). The work of our design office, in addition to our delivery terms, certainly made the difference here.”


Demolition of old buildings and construction of a complete sewerage system
Dirk Smet: “With our company, we not only demolished the old buildings on the site, but we also installed the complete sewerage system. For example, we installed 600 meters of 600 mm diameter Ribwall infiltration pipes, along with the necessary inspection chambers. In addition, we also installed 1,600 meters of PVC pipes for wastewater, 12 rainwater tanks, and 12 septic tanks. Everything went according to plan and completely in line with the relevant legal regulations and standards.”
Together with KU Leuven, VLARIO developed a useful calculation tool: SIRIO
This is software that helps engineering firms, architectural drafters, and contractors quickly and efficiently design rainwater drainage, retention, and infiltration systems. The software was developed in close consultation with members of Vlario and the Coordination Committee for Integrated Water Policy (CIW). Managing rainwater efficiently is becoming increasingly important. However, smart rainwater design is complex: what is the ideal size of a retention basin? How often will it overflow? How much water can be reused? How do you comply with the Regional Urban Development Regulation (GSV) on Rainwater? Sirio makes it possible to answer these questions quickly and is particularly useful for sewerage designs and the optimization of industrial rainwater reuse.
- Date of establishment: 1970
- Location: Wondelgem, Flémalle
- Number of employees: approx. 350
- Activity: Dismantling, asbestos abatement, demolition, earthworks, infrastructure, soil remediation, water treatment and soil cleaning
- Class 8 for infrastructure, earthworks, demolition works and asbestos abatement
- Class 5 water treatment
- Special recognitions for asbestos and soil remediation