The Děvín water tower has been renovated for 100 million CZK

photo: Mapio.net

Prague – The water tower Děvín in Prague 5 has undergone reconstruction and modernization. The outer shell, staircase, as well as mechanical technology and electrical equipment were repaired. The costs exceeded 100 million crowns. Some historical parts were handed over to the National Technical Museum. CTK reported this today on behalf of the Prague Water Management Company (PVS) and Prague Waterworks and Sewerage (PVK) by spokesperson PVK Tomáš Mrázek. The construction of the pumping tower, consisting of steel tubes, took place in 1976-77 based on the design of architect Karel Hubáček.

"The reconstruction of both facilities was inevitable. The technology had become outdated and individual repairs were increasingly challenging," stated the chairman of the board of PVS Pavel Válek.

The main tubes of the tower were repaired. Craftsmen painted them with anti-corrosive coatings, repaired the shell and windows, as well as the connecting structures and the internal staircase. The original cladding of the pump station’s machinery was replaced with insulated cladding panels.

The station has three new, more efficient pumps, each with a performance of 600 liters of water per second. The original piping made of corroding carbon steel was replaced by PVS with stainless steel. The electric motors of the pumps are now powered by low voltage of 690 V instead of the original high voltage of 6000 V. The substation was also modified for this reason.

"The new pumping station can operate without the previously unavoidable permanent human supervision. The operation is fully automatic with online transmission of operating data to the central dispatch of PVK. If necessary, dispatch staff can intervene in the operation of the pumping station via radio transmitted commands," stated PVK General Director Petr Mrkos.

Some parts of the original technical equipment were taken into the collection of the National Technical Museum in Prague. This includes, for example, the pumping machinery and other technically interesting control and regulation elements.

The investor of the repairs was the city-owned company PVS, which takes care of the water supply infrastructure. Until 2028, it is leased by PVK, which distributes water throughout Prague. The majority owner of PVK is the French company Veolia, and Prague owns a 49 percent stake in the company.