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Water Management
HeidelbergCement has committed itself to the goal of mitigating the impact of its activities on natural water resources to the greatest extent possible. We comply with stringent environmental regulations to ensure that raw material quarrying will not damage local bodies of surface water and ground water resources. HeidelbergCement does not have a Groupwide water management guideline at the present time. However, we are focusing on concepts and measures for reducing our water consumption in countries and regions where water shortages exist. Within the framework of the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) preliminary sector indicators for water management have also been developed. We have started to monitor and report In the near future, we want to be able to report on our water footprint — first in the cement business line and later in the areas of aggregates and ready-mixed concrete.
In Texas two of our aggregates plants received the Environmental Excellence Gold Award from the National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA). These two plants are among our largest and technologically most modern aggregates plants in North America. Both of them have installed process water circulation systems that greatly reduce their need for fresh water. For several years now, we have been documenting such practical examples and sharing them throughout the company in order to enable each location to benefit from the expertise of the others. Our goal is to set up a working group within the company in order to more effectively collate and distribute the water management expertise of all the Group’s areas and business lines.
Water Resource Protection and Conservation, Water Consumption and Processing
At all of its quarries, HeidelbergCement collects any surface water that has accumulated and removes it in a way that ensures there is no pollution or flooding of the quarry site or the surrounding area. No water is channelled into existing surface waters in the area without previous approval from the local authorities. Regular training sessions for our employees and external controls ensure that the mandatory procedures are adhered to.
Water is used to clean gravel and sand and to manufacture cement and concrete. We obtain some of this water from the public supply system, but most of it is taken from groundwater or rivers and lakes. Removal of groundwater and surface water is subject to strict governmental regulation worldwide and is regularly monitored.
Some of the water - e.g. the portion used for cooling - evaporates and is thus released into the atmosphere. The production process water that remains is purified and released back into surface waters in a carefully controlled process. Water that is used to clean transport vehicles is recycled. Normal wastewater from company buildings is disposed of via the municipal wastewater systems.
During all of these processes, we continuously strive to prevent pollution. Because the production process in quarries and gravel pits does not chemically alter the water that is used there, these sites contain no pollutants.