Grundfos Launches Innovative Pumping Solution to Aid Malaysia’s Flood Management Efforts

While the country has been growing with rapid industrialisation and urbanisation, the increase in extreme weather events like floods have taken a toll on local economies and infrastructure. In the last two decades, Malaysia experienced 38 floods, and has affected over 770,000 people, killed 148 people, and caused over US$1.4 billion in damages.[1]

A key part of the flood management process, pumping stations are designed to mitigate flood waters by collecting and quickly moving as much of it as possible. Serving Malaysia’s water infrastructure since the mid-60s, Grundfos is seeking to advance the country’s flood management system by introducing the prefabricated pumping station (PPS), which is customisable to suit any project’s needs.

Leong Chee Khuan, Area Managing Director for South Asia and General Manager for Grundfos Pumps Sdn Bhd, said that with each situation for flood control and water management comes with its own unique issues, and so requires very specific approaches for each of them.

Whether it is urban, coastal or river flooding, the ability to provide a customised solution for every installation is crucial, as waters from muddy and sometimes polluted confluences, will require different pump capabilities to those operating in sea water barrages or freshwater lakes.”

The PPS is also designed to be energy efficient and operate reliably in the long run. Traditional pumping stations are made of concrete casted on-site, which means that it is susceptible to corrosion and leakage over time. With PPS being made of hard-wearing plastic, its greater durability paired with an advanced control system means optimised operations, and in turn greater energy savings.

Mr Leong added that PPS also boasts a compact design, which can particularly benefit Malaysia’s urban areas that are facing limited space, without compromising flood mitigation efforts.

PPS also only requires a short construction timeframe. Compared to traditional pumping stations, PPS is produced in the Grundfos factory and sent to the site as a complete package, making installation easier. This reduces installation time by as much as 80%, ensuring minimal disruption to people and infrastructure.

In addition to flood control, another key application for PPS is in wastewater management. Playing a key role in the wastewater management process, pumping stations are designed to collect and transport wastewater, and PPS’ high durability ensures minimal disruption to any water system.

With over 40 years’ experience globally, Grundfos’ PPS solution has demonstrated its highest quality and effectiveness in several projects for various applications in Southeast Asia, such as collecting and transporting wastewater in sewage systems in Bali, Indonesia. Outside of Southeast Asia, China has over a thousand installations of PPS to address the high demand resulting from the country’s fast-growing urbanisation, for various applications including sewage pumping, drainage and flood control.

Mr Leong said, “The responsibility of flood management does not lie with the government alone. Over the years, we as a business have been working closely with governments, especially in Asia and Europe, to support their flood mitigation efforts.

“We recognise here in Malaysia that recent floods have called for efficient pumping solutions that are reliable in facing the unpredictability of these extreme weather events. We are committed in our work here with local authorities to resolve issues of flooding and climate change.”

[1]Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) collected by Belgium-based Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). Data last updated August 2018.