A solution to prevent wasted water in fire protection installations

The VINCI Energies business unit Uxello has designed a system to save the three billion litres of drinking water a year wasted due to tank flushing in fire protection systems.

There are approximately 10,000 of these systems across France. Sprinkler systems are highly effective fire prevention solutions in the form of pressurised hydraulic networks that transport water from storage tanks to ceiling-mounted sprinkler heads, which activate on detection of a suspicious heat source. Every installation includes at least one tank containing on average 750 cubic metres of water. This means a total 8.5 billion litres of drinkable water are being stored across the whole of France – and 3 billion litres wasted! Over time, suspended matter accumulates in the tanks, including ferrous particles liable to obstruct and corrode the pipe networks. Regulations require the owners of such installations to periodically drain their tanks. The problem is that due to a lack of logistics systems, this water is not recovered.

91% water saving

How can this waste be avoided? Uxello (VINCI Energies Building Solutions), a business unit specialising in the installation of fire protection systems, has designed an innovative solution capable of saving up to 91% of the water usually lost during drainage operations, as well as some of the electricity used by the sprinkler systems.

The aim is to equip 10% of all fire protection systems in France by 2030.

So, what is this great idea? A magnetic filtration system that circulates the water around a magnet, which attracts and extracts the ferrous particles and suspended matter. “Rather than asking what we could do with this water full of particles, we looked for a way to prevent the production of residues,” explains Nicolas Cambray, Business Unit Manager at Uxello Services Hauts-de-France.

Three times less electricity

Another advantage of this solution, which won an award at the VINCI Environment Awards 2024, is that it keeps the tanks frost-free using three times less electricity than with current solutions. “All these fire protection reservoirs are protected against freezing,” says Nicolas Cambray. “Conventional systems tend to use heating elements – which use a lot of energy – when the outside temperature drops below 7 °C. This is not optimal, because the risk of freezing is not always solely linked to the weather conditions. We have therefore moved on from using the outside temperature and opted instead for an internal probe. At the slightest risk of freezing, the water is pumped up, filtered and reinjected at the surface. And if this agitation system is not enough, an insulated cord heats the circulation pipework.”

A prototype of the solution, named Uxel’Eau, has been installed at a company in the Grand Est region. A second installation is currently under way. Uxello Services Hauts-de-France aims to equip almost 900 sites across the country by 2030, representing around 10% of all fire protection systems in France.

11/14/2025