Smarter wastewater management helps futureproof distillery operations and protect local watercourses

At Rosemaund Farm Distillery near Hereford, where a new premium single malt English whisky is being produced, a Landia pump is playing a crucial role in the handling of the production site’s wastewater.

Located where the highly successful Chase vodka and gin brand was produced until purchased by Diageo and moved to Scotland, the Landia pump (in a low-lying reception tank), transfers wastewater and run-off liquid from site up to two above-ground storage tanks.

The Landia unit (a DG-I 50 4.0kW 3000rpm high-pressure chopper pump), has replaced an old positive displacement pump that was struggling with solid particles that were restricting flow, whereas the Landia Chopper Pump, with its external knife system continuously reduces particle sizes.

Distillery Manager Will Skinner, said: “The old pump was adapted from a previous use and wasn’t really designed for an application where solids need to be dealt with efficiently. In addition to clogging up, it also didn’t have the capacity, so only half of the tank was being emptied. There was a cage around the old pump to protect it from solids, so it became a very messy and time-consuming drain on manpower to keep sorting it out.”

The new set-up includes a control panel and a continuous level measurement sensor that alerts the team at Rosemaund when the tanks are nearing time for the wastewater to be tankered away. Prior to the pump and sensor, a member of the Rosemaund team had to remain on standby, including at weekends, having to go to site, especially during heavy rainfall. 

Mr Skinner added: “We’re not on site 24/7 of course, so with the much heavier rainfall we get these days, it was important for us to futureproof the process by investing in a better, all-round automated solution that would also protect local watercourses. With whisky production we don’t have the same level of solids that we had from the potatoes for the vodka, but solids are inevitable in a waste stream, which we know that the Landia Chopper Pump will deal with very efficiently.”

Following the purchase of the Chase vodka and gin brand, James Dashwood Chase began experimenting with whisky production and wood ageing in 2012, eventually leading to the eagerly anticipated release of the first Rosemaund 10-year-old single malt.

With Herefordshire renowned for its cider production, and the cask warehouse surrounded by orchards, it is perhaps no surprise that apple blossom scent is often one of the first characteristics that people notice and savour when tasting Rosemaund whisky.