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Dutch water companies call for cooperation with new cabinet

On 18 March, all water boards and water companies presented the ‘Water in Action’ action programme. In it, they call on the new cabinet to work together to protect (drinking) water resources and ensure enough space for water.

While clean drinking water and dry feet are taken for granted by many Dutch people, these ‘certainties’ are under pressure. The tasks around water availability and water quality are huge. This means that water companies and water boards cannot single-handedly guarantee that there will always be sufficient, clean water in the Netherlands. Thus, they ask a new cabinet to commit to a stricter source approach with a view to water quality.

A source approach based on the idea “what doesn’t go in, doesn’t have to be taken out” is something the water boards and water companies have been advocating for years. A stricter substances policy should be anchored in legislation, using legal bans on harmful substances as a last resort to protect public health.

RIWA-Rijn moves to KWR building

RIWA-Rijn and KWR have been working together regularly for a long time. From 2024, this will become even easier, as RIWA-Rijn will move to the KWR building. On Friday 15 December, KWR director Dragan Savić and RIWA-Rijn director Gerard Stroomberg signed the lease.

KWR

‘Bridging science to practice’ is the motto of water research institute KWR. KWR researchers work at the interface of science, business and society. Their strength lies in translating scientific knowledge into applicable practical solutions for end users in the Dutch and international water sector. KWR has built a solid reputation as an innovation accelerator and top-level international network builder. The ten Dutch water companies and Belgium’s De Watergroep are shareholders of KWR. In 2015, KWR moved into a new, sustainable building, built on the site where (drinking) water research has taken place since 1973.

Years of collaboration

RIWA-Rijn and KWR have regularly worked together for many years, for example within various research projects from the collective research programme for the water sector, the Business Research for Water Companies BTO. In addition, KWR assists RIWA-Rijn in the Water Quality Expert Group Rhine and the IAWR Advisory Board. RIWA-Rijn and KWR have also jointly developed the removal requirement index, which RIWA-Rijn publishes annually in its annual report on the water quality of the Rhine.

From now on even easier

“Because RIWA-Rijn’s research field has a lot of overlap with KWR’s, it was a logical and obvious choice for us to choose KWR,” says the RIWA-Rijn director. “By literally being closer together, collaboration is now even easier. Instead of using the phone, we can now regularly have a cup of coffee together.” KWR director Savić also welcomes the opportunities this new proximity offers.

 

KWR director Dragan Savić and RIWA-Rijn director Gerard Stroomberg sign the lease