The water transition: necessary and only possible with intensive collaboration

Extreme drought or, on the other hand, wet feet: the call to manage our national and regional water systems differently is becoming increasingly clear. On 18 November, the University of Groningen, in collaboration with the Hanze University of Applied Sciences, organized a meeting on the urgency of the water transition.

In the Netherlands, we mainly experience water shortages in the period from April through September, began researcher Peter van der Maas (Van Hall Larenstein) in his keynote speech. During the rest of the year, there is actually a surplus. But periods of drought make the newspapers, he continued. According to him, the solution lies in better water management.

Collaboration

Traditionally, we have tried to keep our feet dry by draining and pumping away excess water. In dry periods, however, there is an increasing need to retain water. A large part of Dutch land is owned by farmers, who prefer to keep the groundwater level low for their heavy agricultural machinery. Joint solutions therefore require coordination and collaboration, Van der Maas emphasized.

For many people in the Netherlands, drinking water is taken for granted, began Gerda Brilleman Brondijk (Waterbedrijf Groningen) in her keynote speech. But it is anything but that. It is a major challenge to provide everyone with drinking water, especially given the strongly increasing demand. Building facilities is also a slow and complex process and requires intensive cooperation between different parties, she stressed.

High quality and inexpensive

Gert Jan Euverink, professor of Biotechnology and Applied Microbiology, discussed the technological possibilities. There are many different ways to purify water, and in principle more than enough water is available on Earth. Even seawater can be converted into drinking water, but the crucial issue is the high energy consumption. In the Netherlands, drinking water is of high quality and inexpensive. According to the professor, there is therefore absolutely no need to drink bottled water, which is more expensive, less healthy and less sustainable.

Per person, we consume about 129 liters of water per day in the Netherlands, the professor continued. Only 2 liters of that are used for drinking. Laying a second network, for instance to supply separate water for flushing toilets, is very complicated. 'We use our water for everything: the toilet, the shower and drinking water. Why do we do that? Because adjustments to the distribution of drinking water are very expensive.'

A consumer pays about 2 euros per thousand liters. 'Not many people in the room know that. Whereas we do know what, for example, a cubic meter of gas costs.' Perhaps something needs to be done about the price, the professor suggested. Drinking water in the Netherlands is very inexpensive. The standard is also very high: virtually no one suspects the drinking water when they fall ill. That is due to strict regulation. The question arises whether we are willing to take slightly more risk so that drinking water remains sufficiently available and affordable in the future.

A sense of agency

Pepijn Vemer of Klimatorium Nederland focused in his talk mainly on the values of citizens. How do you involve people in the necessary transitions? For many people, climate change feels like a problem too large to grasp. That is why it is crucial to offer people a sense of agency: what can they actually do? Action overcomes fear, he concluded.

Saving water is closely linked to price, the four keynote speakers judged in a closing panel discussion. And the price is currently very low. Interaction with the audience became increasingly lively and various ideas were suggested, such as making water more expensive from 80 liters onward. There was also discussion about installing an additional meter to record the amount of wastewater. At the same time, it is about values, Vemer said. Not only high prices trigger citizens, he argued. 'Awareness is about more than just money.'

In the closing panel discussion, Van der Maas again emphasized that on a yearly basis there is no water shortage in the Netherlands. It is mainly the dry summers. The question is how to involve the public in saving water. Filling swimming pools and watering gardens during dry periods is indeed a major issue, the researcher stated. A major challenge lies in reconciling long term challenges with the short term focus of governments, said Brilleman Brondijk. But such a transition is possible, she said, referring to the massive and rapid switch to gas in the 1960s.