Why it is time for ‘watercare’ and other new water language

Young water professionals have been exploring and redesigning the relationship between people and water in the GRROW Lab. Our relationship with water takes on meaning through the words we use. But those words are not value-free and they shape how we think about water through associations and narratives. A GRROW dictionary for Dutch water language was developed in a collaborative design process. These words explore a possible relationship with water in the future, and study the perspective of water in that relationship.

At the KNW Autumn Congress on 28 November, the dictionary was shared with all the participants and further discussion of its development and application took place in an in-depth working session. It emerged that the words not only encourage us to do things differently in our relationship with water, but also inspire more new water language. Critically rethinking the implicit meaning behind the words we use every day encouraged participants to think about how we talk about water management, water conflicts and water treatment.

The theme of the day was ‘working together across boundaries’ and those boundaries became less clear as the working session continued. Between people and water, but also between different areas of expertise in the water domain. In this way, GRROW offered a glimpse into a possible alternative approach to water and inspired critical thinking about our language.

Would you like to know more about the structure and deliverables of the GRROW lab?

• You can read all about the structure and the deliverables in this recently published H2O paper: Waarom het tijd is voor ‘waterzorg’ en meer nieuwe watertaal (in Dutch)
• Would you like to take a look at the dictionary or other GRROW results? Click on this link.
• Are you feeling inspired to participate in GRROW yourself or to keep up with developments? Enter your details here and receive more information about GRROW 2026-2027 in the spring!