Janine de Wit PhD

Janine de Wit has been working as a research hydrologist in the field of ecohydrology since 2019. In her work, she focuses primarily on issues relating to a climate-resilient freshwater supply in rural areas. Janine enjoys combining different tasks: she sets up field experiments and carries out fieldwork to collect measurements, then uses these measurements to calibrate and validate models and to simulate future scenarios. She focuses on both detailed (model) analyses at a local scale and regional analyses using water system models.

In recent years, Janine has worked on research programmes such as KLIMAP, Lumbricus and WiCe. As part of these programmes, she also undertook her PhD research in collaboration with Wageningen University and KWR. In 2026, she was awarded her PhD by the Soil Physics and Land Management research group. Her PhD research focused on controllable drainage with subirrigation, a measure designed to i) drain water where necessary, ii) retain water where possible, and iii) replenish (ground)water. In particular, she investigated how the hydrological effects of this measure impact both the local and regional water systems.

As well as her hydrological research, Janine is actively committed to sharing the knowledge she has gained with a wider audience. At KWR, she hosts the ‘Word Waterwijs’ podcast. As a scientist, she also enjoys engaging with the public, talking to farmers, members of the public and government bodies, and writing articles (for specialist journals) to disseminate the knowledge she has gained. In 2026, she also delivered science theatre shows to Year 6 pupils.

Furthermore, Janine is involved in (collective) future studies within the water sector. She is contributing to the GRROW project, in which she is exploring, together with young water professionals, what the water sector might look like in the future. Finally, Janine is also a member of KWR’s Works Council and is part of the ‘Watertelefoon’ ‑ a helpline that can be called during (drinking) water emergencies to seek specialist advice.