Strategy

“Within KWR, we dedicated ourselves fully in 2025 to addressing the societal challenges ahead in a decisive and effective manner.”

– Mariëlle van der Zouwen, CEO

Foreword

European Water Resilience and Extended Producer Responsibility for Urban Wastewater

For water, 2025 was a year marked by important strategic developments and policy frameworks. Across many fronts, visions and plans were developed to address societal water challenges. In the European Water Resilience Strategy, water was clearly positioned as a strategic priority for a prosperous Europe and as a fundamental necessity for our well-being. I hope this will also be well reflected in the forthcoming advisory report on the future of drinking water in the Netherlands, to be published by the Council for the Environment and Infrastructure.

Moreover, 2025 marked the first year under the new European Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, which introduced extended producer responsibility. Under this principle, the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries will contribute to the costs of additional wastewater treatment. This approach introduces a new way of financing and sustaining our water system and water production.

Draft National Spatial Strategy and Wennink Report

In the Netherlands, the draft National Spatial Strategy (the Draft Policy Document on Spatial Planning) was published, setting the framework for key decisions regarding our living environment up to 2050. Good water quality and sufficient drinking water are identified as matters of national importance.

The Wennink report generally refers to water implicitly, and the appendices describe how KWR, together with partners, has joined one of the potential projects on PFAS removal. I see all these developments as a strong impetus for our work at KWR and across the entire Water Campus.

From Moonshots to the KWR Master Plan

Within KWR, we dedicated significant effort in 2025 to addressing the societal challenges ahead in a decisive and effective manner. Responding to a broadly felt need for greater direction in our research, we worked intensively on our Master Plan 2035: “Bringing the values of water to life.” More than one-third of KWR staff contributed directly, from the initial “moonshots” to the final master plan.

Our Goal: Sufficient, Healthy, and Safe Water of High Quality in Europe

A top priority in our strategy is ensuring sufficient, healthy, and safe water of high quality across Europe. Our focus extends beyond drinking water to include other water types and components of the water supply system, such as surface water, wastewater, drought, and water storage—areas of great importance to our shareholders and clients. The updated strategy will lead to a reorganization in 2026, placing much greater emphasis on research addressing societal challenges in Europe.

More Decisive and Sustainable

Internally, many changes were implemented in 2025 to make our research efforts more efficient and effective. Collaboration within and with KWR has been significantly enhanced through the introduction of a modern SharePoint environment (Project CONNECT).

PFAS research received a boost with the acquisition of the SCIEX Triple Quad 7500+, enabling target analysis of 33 PFAS compounds to be less labor-intensive, more robust, simpler, and more sensitive. In addition, our workshop and researchers jointly developed a new hexamonitor, which will provide deeper insights into the effects of, for example, climate change on risks from opportunistic pathogens, including Legionella.

Furthermore, ongoing improvements in the sustainability of air treatment systems and aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) in our building will contribute substantially to energy savings in the coming years.

Selected Highlights within KWR Research

PFAS research has led to new insights, such as the finding that PFAS degradation fortunately also occurs during the reactivation of carbon filters. Through the Waterwijs program, KWR organizes the PFAS steering committee, which oversees practice-oriented research programming and results—providing valuable direction from real-world applications.

In May 2025, the report and framework “Responsible Infiltration and Recharge, with Care for Groundwater Quality” were published. This work resulted from a study commissioned by STOWA and carried out by a team of hydrologists and legal experts from KWR (lead), Deltares, and FLO Legal, under the guidance of a committee including the ministry, provinces, water authorities, and drinking water companies. This framework translates often unclear Dutch legislation into practical guidance for project initiators, permitting authorities, and governments, helping to break the deadlock affecting many infiltration initiatives.

Additionally, at the very end of 2025, KWR was once again designated for a four-year term as a Collaborating Centre on Water Quality and Health of the World Health Organization (WHO). This continues a valuable partnership that has existed since 2013.

Looking Ahead

All in all, 2025 was a year of significant progress, setting the tone for 2026—a year in which we will focus on transforming our institute and the water sector. KWR will continue to fully commit to water quality and water quantity in Europe, and I hope you will join us in this effort.

I wish you an engaging and enjoyable read of our 2025 year review.

Mariëlle van der Zouwen, CEO