Deep Adaptation for the Water Sector, phase 2

Importance and objective

Our drinking water utilities and water authorities are well prepared for disruptive events such as floods and power failures. Plans are available in almost all scenarios for the rapid restoration of normal conditions. However, in the case of extreme scenarios such as climate change, large-scale migration or the collapse of societies, the restoration of the old situation may not be feasible. We refer to the development of the adaptive capacity for changes of this kind as ‘deep adaptation’.

The first phase of the ‘Deep Adaptation for the Water Sector’ project was implemented in the latter half of 2024 with financing from five water utilities and five water authorities. This phase laid the foundations for the second phase, in which answers to the questions posed will be worked up into an action perspective for the Dutch water sector. Concrete adaptation measures are being developed on the basis of understanding possible state changes in the physical environment and society, experience from crisis areas and analyses of interdependencies and bottlenecks. Furthermore, materials are being produced to support discussions about, and the communication of, scenarios of this kind.

Deliverables

The following deliverables will result in greater insight:

• Relevant questions and frameworks for a better understanding of scenarios.
• Overview of adaptation measures for crisis and conflict areas.
• Set of scenarios and overview of dependencies and time scales.

The following deliverables will provide action perspectives:

• Method/tool for thinking about rapid state changes.
• A first step towards anchoring the approach in organisations.