project

SOLUCIR

The ‘Solutions for Circular Water and Decentralisation’ (SOLUCIR) project is an EU-funded project dedicated to accelerating the transition toward circular and decentralised water and wastewater solutions. The project consortium consists of 16 partners with National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) as coordinator. KWR leads the work package on the socio-political context of decentralised systems. This includes designing targeted policy recommendations and societal interventions. SOLUCIR learns from 24 Inspirational Pilots and develops 5 Pathfinding Studies and 1 Transferability Study. Of these, KWR is the research lead for the cases located in Belgium and South Africa.

SOLUCIR

SOLUCIR investigates strategies for implementing circular and decentralised water management solutions while addressing key technical, financial, regulatory, and societal challenges. This is done by improving the performance of decentralised systems and by exploring how they can be integrated with centralised solutions. By integrating local, modular systems with existing infrastructure, SOLUCIR creates a “hybrid” model that is more flexible, cost-effective, and resilient. In this way, the full potential of decentralised systems is unlocked, allowing for water reuse at the source, reducing pollution, saving energy, and securing water supplies.

Analysing the socio-political landscape

KWR’s work package has four specific objectives. These are (1) to assess policies and regulations for a supportive governance context, (2) to develop a policy support package for EU and national policymakers, as well as local and regional decisionmakers, (3) to assess societal attitudes and viewpoints to understand end-user perceptions and acceptance factors and to identify acceptance strategies, and lastly (4) to develop socio-cultural propositions for societal legitimation of circular and decentralised water solutions.

Case studies

The applicability of decentralised solutions will be assessed in SOLUCIR’s five Pathfinding Studies, including the following:

  • The Berlin Metropolitan area in Germany
  • The region of Catalonia in Spain
  • The Thessaly region in Greece
  • The Flemish region in Belgium
  • The South Marche region in Italy

The Flemish case study addresses rainwater harvesting and its impact on the centralised infrastructure. Rainwater harvesting at buildings causes revenue losses for utilities and can worsen peak demand during dry periods when rainwater runs out. The challenge is to combine the central system with decentral solutions into a hybrid model that is financially viable for water utilities and encourages customers to save water. The case study is done in close collaboration between De Watergroep and KWR.

In addition, KWR collaborates with the Water Research Coalition (WRC) of South Africa in a Transferability Study to ensure that results are transferable to developing countries and emerging economies. Likewise, lessons learned will be gathered from the experience gained in South Africa with nutrient recovery from urine.

Co-Founded by the European Union