Water resource loop closure

Collaborate for sufficient water where and when it is needed

KWR maps out the possibilities and opportunities available for closing the water cycle, locally or regionally. We research and develop technologies that make the water resource loop closure as robust and safe as possible, including water reuse through treatment, the recovery of resources and the distribution of the water.

The Netherlands has a very strong global reputation when it comes to water, which is partly due to the Delta Works and to our reliable, chlorine-free drinking water. But the context is changing: soil subsidence, uncertainty in supply chain security, climate change and the resulting sea-level rise and more extreme weather patterns, population growth and aging, all present new challenges in both the short and long term. This calls for a structural change at the system level, and at the same time has implications for choices at the local level. To realise the required transition sustainably and at minimum cost to society, well-motivated agreements have to be reached at the local, regional and national level.  

Methods, tools and products

For water resource loop closure, KWR draws on its expertise in the areas of water, soil and pipeline transport, along with its knowledge of futures studies and strategy development. 

Projects

Executive and national level

To help realise water resource loop closure at the executive or national level, KWR draws, among others, on its knowledge of futures studies and strategy development. This takes shape in a variety of projects: 

 

Regional level 

In water resource loop closure at the regional level, an important role is played by the collaboration and coordination between area managers (e.g., Water Authorities, provinces and national government) and large users [e.g., industry, drinking water utilities and (greenhouse) horticulture]. A few examples of projects in this area are: 

 

Local level 

In water resource loop closure at the local level, the focus is on collaboration and coordination between nearby companies, municipalities, and small users like individual households or district-level initiatives. Current examples of practice-oriented research projects are: