KWR

Water Wise: Decision-support system for safe water-use and water-reuse cycles

15 September 2020 — KWR has developed Water Wise, a concept to meet the need for a simple-to-use, transparent and consistent tool...

Water Conservation challenge

How can drinking water customers be moved to themselves save water? And is it actually possible to exert...

Exploration of underground thermal energy storage

16 July 2020 — On 7 July, the WarmingUP collective organised the first episode in a series of webinars on applicable knowledge...

Water sector can use hydroinformatics to take uncertainties into account in decision-making

09 July 2020 — The third knowledge exchange meeting of the Hydroinformatics Platform on 25 June focused on uncertainty and uncertainty propagation.

Bioassays for neuroactive substances in water

More and more substances are being found worldwide in surface water that may have adverse effects on the...

All is hydroinformatics?

25 June 2020 — The world is becoming increasingly digitalised, and we are reaping many benefits from this, in terms of convenience...

Stand-alone local treatment for remote areas

It is difficult to supply drinking water from the central system in some parts of the Netherlands. Available...

Implications of antibiotic resistance for drinking water production

Antibiotic resistance is a topical problem that also affects the water sector. Resistance genes, including those against the...

The effect of water quality on leaching in pipes containing cement

In order to limit the leaching of asbestos cement and the cement contained in pipes, the Dutch Drinking...

High-throughput qPCR

Ever-faster, ‘high-throughput qPCR’ methods are becoming available for the simultaneous detection and identification of large quantities of genes.

Picturing the pipe network

With the development of inspection robots and new kinds of sensors, and thanks to a growing wealth of...

WINDOW: More sustainable heating in the Netherlands through subsurface heat storage

The WINDOW project focuses on the subsurface storage of heat. The implementation of subsurface heat storage at temperatures...

Christie Stuut-Klaucke

Christie Stuut is an experienced marketing and communications consultant. Her expertise lies in the field of positioning, strategic...

Rinske Potjewijd MSc

Rinske Potjewijd is an experienced marketing communications consultant, with a strong vision and external focus. She graduated as...

Molecular-biological methods

Traditionally, microbiological analyses are carried out through the cultivation of organisms. Molecular methods in contrast research the genetic...

Drought in the Pleistocene uplands of Southern, Central and Eastern Netherlands

The summer of 2018 was particularly dry in the Netherlands, which led to water supply problems for agriculture...

PFAS: A Threat for the Dutch Drinking Water Cycle?

Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a broad group of anthropogenic organic substances which have been extensively used...

Survival and growth of water lice on organic matter in drinking water distribution networks

Earlier research has indicated that a correlation exists between the presence of water lice and the Aeromonas count...

Mechanisms and quantification of re-contamination in dune passage

In the analysis of microbial safety of drinking water, it has been shown that dune passage, with a...

Water-quality crisis

Communication during an acute water-quality crisis requires an approach that differs from regular risk communication. The goal of...

QSAR tools and bioassays for emerging contaminants and transformation products

For new, emerging contaminants in drinking water sources and for transformation products, there are sometimes very little or...

Exploring Serious Games

Water managers are increasingly involved in the development of sustainable residential districts and new building projects. Recent examples...

Non-target screening: quantitative and on time

The confident identification of a compound followed by accurate quantification of its concentration in a water sample is...

Condition forecast for individual mains

The risk of pipe failure is one of the factors taken into account by drinking water utilities when...

Strategic decision-making for IAM: what can serious games contribute?

Drinking water companies can use serious games or other decision-support tools to help with strategic decision-making about issues...

Robotics in the water industry

19 February 2020 — The first 2020 knowledge-sharing meeting of the Hydroinformatics Platform was organised on 5 February, and dedicated to the...

Electrochemical treatment processes

Electrochemical treatment processes present various advantages compared to conventional treatment processes. By gaining experience with a single, promising...

Water and energy in the circular city

12 February 2020 — How can the water sector assist a city achieve its circular ambitions? A city like Nieuwegein, where the...

Knowledge to the surface

Substances that are naturally present in the soil enter the groundwater and ultimately the surface water. This is...

Measuring impact and societal value

The goal of this exploratory research project is to collect existing knowledge, generate new knowledge and formulate a...

Water-quality map

A water-quality map allows one to determine the combined effects of emissions from various sources on the level...

Making Aquarellus applicable

Brown water accounts for a significant proportion of reports about water quality that Dutch drinking water companies receive...

DMA fingerprint

Dutch water companies are increasingly setting up District Metered Areas (DMAs) that can be used to locate leaks...

SMART ways of saving water at home

Since the dry summers of 2018 and 2019, the water sector has paid increasing attention to saving water.

Jan Vreeburg PhD MSc

Jan Vreeburg is Principal Scientist in the Water Infrastructure team. Jan has a long history of research and...

Knowledge exchange and stimulation of integrated asset management research

In this project within the Joint Research Programme of KWR and the water utilities, knowledge-exchange meetings were organised...

360-degree stakeholder management

There is no doubt that it is becoming increasingly important for drinking water utilities, during their asset management...

Data validation implementation pilot

Poor data quality is frequently identified as one of the obstacles to the successful exploitation of data mining...

Iron removal for the removal of organic microcontamination

Iron hydroxides are produced at various places during the production of drinking water. That results in the formation...

Healthy soil, healthy water system

The properties of the soil have a major influence on drought sensitivity and leaching into groundwater, for instance,...

Role of soil passage in removal of OMPs

During the infiltration of surface water in the dunes and along river banks, natural processes in the soil...

Stand-alone decentralised drinking water provision in outlying areas

In remote areas it is sometimes too costly or technically too complicated to connect homes to the central...

Leaching of the geochemical buffer capacity in the subsurface

The geochemical buffer capacity of the subsurface assists in breaking down pollutants before they reach drinking water abstraction...

Multiplying societal value

31 December 2019 — Multiple value creation already frequently occurs in the water sector, but it is not always clearly highlighted. KWR...

Clean water, now and in the future

31 December 2019 — KWR is a specialist in the detection, research and removal of undesirable substances, such as pharmaceutical residues and...

Combining water research and information technology

31 December 2019 — The combination of water research with information technology generates fruitful solutions that support the water sector in taking...

Sim City: agent-based water demand model

One of the biggest and most significant uncertainties in the development of network blueprints is the future water...

Behavioural influence in practice

The objective of this research project is to generate scientific understanding and tested techniques to study how, and...

Customer wishes and expectations in the management of assets

ISO 55000 defines asset management as the coordinated activities of an organization to realise value from assets. Drinking...

Networks Roadmap drinking water distribution 2050

In 2050, the Netherlands will have to be ‘climate adaptive’, ‘energy neutral’ and ‘off the gas’. This also...

Smart Water Networks – 2

This project within the Joint Research Programme of KWR and the water utilities concerns the question of how...

Hydroinformatics Platform coordination and knowledge sharing

Over the last two years, the Hydroinformatics Platform has developed into a highly valued means of knowledge sharing.

Distribution experts from Europe and the US look behind each other’s scenes

09 December 2019 — Over the last two years, experts and researchers from Europe and the US have had the opportunity to...

Monitoring emerging drug problems in Europe

04 December 2019 — The partners of the EUSEME project came together on 19 and 20 November for the kick-off meetings. Researchers...

Freo is the scene of the 4th desalination using membrane technology (MemDes) conference

04 December 2019 — Perth (Australia) has been dealing with severe water shortages, which has been mitigated by the construction of two...

Creating multiple value for the challenges of the future

28 November 2019 — Multiple value creation is probably not yet a familiar expression for everybody. But it certainly is for the...

Data-driven processes require good data management

27 November 2019 — Data management is a necessity in the new IT landscape: investing in ‘data literacy’ is vital in moving...

Working on water availability for industry

15 November 2019 — Many operational processes depend heavily on water. Companies need to have enough water, of the right quality and...

Healthy drinking water and wastewater treatment for all

07 November 2019 — If you don’t measure what you want to know, you can’t manage the progress. That also applies to...

Responsible AI for the water sector?

10 October 2019 — Artificial Intelligence has penetrated many aspects of our lives, often without (most of) us realising that this is...

EDWARD

EDWARD (simulating Extremes in Drinking WAteR Demand) is a data-driven algorithm which, on the basis of population statistics...

On the path to digital twins: experiences, opportunities and limitations

03 October 2019 — The idea of a digital twin is appealing and we should certainly develop it further, but in doing...

Innovative drinking water supply technologies in Argentina

26 September 2019 — On 25 September, the Argentinian Water Supply Company, AySA, the Dutch companies, Royal HaskoningDHV and TRAIDE, and water...

New water cycles

Circular economy provides a changing way of dealing with water by creating new opportunities for reuse and recovery...

Research into microplastics in purified wastewater in full swing

13 September 2019 — The research into microplastics in purified wastewater by drinking water company PWN, Hoogheemraadschap Hollands Noorderkwartier (HHNK), The Great...

Quality of drinking water sources under growing pressure

12 September 2019 — A survey study by KWR on the quality of drinking water sources in the Netherlands shows that these...

Sotirios Paraskevopoulos MSc

Sotirios Paraskevopoulos is a scientific researcher in the Water Quality and Health team. He completed his Master’s studies...

KWR at the CCWI conference

03 September 2019 — CCWI (Computing and Control in the Water Industry) has always been an important conference for KWR and in...

Practical guidelines for use of PE as pipe material

Synthetic drinking water pipes can release substances into the water upon which bacteria can grow. The resulting biofilm...

Regrowth of bacteria of the coli group in sand filters at the Bergen and Mensink pumping stations

Drinking water quality is controlled, among others, by measuring the presence of bacteria of the coli group. However,...

Fiware4Water

Fiware4Water is a three-year European research and innovation project, coordinated by the French Office International de l’Eau, links...

WHO approves 23 household water treatment systems

08 August 2019 — Household water treatment systems are important for public health in a number of countries, where the quality of...

Circular Water System Co-Creation in Brainport Smart District

Brainport Smart District (BSD) is an especially innovative district with about 1,500 homes and a business park of...

Is it good to further purify your drinking water at home?

18 July 2019 — Reports appear fairly regularly in the media suggesting that drinking water is not clean and that it’s better...

Drinking water biological stability in relation to temperature

The law establishes that drinking water temperature must be under 25°C. However, there aren’t any, or hardly any,...

Strengthening research into activated carbon filtration for micropollutant removal

Organic micropollutants (OMPs), including persistent compounds, are being increasingly detected in groundwater and surface water. Understanding the action...

The physico-chemical behaviour of purified water turbidity in distribution networks

The groundwater treatment processes at Brabant Water are designed for the removal of iron, ammonium and manganese. These...

Managing concentrate streams

A number of water utilities make use of reverse osmosis (RO) or (capillary) nanofiltration (NF) membranes as a...

Behavioural sciences and data

Citizens are increasingly asked to adapt their behaviour. Drinking water utilities also make such requests. During drought periods...

What is the status of plastics in water?

11 July 2019 — It was recently reported on the news that people ingest a teaspoon, that is 5 grams, of microplastics...

Making better predictions of peak water demand

11 July 2019 — The summer of 2018 was an extremely dry one and 2019 is on course to follow suit. A...

Membrane filtration as key technology to mitigate water and materials stress at IWA-MTC 2019

09 July 2019 — The IWA-MTC 2019 was attended by 410 attendants from 49 different countries with a strong representation from Asian...

Unknown anthropogenic substances in ground- and drinking water

The Drinking Water Regulations require a water company to follow the statutory monitoring programme or otherwise have...

Need for membranes with a better selectivity, better module design and higher log removal credits

04 July 2019 — In the last ten years, the membrane community experienced a tremendous surge in research of synthesizing novel membranes.

Looking for a needle in a haystack? Non-target screening

02 July 2019 — Recent developments in analytical chemistry in combination with data handling appear to be a major gain for the...

Anammox

Anammox, an abbreviation for ANaerobic AMMonium OXidation, is a microbial process of the nitrogen cycle. It takes place...

Launch of Fiware4Water: digital solutions for water

28 June 2019 — On 10 June 2019, Waternet and KWR, together with twelve European partners, launched the Fiware4Water project. This three-year...

Cranfield University new Watershare member

28 June 2019 — Cranfield University has joined Watershare. With this, Watershare expands its collaboration with a strong knowledge partner in the...

Digital twin demonstrator

This project will create a so-called ‘digital twin’ of a Dutch city’s drinking water distribution system, and use...

Optimising the location of pressure sensors

Leaks in water mains are a problem with multiple implications. They involve the loss of expensive water, the...

Particle composition and biological stability

Treatment processes can influence the biological stability of water in different ways. In the Netherlands and Flanders, the...

Measuring a number of failure mechanisms in exit assessments

In this project within the Joint Research Programme, KWR is analysing additional exit assessments that may be feasible and...

HydroMonitor

Groundwater levels are influenced by a variety of factors, such as precipitation, evaporation, groundwater...

Optimal transition to network blueprints phase II

Within this project KWR is developing a method to automatically determine the transition from current structures to network...

Measures to combat the unwanted heating of water in the pipe network

Legally the water temperature at the tap may not exceed 25°C. The temperature of the water network changes...

Joint Research Programme Incubator Function

Together with the water companies, KWR has defined various objectives for the Joint Research Programme, including the ‘Incubator’ function. The...

Joint Research Programme ‘Eyes & Ears’

Together with the water companies, KWR has defined various objectives for the Joint Research Programme, including the ‘Eyes and...

Joint Research Programme Impact Studies

The aim of an impact study is to develop strategic insights, together with specialists from water companies and...

The customer perspective toolkit

In a world where water company customers can no longer be seen as all the same, an understanding...

The hardness of water

Research shows a clear link between the ‘perceived quality’ of tap water and the perception of hardness: the...

Sensors & big data in hydrology

12 June 2019 — During this years’ Spring Symposium in Amersfoort, the Dutch Hydrological Society (NHV) gathered around the question ‘sensors and...

Water reuse presents opportunities

05 June 2019 — The reuse of water is becoming an increasingly central focus of attention. This reuse presents companies with important...

Navigating the Smart Water Journey

29 May 2019 — On the 15th and 16th of May the 9th annual Smart Water Networks Forum (SWAN) conference took place...

Peter van Thienen new Chief Information Officer at KWR

21 May 2019 — Peter van Thienen is KWR’s new Chief Information Officer (CIO). Van Thienen is currently finalising KWR’s new hydroinformatics...

Development of a substance database

A databank that unlocks information about relevant substances – e.g., substance properties, the presence of known and unknown...

Tap water awareness

Since the publication of the 2014 OECD report on the future-fitness of water governance in the Netherlands, the...

AgriAs project on arsenic contamination concluded

20 May 2019 — The European AgriAs project investigated the presence of arsenic in European agricultural soils and water, the most significant...

Water reuse and the freshwater provision

We are confronted more and more with increasing drought damage in agriculture and nature. There is growing pressure...

Smart Water Networks

Hydroinformatics and smart water are becoming increasingly important in the water sector. Reliance on this technology is rapidly...

Forecasting models and scenario development for the drinking water infrastructure

07 May 2019 — Forecasting models and scenario development can help water utilities better manage their current water infrastructure and also better...

Surveillance of antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance

The chemical and biological constituents of wastewater are a valuable source of information on human health and behavior,...

Consortium researches impact of ‘Bubble Barrier’ on microplastics in treated wastewater

06 May 2019 — A research consortium, comprising the water utility PWN, Hollands Noorderkwartier Water Authority (HHNK), The Great Bubble Barrier and...

Oasen forecasts peaks in water demand with data-driven algorithm from KWR

01 May 2019 — This spring the Oasen water utility began using a new, data-driven algorithm which, on the basis of population...

Exploring the impact of drought on the drinking water provision

The year 2018 will enter the records as an extremely dry year and, perhaps, as far as the...

Radical new sources of drinking water

The drinking water provision in the Netherlands makes use of fresh groundwater and fresh surface water as its...

KWR demonstrates value added of water knowledge for practice at trade fair

04 April 2019 — KWR presented the value added of water knowledge in water practice at Aqua Nederland Vakbeurs 2019. The event,...

Future proof opportunities at the ‘Waterinfodag’

03 April 2019 — At the ‘Waterinfodag’, which took place end of March 2019, I presented a theme session on innovative processing...

OECD: ‘Water Knowledge Action Programme is a model of innovative collaboration’

02 April 2019 — The Water Knowledge Action Programme (KAP Water) receives international praise. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)...

Dutch drinking water sources vulnerable to plant protection products

01 April 2019 — Ground- and surface-water sources in the Netherlands are vulnerable to contamination by old and new plant protection products...

CatchAmed binds pharmaceuticals in the toilet

01 April 2019 — Increasing attention is being paid to methods for the removal of pharmaceuticals from wastewater. In the TKI programme’s...

Exploratory research into data mining

The promises of data mining techniques have long been very inviting – and for the water utilities as...

How to deal with micropollutants in water

13 March 2019 — Additional treatment steps for WWTPs; Learning by doing, doing while learning As WWTPs in general haven’t been designed...

Use of natural viruses to monitor membrane integrity

12 March 2019 — KWR has been granted a patent for a new, very sensitive method to determine how effectively a physical...

Hydroinformatics Platform foresees great value in data visualisation

12 February 2019 — Data visualisation is an important tool in the effective application of data streams for informed decision-making. Data visualisation...

Membrane distillation and freeze crystallisation treat salt-streams containing organic pollutants

23 January 2019 — The Orpheus project shows that membrane distillation and freeze crystallisation offer possibilities for the concentration of high-saline streams...

Climate-proof drinking water, now and in the future

Drinking water in the Netherlands is treated to high quality standards and then delivered to customers through the...

CoRe Water

The transition to the way we’ll be handling our wastewater in the future is being shaped by several...

Further development of Water Vision Nature

The Water Vision Nature (WWN) tool is being developed in phases. In the first phase, a user-friendly shell...

Cyber-physical security of water systems – a new frontier for interdisciplinary water research

13 December 2018 — Water Companies and other critical infrastructure operators have been adopting ICT technologies (sensors, actuators, real time control systems...

Dorien Kool

Dorien Kool is programme manager of DPWE, the joint research programme of the Dutch dune water utilities, Dunea,...

Joep van den Broeke

Joep van den Broeke is a senior researcher and project manager in the Innovation and Valorisation team. Drawing...

HEATSTORE

The HEATSTORE project is an European project aimed at making technologies for the subsurface seasonal storage of sustainable...

Successful BTO Research Meeting ‘Together towards the next step’

15 November 2018 — The achievement of a future-proof drinking water provision requires making well-considered choices. Is it better to direct our...

Re-USe of Treated effluent for agriculture – RUST

Worldwide, water scarcity is problematic, e.g. in semi-arid regions with inadequate natural precipitation, and other water resources are...

Development of WaterVision Nature

WaterVision Nature (WWN) is a tool that calculates the effects of climate change and water management on terrestrial...

Validation slow sand filtration at De Punt

Slow sand filtration is a treatment process that contributes importantly to drinking water safety. In water practice, however,...

AMVD research

The distribution of drinking water without chlorine is the calling card of the Dutch water utilities. What makes...

Water lice and Aeromonas

Drinking water contains a large variety of nutrients which (harmless) bacteria can use to grow. These bacteria could...

Quickly measuring after work on network

When water utilities carry out work on their distribution networks, there is a risk that dirt, which might...

Microbiology during drinking water distribution

Drinking water in the Netherlands is distributed without any traces of disinfectants such as chlorine. The growth of...

Application future failure frequency prediction method

The prediction of failure frequencies is important in determining pipe replacement volumes and replacement prioritisation. The predictions are...

Contamination Source Toolkit

When contamination incidents occur in the distribution system, as a result of work on the network for example,...

Hydroinformatics Platform Pilot Data Validation

Water utilities find themselves in a transition with regard to their decision-making process. The inputs in decision-making models...

Tessa Pronk

Tessa Pronk is a scientific researcher in the Chemical Water Quality and Health team. She has a broad...

Risk perception

On the basis of insights into customers’ perceptions, needs and experiences, communications guidelines are being developed with regard...

NextGen

NextGen will demonstrate innovative technological, business and governance solutions for water in the circular economy in ten high-profile,...

Modelling how to repair distribution networks after an earthquake

23 August 2018 — Part of the WDSA / CCWI 2018 Joint International Conference in Ontario was the Battle of Post-Disaster...

2018 WDSA / CCWI Joint Conference in Kingston (Ontario, Canada)

23 August 2018 — Two series of conferences (Water Distribution Systems Analysis WSDA) and Computing and Control in the Water Industry CCWI)...

Resilience of distribution systems under crisis scenarios

This exploratory research project is producing an inventory of the possible physical and cyber threats (crisis scenarios) that...

Purification in water reservoirs

Water reservoirs fulfil several functions in drinking water treatment. The reservoir determines to a large degree the quality...

Peak consumption causes

Water companies need a water consumption model to help them size their production locations. In this project KWR...

‘Power to X’ project brings residential districts that run on sunshine and rain a step closer

24 July 2018 — A residential district can use solar power to meet enough of its residents’ energy, heating and mobility needs.

Assets: looking ahead to 2030 and 2050

Assets have a long useful life, which is why we need to have an opinion on (long-term and...

The decision-making processes for Integrated Asset Management (IAM)

In this research project, we will be describing the most important decision-making processes for assets and research, based...

Organising the Veghel experimental plot

In this project, we are creating a scientific basis for the organisation of water company Brabant Water’s future...

Future perspectives on peat polders

Our project ‘Making the Polder Futureproof’ maps out sustainable supported solutions for making the peat polder futureproof. To...

KWR with ReCirc Singapore present at the Singapore International Water Week

19 July 2018 — The Dutch water sector was present with about 150 persons at the Singapore International Water Week, the World...

Data from smart water meters used to predict hotspots in distribution network

To ensure fresh and healthy drinking water in a future of climate change and urbanisation, it’s important to...

Ferramentum: tool for insights into rapid filtration

Previous tailored and thematic research work focused on iron and manganese removal from groundwater and led to the...

Prediction and validation in organic micropollutant removal

Organic micropollutants (OMPs) in sources of drinking water are regularly in the news. The quantities of OMPs are...

Biological conversion of micropollutants in drinking water treatment

Various scientific studies have shown that biological processes, such as rapid sand filtration (SF), river-bank filtration, biological granular...

7th International Congress on Arsenic in the Environment in Beijing

10 July 2018 — Over 250 participants from over 40 countries and more than10 scientific disciplines participated in As2018. This shows  the...

WaterVision Agriculture

WaterVision Agriculture: instrumentarium to quantify the effects of water management and climate on agricultural production. WaterVision Agriculture is...

Data from smart water meters used to predict hotspots in distribution network

02 July 2018 — To ensure fresh and healthy drinking water in a future of climate change and urbanisation, it’s important to...

Prof. Dragan Savic FREng

Professor Dragan Savic FREng is the CEO of KWR Water Research Institute, the Dutch drinking water companies’ collective...

Julian Muñoz Sierra PhD(c) PDEng

Julian Muñoz Sierra is a scientific researcher on the Industry, Wastewater and Reuse team. He studied chemical engineering...

VolkerWessels and KWR launch Nexus building project

07 June 2018 — KWR and the VolkerWessels companies Aveco de Bondt, VolkerWessels iCity and VolkerWessels Vastgoed have signed a declaration of...

Gondwana

Over the last decades growing attention has been directed at the optimisation of drinking water distribution systems. But...

‘Contaminants of Emerging Concern’ – a partnership in water technology

More and more chemical substances are being produced and used all over the world. At the same time,...

The next generation of managing our most important resource: water

16 May 2018 — As appetite for the world’s most important resource continues to grow – from water use in industrial processes...

Closing the watercycle in North-Holland

After medicines are used, pharmaceutical residues end up, via the toilet and the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), in...

USTORE

Every year the drinking water sector replaces about 1% of the total drinking water distribution network. This replacement...

PVC degradation model in Comsima

In the Netherlands PVC is the pipe material that is most used: more than half of the drinking...

Exploration: future visions of the circular economy

10 April 2018 — Exploratory research of eight key players in the circular economy (City of Amsterdam, Interface, Unilever, Natuurmonumenten, Alliander, Ministry...

Real-time sensor measurements for a better water-quality policy

The current, hydraulic models are infrequently applied to water-quality issues in the distribution network; moreover, they are poorly,...

Customer perspectives

It is becoming increasingly clear that one can no longer generalise about drinking water customers. This project reveals...

Self-Cleaning networks concept presented at annual meeting of American PVC pipe association

21 March 2018 — The PVC pipe association held its annual meeting at Key West, Florida. Mirjam Blokker presented the concept of...

Optimal design of robust and future-proof target structures

The design of target structures is a topical subject in the water sector. Drinking water companies are busy...

Discolouration prediction tool for optimal cleaning policy

The quality of drinking water in the Netherlands is excellent. Nonetheless, this quality can deteriorate between the water...

Wat-Qual

Safe drinking water is paramount for the health and wellbeing of all populations. Unsafe drinking water can contain...

TKI sewage fat solution

Local authorities regularly face threating blockages in their sewer networks caused by accumulated fat in the mains. The...

Heat transfer to drinking water mains

The warming of the soil around a drinking water main can make the temperature of the water in...

Menyanthes

Groundwater levels are influenced by a variety of factors, such as precipitation, evaporation, groundwater abstraction and the water...

Bram Hillebrand MSc

Bram Hillebrand is a scientific researcher in the Water Infrastructure team. After earning a Master’s in geophysics, he...

4D Source protection in a changing world

This project involves studying the application of a 4D approach to source protection. The approach is based on...

Closing the water cycle by reusing treated wastewater

01 February 2018 — Matching the agricultural freshwater supply and demand, by using industrial and domestic treated wastewater for irrigation purposes is...

Good start programme water in the circular economy

31 January 2018 — Drinking water companies in the Netherlands and Belgium have taken the initiative in establishing the multi-annual ‘Water in...

Collaboration on resource recovery solutions for circular economy

20 December 2017 — On 15 December, Jaya Ratnam, Ambassador of Singapore, and Henk Snoeken, Deputy Director of International Affairs of the...

Code of Practice helps businesses monitor their own carbon neutrality

19 December 2017 — Calculating carbon neutrality or the CO₂ footprint is an excellent tool for industry when formulating CO₂ reduction targets.

Better reuse of salt and water from waste flows

18 December 2017 — Converting salty waste flows from ion exchangers regenerate into new products and saving energy at the same time...

Drinking water sector investigating potential risks of antimicrobial resistance

04 December 2017 — Antimicrobial resistance forms a risk for public health. Resistant bacteria and the genes for antimicrobial resistance are also found in...

Water sector can do something about fake news

23 November 2017 — Fake news is not new, but its impact in our post-fact society is growing steadily. How can the...

WWTP capacity increases by 10% with finescreen technology

21 November 2017 — The Aa and Maas Water Board, CirTec and KWR consortium has completed the Screencap research...

Collective research on Water in the Circular Economy (WiCE)

Circular Economy Our society and economy are dependent on natural resources, such as raw materials, water and energy.

Heated activity in the subsurface

31 October 2017 — Over the last few years we have carried out many projects under the climate change, water quality and...

System Design Power-to-X

The Power-to-X concept aims to produce electricity, hydrogen, heat and service water sustainably. By converting electricity into heat...

Circular Water 2050

The project ‘Circular Water 2050 – impact and opportunities of the “fully circular in 2050” target for an...

SIMDEUM

Our water consumption is predictable. After getting up in the morning most people use the toilet. They take...

Transition from ATES to HTO: Energy and environmental management strategies

About 25 percent of all the energy we consume is used in the production of heat. This is...

Governance and knowledge action for the circular water cycle

In this project we research the governance of the circular urban water cycle in four pilots. A knowledge-action...

Efficient (re)use of water for a robust freshwater supply

In order to safeguard the freshwater supply over the long term, what is needed among other things is...

Innovations at centre-stage of Waterevent

18 October 2017 — More than 150 visitors attended the annual Waterevent at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) Greenhouse Horticulture and LTO...

Sulphate-reducing bacteria also work in WWTP

17 October 2017 — KWR, Paques and Delfluent Services BV have conducted a pilot test with sulphate-reducing bacteria under winter conditions at...

HerCauWer

In the Netherlands drinking water treatment practically always generates aquafer as a residual. By treating this material with...

10th Micropol & Ecohazard Conference in Vienna

21 September 2017 — From 17 till 20 September the 10th Micropol & Ecohazard conference was held in Vienna. The conference consisted...

Luuk de Waal MSc

Luuk de Waal is a practice-oriented researcher in the Drinking Water Treatment team. He uses various pilot installations...

Citizen Science and Hardness

What does it mean to involve drinking water customers as researchers for a period of six months?  In...

AgriAs

Toxic arsenic (compounds) in the soil and water present health risks worldwide for 220 million people. KWR is...

BTO evaluation 2016

The Dutch water companies, the Flemish De Watergroep and the branch association Vewin are collectively engaged in a...

COASTAR: saline at bay, fresh on hand

Increasing water demand, climate change and rising relative sea-levels all contribute to salinisation in coastal areas, leading to...

Water Knowledge Action Programme

Managers, researchers and practice innovators are working on water governance in the Water Knowledge Action Programme to realise...

STOP-IT

Water infrastructures are essential for society, human welfare and health, but they can be endangered by physical threats...

DiAMANT-Water: Data of the Future

The integrity of the water infrastructure is hard to determine using a directly measurable parameter, such as the...

Water companies, Vewin and KWR build upon structural research collaboration

09 June 2017 — As of 1 January 2018, a new period of collaboration in the joint water research of the water...

Urban Waterbuffer now also in practice

19 May 2017 — How can we retain rainwater in the subsurface of urban areas longer and more effectively? And can we...

Power to X

In the future our energy supply will have to be renewable, but also reliable and affordable. In Nieuwegein...

Structural collaboration UGhent, KU Leuven and the water sector’s joint research programme

25 April 2017 — Last year the Flemish water company De Watergroep became a member of the joint research programme of the...

Remineralisation of RO permeate

Oasen is working on the full-stream treatment of, among others, river-bank filtrate using RO, which entails the complete...

Transition to a hydrogen economy opens opportunities for water companies

03 April 2017 — The use of pure water for the production of hydrogen to serve as an energy carrier in a...

Rossella Messina finalist in Dopper Changemaker Challenge

16 March 2017 — Rossella Messina, master thesis intern at KWR, has reached the final round of the Dopper Changemaker Challenge. With...

Shale Gas and Water

Before the Netherlands can initiate shale gas extraction, answers must be given to the question of the possible...

Nanotechnology in water applications

NanoNextNL is a consortium directed at research in the field of micro- and nanotechnology. More than one hundred...

TRAMP

The nanoplastics, or microplastics, that result from plastic pollution that ends up in the sea are harmful to...

New fit-for-purpose decision support tool for pipeline inspection technologies

27 February 2017 — Watershare is proud to announce the launch of a knowledge-based and decision-support toolbox for water and wastewater network...

Power-to-Protein: pilot (phase 2)

The supply of sufficient food, energy and water present huge challenges worldwide – among the causes are global...

Big Data Epidemiology

The scientific literature reports on – sometimes contradictory – research results on the relationship between the quality of...

Heat and Cold from drinking water (HCD)

‘Heat and Cold from Drinking water’, ‘HCD ’ for short, constitutes a unique combination of water and energy:...

Determining contamination source with hydraulic software packages

25 January 2017 — When a drinking water contamination incident occurs, it is very important to take action to localise the contamination...

Andrea Mizzi Brunner PhD

Andrea Mizzi Brunner (PhD) is deputy team leader of the Chemical Water Quality and Health team at KWR...

The Urban Waterbuffer

Urban areas are increasingly faced with temporary flooding caused by heavy rainfall, or water shortages due to longer...

Urban Waterbuffer gives value to excess rainwater

22 December 2016 — Urban areas increasingly face flooding due to intense rainfall, as well as water shortages due to long droughts.

Metals in the watercycle: insight and opportunities

15 November 2016 — Is it possible to recover (scarce) metals in an economically responsible manner from the watercycle – from drinking...

Collaboration between water companies and universities important at international CCWI conference

09 November 2016 — The Computing and Control for the Water Industry (CCWI) conference attracted 180 representatives from numerous countries to...

Sustainable energy

There is a worldwide drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and shift to cleaner, more sustainable energy sources.

Unique citizen science project concludes: Amsterdam’s tap water is fresh

28 October 2016 — On Tuesday evening, 26 October, Amsterdam citizen scientists, KWR professional researchers and numerous other interested people gathered in...

Join us at ‘Computing and Control for the Water Industry’, from 7 through 9 November in Amsterdam

18 October 2016 — ICT, computer modelling and automation are increasingly important tools in the water sector and water research. The purpose...

New IWA/KWR book describes stress-test for future-robustness of distribution networks

13 October 2016 — KWR collaborates with IWA Publishing to make relevant knowledge about drinking water available worldwide. Claudia Agudelo-Vera and Mirjam...

INTEREST: rules of thumb for costs and returns of sensor networks in drinking water distribution

10 October 2016 — Sensor networks allow us to monitor drinking water more comprehensively and detect contaminants more effectively. However, we need...

New university research programme on ‘emerging contaminants’

07 October 2016 — ‘Emerging contaminants’ or ‘contaminants of emerging concern’ are terms we use essentially to refer to a large and...

Japanese delegation visits KWR for workshop on smart water networks

06 October 2016 — On Wednesday, 5 October, a delegation from Japan visited KWR to attend the workshop on “Smart Metering and...

Recovering metals from water, sludge and fly ash

The focus of water treatment is increasingly shifting to the recovery of raw materials, partly stimulated by the...

MICRORISK: Microbiological risk assessment

The aim of MICRORISK was to develop a microbial risk assessment process which will contribute to the decision...

Sustainability pilot with struvite pellets for lush Schiphol grasslands

08 September 2016 — On 7 September 2016 struvite fertilising pellets were applied to the areas next to Schiphol airport’s runways Schiphol-Rijk...

Futures studies and response strategies

Futures research improves the resilience of the water sector by supporting anticipatory governance and by maximising the adaptive...

Kickoff EU project REWATCH

KWR is participating in the four-year European Life+ REWATCH project that is now being launched. In order to...

KWR uses water from its own pond for TKI research into membrane fouling

23 August 2016 — Pilot installation research is currently being carried out at KWR’s test facility into the single-stage reverse osmosis concept:...

Innovative water treatment technologies

Drinking water treatment is subject to many demands and, today, the challenges it faces are becoming increasingly complex...

Water demand in a hydrogen economy

In the decades ahead sustainable energy sources will gradually account for an increasing share of our energy supply,...

Life+ REWATCH: reducing the environmental impact of the petrochemicals industry

07 July 2016 — KWR is participating in the four-year European Life+ REWATCH project that is now being launched. In order to...

Mülheimer Wassertechnisches Seminar “Adsorption in der Wasseraufbereitung”

27 June 2016 — On Wednesday Sept 14th in Mülheim (BRD) a symposium on adsorption technology for water treatment was organized. It...

Salinisation and freshwater: Ovezande

In the Southwest Netherlands Delta the availability of fresh water cannot be taken for granted. Fresh groundwater, or...

Salinisation and freshwater: Westland

Prominent, the tomato growers association in ‘s-Gravenzande, recently started operating an installation for the aquifer storage and recovery...

Developments in water quality at surface water intake points for drinking water supply

Future developments in water quality at surface water intake points for drinking water supply constitute the key climate-change...

Stakeholder expectations Vitens

In order to have Vitens’ asset management continue operating optimally into the future, it is increasingly important, in...

Role determination in area planning processes: summary of Vitens Tailored Research project results

In order to safeguard groundwater abstraction into the future, it is very important that water companies position themselves...

Oportunistic pathogenic microorganisms in drinking water

Because of the expected climate change, it is probable that in the future the earth’s warming will lead...

Value of legal and alternative regrowth parameters

The regrowth of microorganisms during the distribution of drinking water can lead to a number of problematic situations.

Nitrogen labelling

Among the reasons analytical chemistry is important for the drinking water sector, is the latter’s need for unequivocal...

Impact studies

To give concrete form to the ‘eyes and ears’ function of the Dutch water sector’s joint research programme...

Horizon scanning and impact studies

Horizon scanning – the tracking of pertinent developments that appear on the horizon – is important for the...

Data mining for asset management – survey and water sector examples

Data mining (the search for statistical connections in databases) is one step in ‘Knowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD)’.

Applicability of German climate research to the Dutch situation – phase 1

There is a lot of high-value knowledge available in Germany on climate change, water management, and the spatial...

Perspective and preconditions for the development and use of autonomous inspection robots in water mains

Asset management of distribution networks is currently based on generic knowledge and models of mains groups, supplemented by...

Smarter measurement

Water quality is often extensively measured within the framework of Analysis of Microbial Safety of Drinking Water (Dutch...

QMRA of the distribution network

Drinking water companies use quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) to demonstrate that the drinking water they produce is...

Antibiotic resistance in surface water and water treatment

Over the past few decades the use of antibiotics by humans and for veterinary purposes has grown sharply.

SUBSOL

Coastal areas are the most productive and economically dominant regions of the world. The high water demand in...

SOLUTIONS

Water quality is under pressure. More and more so-called emerging contaminants are being detected in natural water systems.

Network Flow Performance

For managers of water distribution networks, flow volume time series in the network, for example, for a District...

Communications

For journalists and the general public the Communication team is often the first point of contact for information...

From mains data to mains knowledge

Decision-making about which mains to replace, and when, is one of the most important issues for asset management...

Knowledge-based rules for PVC mains

As a result of the large-scale use of PVC by the Dutch drinking water sector since the 1950s,...

New applications of subsurface water storage in practice

Subsurface water storage and supply-building offer multiple opportunities for the development of robust water systems and their responsible...

Smart Wellfield: gains from smart management or separate abstraction?

In several Vitens’ wellfields, water quality varies greatly from well to well. This has adverse consequences for the...

Efficient hot water heating

As homes become better insulated, energy consumption for spatial heating is decreasing. It is therefore increasingly important to...

Pilot research

Pilot research is an important component of our work: it reveals, following the laboratory phase, where possible problems...

Treating spent IEX regenerant streams

Ion exchange (IEX) is being increasingly used for the removal of organics, for example, for purposes of removing...

Rapid Filtration Engineering Assistant

The application of rapid sand filtration combined with front-end aeration forms a robust barrier in the removal of...

Validation and standardisation of the BPP test for drinking water

Since regrowth of microorganisms in the water distribution system is not desirable, the Dutch water companies strive to...

Consequences of intake of back-up Lek water on drinking water quality and dune ecology

As a result of climate change, low river discharge levels are occurring more frequently and for longer periods...

Material properties required for shallowly buried pipes

Brabant Water has developed the concept the Tertiaire Net van de Toekomst (TNT) (Tertiary Network of the Future).

Customer perception/experience and infrastructure

Vitens has for many years focused on giving its customers peace of mind by providing them with water...

Data mining in suspect screening data; searching for relevant new chemicals in different water types

Data from suspect screening analyses collected over the past few years contain a treasure of information. The data...

Towards a multidisciplinary BTO: Insights and recommendations from the literature

A need has arisen within the water sector’s joint research programme (BTO) for more multidisciplinary research. This research...

Elaboration of heat-cold recovery from drinking water

Water companies want to actively contribute to cutting back the societal costs associated with the consumption of fossil...

BTO workshop on Collaboration Opportunities in the Cycle

The water companies have the intention of reducing their CO2 footprint. But their own operations consume a limited...

Future water use and peak factors under climate change

According the prognoses of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), weather extremes, such as heat and drought, will...

Incorporation of soil nutrients and acidity into PROBE

The vegetation composition in freshwater natural ecosystems can be explained on the basis of the soil moisture, nutrient...

Water-Use Info

Both in the design and the operational stage of a drinking water installation or drinking water distribution network...

OptiValves

The complexity of drinking water distribution systems sometimes makes it difficult to have a good sense of a...

Robustness of the drinking water infrastructure

Drinking water consumption and the functionality of the drinking water infrastructure are subject to the influence of external...

Modelling regrowth in the distribution network

Regrowth in the distribution network is a complex phenomenon. Measures to manage regrowth in the distribution network have...

Strategies for the optimal placement of water quality sensors in the distribution network

Monitoring water quality with sensors placed at strategic points in the distribution network provides an online picture of...

Exploration of climate-neutrality in the watercycle at the tactical and strategic level

Practically all water companies have ambitions and objectives concerning a climate-neutral watercycle. In the first instance, these ambitions...

PROBE 3: an innovative model for vegetation development, groundwater recharge and nitrate leaching in a changing climate

Climate change can be expected to have big consequences for groundwater-independent vegetations, precisely because they rely entirely on...

Towards an optimal management of wellfields; conduct of two pilots

We still don’t know enough about how well clogging, energy use and treatment management can be optimised in...

Performance of nanotechnology-based membranes in the removal of pathogens and organic micropollutants

Applications of nanotechnology in (drinking) water treatment will possibly lead to revolutionary new applications (breakthrough technology), energy and...

Physical vulnerability of mains to climate change

Climate change can lead to a higher probability of failure in drinking water mains. Analysis of failure data...

Future temperature in the distribution network under the impact of urbanisation and climate change

Water temperature at the pumping station has limited impact on the temperature at the tap, but groundwater temperature...

Ground passage in the adaptation of surface-water water companies due to population aging and climate change

According to predictions based on anticipated population aging and climate change, the concentrations of pharmaceuticals in surface water...

Improving water quality prognosis at surface water intake points for drinking water supply

In an earlier project, ‘Developments in water quality at surface water intake points for drinking water supply’, prognoses...

Occurrence and removal of nanoparticles in drinking water treatment

Because of the global increase in the use of nanoparticles, in consumer and pharmaceutical products for example, it...

Improvement potential of residuals from WML drinking water production

The drinking water production process at Limburg Water Distribution Company (WML) results in a variety of residuals: liquid...

Pharmaceuticals from effluent

Wastewater contains increasing amounts of pharmaceutical residues. Since the WWTPs are not designed to remove them from the...

Roberta Hofman PhD MSc

Roberta Hofman works as a senior scientist on the drinking water treatment team. She works with two types...

Anne Mathilde Hummelen MSc

Anne Mathilde Hummelen is programme manager of the Joint Research Programme, the collective research programme for Dutch drinking...

Stefan Kools PhD

Stefan Kools works at KWR as a researcher and team leader. He has more than 20 years’ experience...

Andreas Moerman MSc

Wolter Siegers

Wolter Siegers is a Generic-B researcher. He worked on research in water treatment for drinking water, wastewater and...

Peter van Thienen PhD

Peter van Thienen is a senior researcher and Chief Information Officer of KWR. In his CIO role, Peter...

Bas Wols PhD MSc

Bas Wols works as a scientific researcher on the Drinking Water Treatment team. He models water treatment processes,...

From big water data to smart water grids

Due to far-reaching computerisation, smart metering, the use of (online) sensor systems in drinking water production companies and...

INTEREST – Investment in, and returns from, sensor networks

The current monitoring of our drinking water quality is done on the pure water as it leaves the...

AquaPriori

Studies into the effectiveness of water treatment techniques for priority substances involve high costs and are closely related...

Loop-Closure Cleantech Playground Amsterdam

The Cleantech Playground (CTP) is a testbed for clean, innovative technologies in the heart of the city of...

Design guidelines for sewer systems for domestic wastewater

In the urban context there are two key water discharge streams: the dry-weather stream and the stormwater stream.

On-site sensoring & monitoring

Determining nutrient concentrations with electronic finger prints and an algorithm based on an artificial neural network. Technology Within...

Energy-efficient and sustainable Tergooi hospital

Tergooi is developing a new hospital as part of the redevelopment of the Monnikenberg country estate to the...

Power-to-Protein: desk study (phase 1)

The supply of sufficient food, energy and water present huge challenges worldwide. There is no obvious universal solution.

High-value reuse of lime pellets from drinking water production

About half of the drinking water in the Netherlands is softened in pellet reactors. This technology generates a...

Effluent reuse – Harnaschpolder

Technology The greenhouse horticultural sector in the Netherlands requires large quantities of high-quality irrigation water at an attractive...

Effluent reuse – MDR in the watercycle

In the ‘Effluent reuse – MDR in de waterketen’ (Effluent reuse – MDR in the watercycle) study the...

Iron and manganese removal in above-ground sand filters and subsurface: processes understood

In groundwater treatment, it is often essential that the iron and manganese removal run well. Even if the...

Path and prerequisites for implementation of backtracing and source identification in hydraulic packages

In the event of a drinking water contamination incident, the tracing of the contamination source is crucial in...

Emile Cornelissen PhD MSc

Emile Cornelissen is Senior Scientific Researcher in the Drinking Water Treatment team, and professor at the PaInT (Particle...

Mirjam Blokker PhD

Mirjam Blokker is a principal scientist on the drinking water infrastructure team. She is an expert in drinking...

Ralph Beuken MSc

Ralph Beuken works as a researcher on the Water Infrastructure team. His expertise is in asset management of...

Patrick Bäuerlein PhD

Patrick Bäuerlein is a chemical researcher in the Chemical Water Quality and Health team, and his main field...

Joint Research Programme with the water utilities

The challenge for water utilities is to provide sufficient, safe as well as healthy drinking water. Water utilities...

Advanced oxidation for drinking water treatment

Advanced oxidation processes, which degrade organic micropollutants, offer a solution whenever the removal of micropollutants is not practical...

Prediction model condition-determination of cementitious mains – Data mining phase 2

To further structure its existing mains replacement policy, Brabant Water wants to gain more insight into factors that...

De Watergroep joins collective research programme

25 April 2016 — On Thursday, 21 April, representatives of the ten Dutch water companies, VEWIN, KWR and the Flemish water company ...

Research helps Vitens zoom in on customer desires more sharply

29 January 2016 — Vitens has for many years focused on giving its customers peace of mind by providing them with water...

KWR tests water treatment technologies for WHO

20 July 2015 — Since the end of 2013, KWR has functioned as a test lab for the World Health Organization (WHO)...

Aa and Maas Water Board, BWA and KWR sign partnership agreement on finescreen technology

03 March 2015 — On 3 March 2015, the Aa and Maas Water Board, technology company BWA and KWR signed an agreement...