Joint Research Programme

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...

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...

Microbiology during drinking water distribution

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

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...

Customer perspectives

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

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...

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.

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...

BTO evaluation 2016

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.

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...

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...

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...

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...

Water company joint research

Through joint research for water companies KWR aims to provide a sustainable knowledge base efficiently. Thanks to this...

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...