{"id":84348,"date":"2026-04-29T13:18:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/actueel\/waterpraters\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T14:38:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T12:38:28","slug":"waterpraters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/","title":{"rendered":"Water Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Water lives in memories, emotions and the imagination; a summer evening by a lake, the power of the sea, a sense of calm by a river… experiences of this kind make up the personal stories which show how people relate to water.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Nevertheless, a different image often prevails in Dutch folk tales and myths. From stories about floods to struggles against the sea, water often plays a role as a threat, and as a thing to be avoided or overcome.<\/p>\n

Stories give meaning and meaning influences behaviour. In times of water shortages, floods and water pollution, it is important to look at water differently: less as something to be managed, and more as something with which we have a connection.<\/p>\n

And so we are looking for stories that show those connections. The aim of our project is to use these stories to create a new water narrative where the human-water relationship plays a central role. With the Waterside Stories phone, inspired by the old Dutch roadside emergency phone, we are inviting people to share their experiences, feelings or imagination.<\/p>\n

The Water Stories phone<\/h2>\n

Back in the day, there were yellow emergency phones on Dutch motorways. With the advent of mobile phones, they became obsolete and they were all removed in 2017 after sixty years of faithful service. Our colleagues at the KWR workshop have given an authentic roadside emergency phone a new life! In new, bright blue, colours, it is now home to Water Stories.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The Water Stories phone on tour in the Netherlands.<\/p><\/div>\n

The phone is currently on tour in the Netherlands, visiting places like the Dommel in Den Bosch, the Amstel in Amsterdam or the North Sea on the beach of The Hague. Visitors who find the Waterside Stories phone can listen to an audio clip. Dutch water speaks to you, asking for help. It invites visitors to share an experience or thought in the form of a story. These stories will serve as the input for our research.<\/p>\n

Caring for water<\/h2>\n

In the Netherlands, we often have a reputation as masters of water management. We build dikes, divert rivers and keep our feet dry. This prevailing image is one of control: water as the enemy, as a risk, or something to be consumed. This approach is deeply anchored in our policies, landscape and culture. There is little room for a different perspective: an emotional, cultural or spiritual connection with water. In addition, climate change is putting increasing pressure on our water system: we have dry periods, floods and increasing levels of pollution.<\/p>\n

In the Netherlands, we often have a reputation as masters of water management. We build dikes, divert rivers and keep our feet dry. This prevailing image is one of control: water as the enemy, as a risk, or something to be consumed. This approach is deeply anchored in our policies, landscape and culture. There is little room for a different perspective: an emotional, cultural or spiritual connection with water. In addition, climate change is putting increasing pressure on our water system: we have dry periods, floods and increasing levels of pollution.<\/p>\n

*GRROW dictionary for Dutch water terms (<\/em>link<\/em><\/a>)\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>
\"WKZ
The Water(h)ear<\/div><\/div>
\"WKZ
The Water(h)ear in action<\/div><\/div>
\"WKZ
The Water(h)ear in action<\/div><\/div>
\"WKZ
De Waterwacht in actie.<\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"WKZ<\/div>
\"WKZ<\/div>
\"WKZ<\/div>
\"WKZ<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This blog was written by Jasmijn Baptist.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Water lives in memories, emotions and the imagination: a summer evening by a lake, the power of the sea, a sense of calm by a river… experiences of this kind make up the personal stories which show how people relate to water. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":84323,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[631],"tags":[1904,1919],"class_list":["post-84348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-en","tag-public-design-for-water-en","tag-sociale-omgeving-en-gebiedsprocessen-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWater Stories - KWR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Water Stories - KWR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Water lives in memories, emotions and the imagination: a summer evening by a lake, the power of the sea, a sense of calm by a river... experiences of this kind make up the personal stories which show how people relate to water.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"KWR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KWRwater\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-29T11:18:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-30T12:38:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Water-Praat-Paal-2026-04-16-57-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amber Ammerlaan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@KWR_water\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@KWR_water\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amber Ammerlaan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Amber Ammerlaan\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/43ddbf39b03a439807a25c203b25dcfc\"},\"headline\":\"Water Stories\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-29T11:18:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-30T12:38:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/\"},\"wordCount\":545,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Water-Praat-Paal-2026-04-16-57-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Public design for water\",\"Sociale omgeving en gebiedsprocessen\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/\",\"name\":\"Water Stories - KWR\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Water-Praat-Paal-2026-04-16-57-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-29T11:18:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-30T12:38:28+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Water-Praat-Paal-2026-04-16-57-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Water-Praat-Paal-2026-04-16-57-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"De Waterwacht in actie.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Water Stories\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/\",\"name\":\"KWR\",\"description\":\"Bridging science to practice in the watercycle\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"KWR Water Research Institute\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/kwr_logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/kwr_logo.svg\",\"width\":1,\"height\":1,\"caption\":\"KWR Water Research Institute\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KWRwater\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/KWR_water\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/kwr_water\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/kwr-watercycle-research-institute\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCRPWFEEsC32DeP55thhLJQg\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/43ddbf39b03a439807a25c203b25dcfc\",\"name\":\"Amber Ammerlaan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f0e637015241b1da0b441dca8abb01e7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f0e637015241b1da0b441dca8abb01e7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Amber Ammerlaan\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/author\/amber\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Water Stories - KWR","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Water Stories - KWR","og_description":"Water lives in memories, emotions and the imagination: a summer evening by a lake, the power of the sea, a sense of calm by a river... experiences of this kind make up the personal stories which show how people relate to water.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/","og_site_name":"KWR","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KWRwater\/","article_published_time":"2026-04-29T11:18:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-30T12:38:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Water-Praat-Paal-2026-04-16-57-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Amber Ammerlaan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@KWR_water","twitter_site":"@KWR_water","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Amber Ammerlaan","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/"},"author":{"name":"Amber Ammerlaan","@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/43ddbf39b03a439807a25c203b25dcfc"},"headline":"Water Stories","datePublished":"2026-04-29T11:18:08+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-30T12:38:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/"},"wordCount":545,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Water-Praat-Paal-2026-04-16-57-scaled.jpg","keywords":["Public design for water","Sociale omgeving en gebiedsprocessen"],"articleSection":["Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/","url":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/","name":"Water Stories - KWR","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Water-Praat-Paal-2026-04-16-57-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-29T11:18:08+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-30T12:38:28+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Water-Praat-Paal-2026-04-16-57-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Water-Praat-Paal-2026-04-16-57-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"De Waterwacht in actie."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/waterpraters\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Water Stories"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/","name":"KWR","description":"Bridging science to practice in the watercycle","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#organization","name":"KWR Water Research Institute","url":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/kwr_logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/kwr_logo.svg","width":1,"height":1,"caption":"KWR Water Research Institute"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/KWRwater\/","https:\/\/x.com\/KWR_water","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/kwr_water\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/kwr-watercycle-research-institute\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCRPWFEEsC32DeP55thhLJQg\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/43ddbf39b03a439807a25c203b25dcfc","name":"Amber Ammerlaan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f0e637015241b1da0b441dca8abb01e7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f0e637015241b1da0b441dca8abb01e7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Amber Ammerlaan"},"url":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/actueel\/author\/amber\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84348"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84356,"href":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84348\/revisions\/84356"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kwrwater.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}