What is going on?

The Netherlands faces a significant housing challenge. When building new neighbourhoods, choices need to be made regarding urban water management. Compared to large-scale central water systems, local collection and treatment of wastewater can offer advantages, particularly in terms of recovering and keeping energy, water, and other resources available locally.

Decentralised water systems at the neighbourhood level therefore offer opportunities for both climate adaptation and the transition to a circular economy. However, the conventional approach—centralised water supply and wastewater collection—is often the cheapest solution when building a new residential area due to the presence of existing infrastructure: water pipes, sewers, and central wastewater treatment. This approach only considers direct costs. Climate change and resource scarcity make a more integrated assessment increasingly urgent.

What is the project doing about it?

This project aims to provide municipalities, water boards, and other stakeholders with a rational basis for making integrated decisions regarding water systems in new construction projects. Using an integrated comparison framework, Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences and the University of Groningen, in collaboration with governments, technology providers, and knowledge partners, evaluate the performance of implemented projects for decentralised wastewater collection and the reuse of (rain)water.

The comparison framework allows for the integral assessment of performance indicators of various decentralised systems against central references: technical, financial, support and acceptance, and the circularity of material flows.

What does the project deliver?

The comparison framework forms the basis for the further development of a decision support system for future-proof urban water chain design. This system should align with local conditions and ambitions in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe. Thus, the project provides an important basis for rational underpinning in integrated considerations by municipalities and water boards regarding future-proof urban water management.

Researchers

Professor: Peter van der Maas
Researcher: Jesse Wagenaar
Project duration: 2022 - 2023
Project partners: Municipality of Groningen, Noorderzijlvest Water Board, Desah, Mijn Waterfabriek, WLN, Bioclear Earth, Centre of Expertise Water Technology, University of Groningen.
This project is financially supported by the KIEM scheme of the SIA governing body.