NWP member stories
Co-creating innovative and future-proof solutions
The heart of NWP is the NWP network, a strong collaborative alliance of the most entrepreneurial and innovative companies, renowned knowledge institutes, involved NGOs and experienced governmental organisations. An overview of some of the most inspiring NWP member stories in 2020.
Join the Pipe, a global community of tap water drinkers
Join the Pipe is one of the new members of the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP) in 2020. They have developed a concept that not only helps to reduce plastic pollution, but also reduces the need for costly collection and recycling efforts. This represents a practical alternative for cities that cannot afford a public water distribution system or where the quality of the tap water is not consistent. The company is based in Amsterdam and manufactures reusable water bottles and tap water refill stations. It has installed taps in over 3,500 locations all over the world such as parks, schools, gyms, offices, stations, airports, and hotels. The proceeds from bottle sales and refill stations in Europe help fund water projects in developing countries.
Faecal Sludge Management Alliance: Finding the value in waste
Very few people probably enjoy talking about faecal sludge management. And in the western world, most people do not have to. Our sewage systems, invisibly hidden underground and often more than 100 years old, flush away everything that we do not want to think about. On a worldwide scale, however, the situation looks rather different: 4.5 billion people still lack access to safely managed sanitation. NWP spoke to Jennifer Williams, the Executive Director of Faecal Sludge Management Alliance (FSMA), member of the Netherlands Water Partnership. Jennifer explained that “this is a huge problem that needs to be addressed. But at the same time, it offers an enormous market opportunity. Through FSMA we strive to support the worldwide adoption and implementation of faecal sludge management, and to connect governments, NGOs and businesses to this emerging industry.”
Softening drinking water with Dutch expertise in Denmark
When it comes to the international impact of the Dutch water sector, abroad can actually be quite near. Take Denmark for instance, a country as highly developed as the Netherlands, but with no tradition in softening drinking water in spite of having regions with hard water (>30 °dH). Sparked by Dutch expertise, several Danish water utilities are now planning to introduce water softening on a large scale. Eleftheria Chiou, water treatment specialist at NWP member Witteveen+Bos, explains.
GIRAgua Chile: underground water storage and reuse of water in battling drought
The Netherlands and Chile only relatively recently started collaborating on water. The Netherlands has supported the country in improving its water management since 2016. With its extremely elongated shape (4,000 kilometres from north to south!) and geographic diversity, Chile has a multitude of water issues. The availability of water is one of the most urgent issues. The GIRAgua recharge pilot project that is looking into storing water underground started in 2019. It is subsidised by the Partners for Water Programme.
The increasing importance of water systems in city planning and architecture
Founded in 2005 as an interdisciplinary partnership of architects, engineers and urban planners, CITYFÖRSTER now operates in ambitious projects around the world. What makes its approach so distinctive is its effort to always look at the wider context of its projects. It always looks at other improvements that can be brought about for the people living in the area where developments are planned. The result of this is that water related challenges often present themselves. Over the years, CITYFÖRSTER is finding itself increasingly involved in city planning projects where large-scale water systems and coastal protection play a pivotal role. Martin Sobota, co-founder and Director of the Netherlands CITYFÖRSTER office in Rotterdam, explains why his organisation joined the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP): ‘Through NWP we hope to increase our professional network and find new opportunities in different countries.’
Cross-sectoral collaboration for long-term WASH solutions
In the fight against the spread of Covid-19, handwashing remains essential. But how does that play out in regions where there is little or no access to clean water? In an interview in June 2020 Patricia Vermeulen, CEO of Amref Flying Doctors explains: “Covid-19 has made the importance of WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) painfully visible. It shows, once again, that governments, the private sector and NGOs like us need to continue working together on sustainable, long-term solutions. Businesses can play an important role in this joint effort. We already have some innovative business collaboration programmes for WASH in place, but we are always looking for new entrepreneurial cooperation models. And I hope that NWP will keep on connecting us to new business partners, especially those whom we do not usually meet.”
Commercial water supply in rural areas of Bangladesh
What started 15 years ago as a small private initiative has grown into the professional, result driven entity that Max Foundation is today. Max TapWater, a new venture in Bangladesh to supply safe tap water to at least 200 small communities, marks the next step in the organisation’s development. The corona crisis, however, is putting pressure on its goals and planning, says co-founder Joke Le Poole.
Jelmer: a catalyst for innovation
Engineering and construction challenges in large infrastructure projects are becoming increasingly complex. In addition to growing demand for sustainable design and construction, modern engineering techniques require a more robust combination of education and training than previous generations. The engineering and construction sector needs more generalists who know both about technology and can incorporate a variety of disciplines in their work. Fortunately, many young people find today’s engineering challenges exciting, fun and incredibly fascinating. Jelmer, a new member of the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP), has found a way to harness their drive and share it with organisations looking to future-proof their operations. Pieter Dekker, Business Developer at Jelmer, says partnerships that incorporate young talent will accelerate transition and enhance collaboration within the sector.
Frontier Ventures: Optimising water infrastructure investments with artificial intelligence
In a world where the demand for fresh water is increasing whilst resources are under increasing pressure, it is clear that a more circular usage of water is needed. This often requires drastic measures and high-level investments in water systems and infrastructure by many different parties and organisations. But how to decide what to invest in, when and how much? That is where one of NWP’s new members, Frontier Ventures, comes in. Frontier Ventures uses AquaVest, its AI based software solution, to answer these questions. Earlier this year, Frontier Ventures won the Watervisie prize for being the Water Innovator of 2020. Today, founder Duska Disselhoff, introduces her company to the NWP membership.
WACA Call for Innovation: A win for the Dutch water sector
The WACA Call for Innovation Demo Day and Award Ceremony were hosted by the World Bank on 17 and 18 November 2020. It featured presentations of the five shortlisted competitors pitching their proposals. Among the top three winners were two Dutch consortia which included NWP members HKV, IHE Delft, Witteveen+Bos, CDR International, Boskalis and Wetlands International.
Floating solutions: a new tool in Dutch delta technology
Twenty-twenty has been an important year for Blue21. Despite Covid-19 restrictions, this new member of the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP) has managed to organise the successful Second World Conference on Floating Solutions. Under the name Paving the Waves, more than 100 people from 20 countries gathered online for three days in a row to discuss developments in floating technology. “Around the world people are seeing how they need to redefine their relationship with water,” states Rutger de Graaf, one of Blue21’s co-founders. “Floating solutions can make cities more resilient and create new ecosystems at the same time. We joined NWP so that we can help incorporate these solutions in the international Dutch delta technology ‘toolkit’.”
Make the Dutch connection on water and climate investment
A new investment facility backed by the Dutch Government, Climate Investor Two (CI2), is already agreeing its first projects. Dutch organisations are being encouraged to look to it for water and climate schemes in developing countries. We hear from Andrew Johnstone, CEO of Climate Fund Managers that manages CI2. Climate Fund Managers is a member of the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP).
“Across the wide range of what the fund is seeking to do, there are many aspects of it that have strong linkages to the constituents of NWP,” adds Johnstone.
‘Triple dike’ design aids Shenzhen coastal resilience
A project designed by a team from two Dutch companies to strengthen the resilience of coastal communities to the east of the Chinese city of Shenzhen reached a landmark at the start of May 2020. A completed demonstration section of redeveloped shoreline on the Dapeng peninsula was opened to the public. We hear from Ruurd Gietema of KCAP and Michiel van Driessche of FELIXX on the innovative East Dike coastal defence project.
The water sector’s digital destination
Professor Dragan Savic, CEO of KWR Water Research Institute, a member of the Netherlands Water Partnership, introduces the increasing trend towards digitalisation in the water sector, and the sharing of experiences by the Dutch water sector.
“Digital water is everything that has to do with the application of information and communication technologies in the water sector – both water and waste water,” says Professor Dragan Savic, an expert in the field. Digital technology is “penetrating every pore of our society”, he adds, noting that, although digitalisation of the water sector is much discussed, it is not always fully understood.