Delta regions feel the impacts of climate change as extreme hydroclimatic events coupled with salinisation of water resources threaten (already scarce) freshwater availability. Freshwater scarcity occurs almost every year in the Southwestern delta of the Netherlands, with periods of drought in five out of six years between 2018 and 2023. Therefore, a robust freshwater system is needed to ensure the resilience of sectors such as agriculture, industry, nature and tourism, while contributing to a viable delta region with sufficient value, (eco-)system vitality and employment opportunities.
Technical solutions that create alternative sources of freshwater have already been successfully tested at pilot level, but challenges remain in overcoming existing, non-technical barriers that impede further upscaling and widespread implementation.
Practical barriers include the lack of policy instruments, a regulatory policy framework, financial and economic incentives and a collaborative governance structure for freshwater supply and demand management, in particular allocation across multiple competing users.
Overcoming barriers
This consortium brings together all parties involved in overcoming these barriers: research, industries, water and technology providers, governments, nature organisations and citizens. For this multisectoral water supply to work well there is a need for integrated governance within a central water hub (or bank), to balance demand, supply, storage and required water treatment, taking into account existing and new constraints imposed on the system in terms of legislation, ethics, economics and risks. The outputs obtained can be directly implemented, increasing freshwater availability in Zeeland and becoming a blueprint for integrated solutions against freshwater scarcity in the Netherlands and deltas worldwide.
Newsletter
Read the first newsletter on the project, sent in December 2024, here.
