New EEA Report: Chemicals in EU Waters

The European Environment Agency has published its new report titled ‘Chemicals in EU Waters’ whose aim is to improve understanding of which chemicals continue to pose significant risks to the environment, especially when they are present in water.

It also looks at how better knowledge and understanding can help to improve controls to minimise harm. The report, also, gives an overview of information about pollutants used in the assessment of water quality under the Water Framework Directive, and describes some of the newer techniques available for the assessment of water quality.

To read the whole report, please click here.

For more information, please contact Loic Charpentier.

Only four places in first group European Junior Water Programme left: deadline registration on 22 February 2019

European Junior Water Programme announcement

There is only a few weeks left to register for the new development programme for European young professionals in the water sector: the European Junior Water Programme. The first group will start together with Water Innovation Europe, in June 2019. We only have four places left. To make sure you can participate in the unique first group of this two-year ambitious programme and be part of this new adventure, please register before 22nd of February 2019.

There is only a few weeks left to register for the new development programme for European young professionals in the water sector: the European Junior Water Programme. The first group will start together with Water Innovation Europe, in June 2019. We only have four places left. To make sure you can participate in the unique first group of this two-year ambitious programme and be part of this new adventure, please register before 22nd of February 2019.

In the view of a future Water-Smart Society able to valorise the reuse of water as well as the valuable substances and energy in water for different purposes, the programme aims at building a community of talented water management professionals who share a deep commitment to addressing today’s and future water and climate change issues with a focus on Europe. It is designed to provide participants with the knowledge, skills, tools and appropriate networks to find new solutions and share knowledge for creating and maintaining a sustainable and safe water management system for people and nature in Europe.

A boost for careers

The European Junior Water Programme is a two-year part-time programme to prepare junior professionals (2-8 yrs. work experience) for leadership in European water management. They learn about transcultural communication and cooperation, develop knowledge on European Water policies, Water Footprint, practice skills in leadership and create a unique network within the European context. EJWP is a great opportunity to boost a career in European water management.

For employers within the water management sector the European Junior Water Programme offers an opportunity to empower their junior professionals to bring a wealth of knowledge, skills, tools and networking power on a European level to their organization. It is an excellent way to create a network with other European water management organizations and strengthen your employer brand. Moreover, it provides you the opportunity to have a team of EJWP participants work on an integrated and tailor-made solution for a specific challenge your company faces. Innovation was never readier at hand!

Water in Europe

Water recognizes no boundaries, and neither does climate change. Bottom-up capacity building of the next generation water leaders of Europe is a necessary start to create a future proof Water-Smart Society. Our water to be clean, safe and available in abundance; and our cities and communities to be future-proof and climate change resilient. To ensure this Water Footprint Implementation joined the programme as knowledge partner to work together on a European Water-Smart Society in Europe.

For more information on the programme please contact: Naomi Timmer ntimmer@juniorwaterprogramme.eu | +31 (0)70 205 4880/ +31 (0)6 83 674 808 | www.juniorwaterprogramme.eu.

Final Results of the EnergyWater Project: 300 Large companies and SMEs benefited from the EnergyWater EMSA tool

The EnergyWater project counts three exciting years of work in developing the EMSA-web tool and creating the Energy Angels Network. Launched in February 2016 and funded by the European Commission(EASME), the project has now come to an end but its results have already started to demonstrate the long-lasting beneficial impact they can bring for big companies and SMEs.

Through its EMSA web tool, the EnergyWater project has succeeded in leaving behind an innovative working environment where companies can evaluate their water processes and energy consumption; compare their results with other European companies; acquire access to examples of best practices already implemented in other EU industries; and obtain a detailed improvement action & saving measures proposal.

The EMSA web tool, all in all, enables companies to optimize water use in industrial processes and reduce their energy costs. Same time, with 120 trained Energy Angels currently registered in the EMSA tool, the EnergyWater project is offering an open network of skilled energy managers and auditors that functions as a catalyst for the implementation and financing of energy efficiency in the industrial sector.

Energy Angels are professional consultants, installers or technology providers, offering their knowledge to support companies using the EMSA tool. Throughout its duration, the EnergyWater consortium also managed to implement a training module to improve the availability of skilled energy managers and auditors, during which up to 200 people have been trained. The EnergyWater MOOC remains free and available for those who want to get trained and obtain certification. Read more.

Still though, these facts would mean nothing much if they were not validated by more than 300 companies that actually tested the tool and benefited from it. Two of them, the municipal water company, Aguas de Burgos and the manufacturing company, Ibersnacks, represented by SOCAMEX, explain how companies can get value from the EnergyWater project. Watch the video here.

To be among the companies that have improved their energy efficiency, thanks to the EMSA tool, you can now register your company in the EMSA tool. The Energy Angels Network remains open for new members! Seize the chance to join this vibrant network and explore the new business opportunities it can offer you.

For more information on the EnergyWater project, please click here.

New college for WssTP Members: Public Authorities Launching Event, 5 March 2019

In 2017, WssTP was recognised as official associated partner of the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and energy. As one of the world’s biggest urban climate and energy initiative, the Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy brings together thousands of local and regional authorities voluntarily committed to implementing EU climate and energy objectives on their territory.

WssTP’s partnership with the Covenant of Mayors was a first important step for our platform to build bridges between our work and the cities, the water-related challenges they face and the solutions that are in need of. Involving stakeholders in the governance process is a factor of paramount
importance, as it is, also, indicated in the new WssTP vision 2030 which highlights multi-stakeholder governance as a critical component to achieve the transition to a water-smart society.

Regions and municipalities are, both physically and socially, the closest institutions to the citizen. They provide a direct link to the citizens, who together with the public sector, industry and academia constitute the Quadruple Helix. Local authorities are, thanks, in no small part, to their proximity to the citizen, key players in both water management and the enhancement of the circular economy. Many supranational entities, including the EU, UN, and the OECD publicly recognize that the municipality represents the principal tool of implementation for supranational strategies.

Therefore, municipal and regional administrations, no matter their nationality, need to explain, discuss and, indeed, involve their own citizens in issues that affect water management and the implementation of water-based legislation.

As the voice and promotor of water-related RTD and innovation in Europe, WssTP has decided to develop a new college this summer to involve public authorities who demonstrate an interest in the water sector.

WssTP demonstrates its ambition to create a full, open and transparent dialogue between all stakeholders. The launching event will take place in Brussels on the 5th of March 2019.

Municipalities, cities, regions and association of municipalities interested in this workshop, they are invited to contact Loic Charpentier, for more information on the upcoming event.

The challenges, we are facing, call for the development of water smart cities where urbanization goes hand in hand with sustainable water management

Why is it important to have a Cluster dedicated to the theme ‘Water Smart Cities’?

In Europe, as well as, globally the trend is for more and more people to live in cities. This means that the demand for clean water and proper sanitation in cities is rising dramatically. Urban development, also, increases the area of paved land, which – combined with more heavy rainfall and rising water levels from climate change – increases the risk of flooding. Other cities have to react to water scarcity caused by overuse and droughts.

These challenges call for the development of water smart cities where urbanization goes hand in hand with sustainable water management. Thus, they will form the basis for the work of the Water Smart Cities Cluster.

How is the Cluster ‘Smart Water Cities’ going to drive the way to the implementation of the WssTP Water Vision 2030?

The Cluster Smart Water Cities will focus on the concept of Living Labs where the different stakeholders of the urban water cycle contribute to the process of making this more sustainable. The stakeholders will, among others include municipalities and other local government organizations, utilities, universities, industry and citizens etc.
For the coming 2 years, our main focus will be on the development of the WssTP Smart Water Cities Living Lab concept. In cooperation with other WssTP clusters, we have already initiated an inventory of existing Water Living Labs throughout Europe. The results of this will be presented at conferences and other events. Existing living labs will be invited to participate in this process.

What are the key actions the Cluster has identified to bring
research and innovations from the SIRA to the market?

In close cooperation with the WssTP Working Groups, the Smart-Water Cities Cluster will focus on the use of existing or new Living Labs to act as sites for demonstration of new solutions, exchange of best practices, identification of emerging needs, and broadening the vision building across Europe.

Attention will be given on the reduction of water use for urban purposes, the development of new business models, digitalization, conscious water management in urban planning, enhanced resilience against climate change, conversion of wastewater treatment plants to resource recovery facilities and participatory governance models towards fully circular models and practices of water.

Water Test Network Officially Launched!

On the 11th of December, the Water Test Network had its official launch at the Scotland House in Brussels. “How will the project deliver innovation into the water sector?” This official launch was all about answering this question and presenting the opportunities that the project can provide.

The Water Test Network is a project funded by the ERDF (€3.61million) as part of the Interreg North-West Europe programme. The project is a collaboration between partners across North West Europe (NWE) which will establish a transnational network of testing facilities to enable SMEs in NWE to develop, test and verify new innovative. Its main aim is to speed up market uptake of innovative water technologies. The project runs from March 2018 until December 2021 and offers SMEs a fully-funded integrated package of support which will be tailored to their needs. The Water Test Network project is now ready to receive applications. If you are an SME in NWE and want to make use of the transnational network of testing facilities and the accompanying services, please click here.

The intrinsic link between agriculture and water quantity is the central challenge for water smart societies’

By Jochen Froebrich, Leader of WssTP Cluster ‘Water-Smart Rural’

Why is it important to have a cluster dedicated to the theme “Water for smart rural?

Rural areas are at the heart of the cultural heritage in Europe and with its landscapes and environmental conditions, they potentially offer a high quality of life. Smaller cities could be attractive places to work and live, if they could provide a first-class infrastructure, inspiring socio-economic conditions and actual perspectives for jobs and growth. Instead, Europe is facing a continuous abandonment of rural areas and urban sprawl.

It is essential to have happy, healthy European Citizens, especially in rural areas, for the future of the European Union. The initiation of new jobs and sustainable growth in rural areas, hence, requires a systemic innovation with rethinking new business models in a circular and bio-based economy, an ongoing innovation effort and a true recognition of environmental sustainability, economic sustainability and human sustainability. As agriculture is the largest water consumer of river and ground water, the intrinsic link between agriculture, water quantity is the central challenge for water smart societies. Within the Cluster “Water Smart Rural Areas”, WssTP recognizes the importance of water security, systemic innovation in water consumption and the recovery of resources in a circular economy.

How is the Cluster ‘Water Smart Rural’ going to drive the way to the implementation of the WssTP Water Vision 2030?

The Cluster Water Smart Rural strives for water security, innovation in water use, and happy, healthy European citizens. Innovation towards water security must be a permanent process that has to involve European Citizens in a multi actor effort from the beginning. To reach this aim, it requires a fundamental change in research and development. Joint collective learning amongst all payers in the field of innovation must be a central part in the entire transformation process.

To facilitate the ongoing learning, the Cluster Water Smart Rural adopts the concepts of living labs that allows the exchange of best practices, emerging needs, and broadening the vision building across Europe.

The Cluster Water Smart Rural will focus over the next years on three critical areas of innovation in the field of circular economy and inclusive growth :

1) Increase of Waste Water Reuse in the AgriFood Sector 2) Advancing Nutrient Recovery from organic waste 3) Contributing to water security at the scale of river basins

Activities within the Living Lab will provide room for contributions from multiple working group and exchanges with other clusters. To gain first-hand experience and to offer WssTP members a place to unpack the concept of Living Labs, we will first consolidate the Living Lab on Waste Water Reuse – Learn to offer (L2O), a case study driven co-learning platform that will deploy insights how to advance new Agri-Food business opportunities in the field of waste water reuse. The L2O Living Lab embraces the concept of “multiple waters for multiple uses” and aims at generating new labelled water-footprint emblematic products via real business cases at several selected transnational regional levels.

What are the key actions the Cluster has identified to bring research and innovations from the SIRA to the market?

Advancing waste water reuse, nutrient recovery and water security in river basins is less a technological challenge than a complex interaction of creating new markets, alternatives in water consumptions, consumer habits, regulations, and creating a common vision. The Cluster will utilize the Living Labs as a science policy business interface to foster the innovation and market up-take of research and business development. Key actions will include: Foster the description of Demo Sites and activities at the local living lab nodes ; Map innovative business opportunities ; Launch the series of WssTP Think Tank events to advance the exchange of lessons learned amongst the local living lab nodes.

The L2O Living lab will host the WssTP Think Tank events – Co-innovation in Agribusiness and Waste Water reuse – in Brussels from early 2019 onwards. Additional regional events will be hosted around the local Living Lab nodes.

International collaboration in water management: water as unifying concept

Written by Wim Van Vierssen, Professor Emeritus & WssTP Vice-President. Article published in the “Journal of European Auditors”.

Cooperation in the field of public audit is the main theme of this ECA Journal. But how does cooperation look like in other areas? What is the approach to cooperation in another area that is clearly vital for everybody: water? Professor Wim van Vierssen, previously CEO of KWR Watercycle Research Institute and current vice-president of the Water Supply and Sanitation Technology Platform, has worked almost his whole life with issues related to water. In this ECA Journal Long Read, he presents specificities of the water sector at large and how such a cross border issue as water, often organised locally, has led to multiple cooperation efforts, with success. And he also makes the link with the role of the EU and of public sector audits in this area.

To read the full article of WssTP Vice-President, please download the document here.

EIC Horizon Prize for “Affordable High-Tech for Humanitarian Aid”

Resource Nexus Policy & Cluster Workshop