Tomas Michel, President’s Editorial

Dear Water Europe family,

Last week, the Water Europe Board met in Helsinki, hosted by Ilari Aho from Uponor. It was great to meet up again in person, and Helsinki greeted us with an extraordinary mild climate for the time of the year. This board meeting was important because among many other administrative and housekeeping issues and decisions, the board decided to coopt Hans Goosens to the Board, which will leave his actual board seat open for election,  and further elected him as new Water Europe President for the period 2022-2024. These changes will be effective from June on, and have been made to allow for a smooth transition at that point in time.

The board further approved the WE Diversity and Inclusiveness Plan, the launch of a new series of WE publications on Water-Oriented Living Labs, the appointment of three new members to our Vision Leadership teams whose rooster is now almost complete, as well as the adoption of three new WE White Papers and Technical Reports.

As you are aware, Water Europe has chosen the Living Lab approach as the core element of its implementation strategy to achieve a Water-Smart Society. After publishing the Atlas on Water-oriented Living Labs, which set the stage and analyzed existing experiences and the status quo, Water Europe is now about to launch two new publications that further elaborate on the WOLLs concept and methodology. The first document “What you should know about Water-oriented Living Labs” summarizes the history of the Living Labs concept, while the 2^nd document ‘How to assess and evolve a Water-oriented Living Lab” elaborates on a methodology that makes it possible to compare WOLLs on a large number of properties and to assess them with a quantitative instrument. A third document in the form of Advanced Guidelines will contain a tailored approach for WoLLs to advance to WELLs building on the WE Vision.

In the moment of writing this editorial, one more exciting edition of Water Market Europe 2022 with 140 participants attending in person and online, is taking place. Back to back to the event, Working Groups meetings will be taking place and two workshops have been also organised. One dedicated to the SIM4NEXUS Serious Game, organised by the SMARTEN project which was held on March 30th and the workshop on Digitlisation of Bathing Water Management which is taking place on the 5th of April, co-hosted by digital-water.city, Water Europe, iBathWater and Sinergea. Learn more about the full programme here.

After the conclusion of this Water Market Europe 2022 edition, Water Europe is getting ready for its first International Water Dialogues 2022 event that will take place under the title ”International Cooperation through a Water-Oriented Living Lab (WOLL) Approach” on the 26 and 27 of April 2022. The IWD event aims to raise awareness about the main water challenges and analyse the progress done between the European Union and the world, particularly with China, India, Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East. More details here.

Just before addressing the WME2022 audience, Charlie Walker is setting the scene for WME with an exclusive editorial that offers us an outlook on the industrial water market at a European and global level.

This year promises to be one of interesting changes and new challenges and opportunities. So, stay tuned for more news.

The Water-Smart community mobilised for the World Water Day

This year’s World Water Day was dedicated to groundwater and across the whole week of this official day, Water Europe’s community was mobilised to raise the importance of a Water-Smart Society in Europe and beyond across several direct and indirect actions.

A Water-Smart Society is a “society in which the true value of water is recognised and realised, all available water sources are managed in such a way that water scarcity and pollution of water resources are avoided, water and resource loops are largely closed to foster a circular economy and optimal resource efficiency, and the water system is resilient against the impact of climate change events ; and all relevant stakeholders are involved in the governance of our water system”.

The Water Europe Community had the opportunity to raise its voice at the World Water Forum, taking place in Dakar from the 21^st to the 25^th of March, during which several Water Europe’s members actively participated in the debates, stressing out examples, challenges and opportunities for a water-smart management.  In particular, Dominique Darmendrail – BRGM and VLT leader for the value of water –  participated to the sessions on Science, Research, Innovation and Technologies which highlighted the importance of sustainable water resource management and the key role of groundwater for new solutions, specifically for the regions strongly impacted by climate change. There is a need to make visible groundwaters to protect them against pollutions and unsustainable exploitation. Moreover, collaborative research and innovation across the value-chain and at all levels is the prerequisite to achieve a Water-Smart Society. Now, these elements must be translated into actions by all the stakeholders, including financial institutions to support research and deployed innovative solutions. The forum closed its curtains with a Dakar Declaration, calling for a “Blue Deal”.

Last week, Water Europe was also invited at Dubai Expo 2020 to raise its expertise and Water Vision. Invited by the Slovenian Government, Water Europe had the chance to debate with the innovative water stakeholders in the Slovenian pavilion on climate change and groundwater. It was a fruitful exchange on several water-related topics such as public health, drinking and bathing water, circular wastewater management and digitalisation. This water week in Dubai Expo was also an opportunity to discuss water-smart solutions with innovators from other European member states’ such as Hungary, Czechia, Poland and Estonia. Read more about the Dubai Expo 2020.

On the 25^th of March, the MEP Water Group and UNESCO organised the annual event on the United-Nations Report 2022, dedicated to Groundwater: Making the invisible visible with the participation of the Italian Ambassador Stefano Verrecchia, Deputy Permanente Representation of Italy to the European Union. Louise Haxthausen, Director of the  UNESCO Liaison office in Brussels reminded us that “Better protecting and managing Groundwater is our collective responsibility and it is in our collective interest”, while Sophie Vermooten – Deltares and Member of the Policy Advisory Committee of Water Europe underlined that a holistic approach of surface and groundwater is key to ensure sustainable water management. Read the full report from the event here.

Water Europe supports a stronger involvement of the European Parliament for a Water-Smart Society. As mentioned during the MEP Water Group- UNESCO event, the legislators have a political responsibility to ensure water security. On the 22^nd of March, Water Europe addressed an open letter to the Members of the European Parliament calling on them to protect our water resources by adopting a Water-Smart Society and recognising the true value of water. Several water-related legislations are under revision and must consider the value of water. The latest IPCC report highlights the lack of political support for tackling water-related challenges.  In this context, Water Europe welcomes the coordinated action of the Steering board of the MEP Water Group to address a number of water-related questions to the European Commission on the importance of the protection of our groundwater resources.

All the relevant updates are available on our website and social media. Did you miss any highlights? Click here.

4 Things you might have missed this week

Spirits were high at Water Europe this week as we celebrated the World Water Day 2022, under the theme of Groundwater: making the invisible visible. All eyes were on the 2022 UN World Water Development Report on “Groundwater: Making the invisible visible” , released by the United Nations at the 9th World Water Forum, held in Dakar, Senegal.

-On this occasion, Water Europe and the MEP Water Group organised a special event to inform participants about the countless groundwater opportunities and the relative legal and regulatory framework.

-To raise awareness on the importance of our groundwater resources for our society and economy, Water Europe actively contributed with a number of key actions. One of these included the open letter sent to the Members of the European Parliament, as a call for protecting our water resources by adopting a Water-Smart Society and recognising the true value of water. 

-The World Water Day made us realise that achieving a Water-Smart Society, is more important now than ever. On this matter, we actively spread this message over all our social media channels, to remind everyone that a Water-Smart Society is a society where:

✔ the true value of water is recognised and realised,
✔ all available water sources are managed in such a way that water scarcity and pollution of water resources are avoided,
✔ water and resource loops are largely closed to foster a circular economy and optimal resource efficiency,
✔ the water system is resilient against the impact of climate change events,
✔ all relevant stakeholders are involved in the governance of our water system.

-Besides our digital campaign, Water Europe was also physically present at the Dubai Expo 2022. Here, our Innovation Water Policy Manager, Loïc Charpentier joined a variety of events and workshops to promote our collective job and objectives but also to network with water expert from all around the world. To wrap up the Dubai week, a more detailed article will follow up soon.

What is a Water-Smart Society?

Water Europe wishes to remind you the importance of achieving a Water-Smart Society, which is a society where:

✔ the true value of water is recognised and realised,
✔ all available water sources are managed in such a way that water scarcity and pollution of water resources are avoided,
✔ water and resource loops are largely closed to foster a circular economy and optimal resource efficiency,
✔ the water system is resilient against the impact of climate change events,
✔ all relevant stakeholders are involved in the governance of our water system.

With over 250 members representing the whole diversity of the water ecosystem, including industry, academia, utilities, public authorities and civil society organisations, Water Europe is the voice and promoted of water-related innovation in Europe.

Water Europe strives to increase coordination and collaboration, to enhance the performance of the water service providers, water users, and
technology providers, in a sustainable and inclusive way, and to contribute to solving water-related global challenges.

All WE activities and positions are guided by our Water Vision “The Value of Water” and the ambition to achieve a European Water-Smart Society. Learn more here.

New UN report on Groundwater: making the invisible visible

The United Nations has released the 2022 UN World Water Development Report on “Groundwater: Making the invisible visible” during the opening session of the 9th World Water Forum in Dakar, Senegal, held today on 21 March 2022.

The report describes the challenges and opportunities associated with the development, management and governance of groundwater throughout the world.  

-In Europe, sustainable groundwater management is mainly linked to drinking water purposes and public health. Diffuse pollution not only N+P but also emerging ones such as chemicals, PFAS and pharmaceuticals from industries are the main challenges with groundwater availability in the Mediterranean region.

-There is a need for better-standardised data, its collection and exchange, particularly in the context of transboundary management.

-An early-stage detection of groundwater-related challenges – via digital tools for instance – can be highly cost efficient.

-Local context adaption with a comprehensive approach of the targeted area and its value-chain is paramount for a sustainable management.

-Key role of the regional/transnational organisation, particularly through R&D&I projects for the collection of harmonised data and the deployment of solutions.

Workshop on the digitalization of bathing water management – April 5

The Bathing Water Working Group together with the Horizon 2020 project digital-water.city, and the EU-LIFE project iBathWater are organizing a workshop on the digitalization of bathing water management with the objectives of:

• explore the benefits of digital innovations such as online sensors, machine learning, process-based models and mobile apps for managing microbial safety of bathing water sites,
• promote an open-source data-driven early-warning system, which is currently developed within digital-water.city and
• draw concrete policy recommendations for the ongoing revision of the Bathing Water Directive (BWD).

You can check the full agenda here. To register for the workshop, click here.

Join Your European Colleagues! Registration for EJWP4 is still open

It’s almost here! The European Junior Water Programme is kicking off the 4^th group of EJWP participants with a warming-up week in May, and limited spaces are available. The good news is that you can still join this group of early-career professionals and their water and research institutes from around Europe.

This is an opportunity to build capacities of diverse young professionals and employee development for water sector organizations, through focused training and co-creating in projects from their companies.

“EJWP is a great opportunity to get a broad view with actionable knowledge of the water sector. It’s good for everyone, especially for the young professionals, to know better what we’re dealing with, on a European and global scale. Creating a network while discovering is a big plus,” said Benjamin Hermans, EJWP2 Participant with De Watergroep in Belgium.

The deadline for regular registration is 20 April. Contact EJWP Director Naomi Timmer today at info@juniorwaterprogramme.eu  or call: +31 6 83674808.

MEP Water Group Online Event: Groundwater – The United Nations World Water Development Report 2022, 25 March 2022

The MEP Water Group and UNESCO are organising an online event on the new UN water Report 2022 on groundwater, on 25 March from 9.00 am to 10.30 am. The event will be hosted by MEP Pernille Weiss, Chairman of the MEP Water Group, during which the United Nations World Water Development Report will be presented. The event will conclude with a panel discussion and a Q&A session.

Groundwater is an invisible water resource, and therefore its value is not fully recognized, even though it is, unlike surface water, reliable and contributes to meet the needs of our ever-increasing population. It offers enormous opportunities for gaining social, economic and environmental benefits.

The 2022 World Water Development Report on “Groundwater” aims to raise awareness about the value of groundwater and the importance to achieve an European Water-Smart Society. In the context of climate change, only a resilient water system, a water risk management through a sustainable policymaking and resource efficiency can tackle the water-related global challenges. We have to unlock the full potential of groundwater, while preserving it for future generations.

Register for the event here.

The EU ENV launch #TheGreenTrack to raise awareness about the future of our planet and biodiversity

Happy International Women Day 2022

Two years ago, Water Europe committed to improving the gender balance in its operations, promoting actively women’s representation across all aspects of its governance.

Today, we are proud to share with you that we have tripled the number of women in WE governance, managing to increase the actual percentage from 14% to 36%..and that’s only the beginning! Water Europe strives for full gender balance, advocating for women’s empowerment in every field of the water sector, improving equality in water access & management and rising women leadership.

We are here to make sure that today’s occasion is not just a celebration but a call for concrete measures and actions to advance gender equality in the water sector. That’s the only way forward to building an inclusive Water-Smart Society.