New Watershare member, Japan Water Research Center

The President of the Japan Water Research Center JWRC, Prof. Dr. Shinichiro Ohgaki, and KWR Director Prof. Dr. Wim van Vierssen have signed the agreement allowing JWRC to become a member of Watershare.

Professor Ohgaki is very pleased with JWRC’s Silver membership of Watershare. He is looking forward to working with the Watershare partners on adaptive measures in order to respond to challenges such as climate change and natural disasters, with the aim of improving the worldwide supply of drinking water and guaranteeing the safety of drinking water.

The Japan Water Research Center (JWRC) is a leading non-profit research organisation which aims to establish a sustainable drinking water supply in Japan and thus contribute towards improving public health. Since it was founded in 1988 the number of JWRC members has grown to an impressive 230 water companies, 140 private companies and 30 universities and research institutes in Japan. JWRC’s mission is three-fold: 1) to improve the supply of drinking water and make it more sustainable; 2) to undertake research into and publish scientific articles with regard to drinking water issues, and 3) to facilitate collaboration between stakeholders in the drinking water sector. JWRC profiles itself by organising the International Symposium on Water Supply Technology, which is held every three years.

JWRC undertakes collective research programmes with and for its members that focus on water purification and water distribution. For example, JWRC played an important role in the introduction of membrane technology into the Japanese drinking water sector. It has developed and published guidelines for membrane filtration systems, which have contributed to the use of membrane technology by drinking water companies in Japan. The first installation opened in 1991 within the framework of a collective research project, and there are now more than 800 membrane filtration systems in operation in Japan which help achieve a high quality of drinking water.