Knowledge institutes join forces for clean and healthy water

Alterra, Deltares, KWR and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) are going to strengthen their collaboration in the area of chemically clean and ecologically healthy water. On Wednesday, 9 November, they signed an agreement to this end. The agreement establishes the foundation for a multi-annual programme of knowledge development aimed at improving the quality of water in the Netherlands.

Delta-approach Water Quality and Fresh Water

The initiative taken by the four knowledge institutes is part of the Delta-approach Water Quality and Fresh Water, in which several parties collaborate in achieving the objectives of the European Water Framework Directive in 2027 and significantly improving water quality. More focus on, and bundling of, the collaborations and the resulting knowledge should reinforce the international position of valuable Dutch water knowledge.

Five main themes

The multi-annual knowledge programme focuses on nutrients, plant protection products and emerging problems (such as pharmaceutical residues and plastics).
The collaboration involves five themes:

1. Unlocking and interconnecting regional and national data and models, to obtain a clear picture of the causes of water-quality problems.
2. Raising the water awareness of citizens and companies.
3. Clarifying the economic and social value of clean and healthy water, and the dependence of citizens and companies on it.
4. Sharing knowledge and experience across sectoral borders, to increase the chances of producing breakthroughs.
5. Providing the knowledge collected for the process of making well-founded choices of measures for cleaner water.

Alterra, Deltares, KWR and RIVM invite all parties – national government, regions, companies and citizens – to contribute to the knowledge programme right from the start. Over the next few months the four institutes will further concretize their ambitions.

The signing establishes the foundation for a multi-annual programme of knowledge development aimed at improving the quality of water in the Netherlands.