Watershare Community of Practice Emerging Substances officially launched

Idsart Dijkstra, head of Water Quality and Health at KWR, noted that no better moment could have been chosen for the launch than the SIWW 2016. ‘The experts were clearly in search of a lively platform where they could share their knowledge and experience concerning Emerging Substances,’ he said. ‘In de Community of Practice the Watershare members can stimulate and inspire each other to work together on projects. It has been a great pleasure to organise both the workshop and the launch, together with PUB.’

Watershare

Within Watershare, 17 members, all internationally respected research institutes, share their knowledge and experience in the form of tools: methods and models of proven value in water practice. These tools are made available via the online Watershare Suite. The Watershare Suite currently contains 23 tools for application in areas such as water resources, water treatment and distribution, water quality and health, and sustainability. The research institutes can apply these tools with and for their end-users, such as water companies, utilities, municipalities and waterboards. The Watershare tools contribute in this way to an effective water provision in countries all over the world.

Communities of Practice

Watershare members and their end-users work and gather together in international Communities of Practice to address specific challenges facing the water sector. They all sense the urgency of the issues concerned and the (potential) impact they can have on their own water sector. This is why they share their knowledge and apply it to joint research projects. They learn from and with each other about how to deal with these challenges. The diversity of members, of their backgrounds and consequently of their input enhances the strength of the Community of Practice, which is based on trust and commitment.

Emerging Substances

Dr Lim Mong Hoo, Chief Specialist (Water Quality Office) at PUB Singapore, declared that his organisation was very happy to host the 35 members from 6 countries of the Community of Practice Emerging Substances. ‘This initiative serves the common interest of the scientific community, regulators and the water sector,’ he said.  Annemieke Kolkman, researcher and manager of KWR’s chemical laboratory, expressed her enthusiasm about the possibilities of using the Watershare platform to share experiences and learn from each other; for example, by comparing (analytical) methods and instruments. KWR’s researcher Thomas ter Laak stressed the importance of jointly collecting data about the occurrence of the most relevant and threatening emerging substances in the watercycle.