March 22 is World Water Day: an annual theme day that aims to make people across the world more aware of the importance of water. Right up the street of Harry Futselaar, Professor of International Water Technology. In the run-up to World Water Day, he reveals the hidden world behind our drinking water. He also shows how local water purification works at Saxion’s TRENDY Water Centre: “It may seem hard to believe, but even in the Netherlands we have to look very critically at where we get our water from - yes, even our drinking water.”
“In the Netherlands we have access to excellent quality drinking water 24/7, 365 days a year. You simply turn the tap on. That this is such a given also creates a problem: people have no idea about the world behind our water,” replies Harry Futselaar when asked why World Water Day is such an important day for him. “Do we still appreciate the true worth of water? We are used to only looking at the economic value of our water, which is about 2 euros per 1,000 litres. That’s not much. If you buy it in shops, you pay 1 euro per litre and then you have to fetch it yourself, whereas drinking water is delivered to your home.”
We are at Saxion’s TRENDY Water Centre in Enschede. On one side of Harry is the device called the BluElephant; similar to the sewage treatment plants we see on the outskirts of the cities, only in this case compact and round, reminiscent of... you guessed it: an elephant. To the other side is, the A-Quality; a device that purifies rain, ground or surface water into drinking water in four steps.
Our country is so well designed that rain falling here in Twente today, will be in the North Sea tomorrow.
The world behind our water
“It may seem hard to believe, but even in the Netherlands we have to look very critically at where we get our water from - yes, even our drinking water,” Harry delves into the world behind our water. “We receive international praise on how we keep our country dry, but therein also lies our challenge: our country is so well designed that rain falling here in Twente today will be in the North Sea tomorrow. While at the same time we are expecting longer periods of drought due to climate change. Then when it does rain, it rains so intensely that we are actually unable to store the water for drier times. It is clear that climate change requires a different way of managing our resources.”
Additional challenges
The challenge of having enough water available in the right place in the future will only become greater, according to the professor, due to developments such as population and industrial growth and the energy transition. “We need to build about 900,000 to one million more homes in the next 10 years, and all of them need to be connected to the water supply. Industry is also demanding more water. And then you have data centres that need cooling water? And what about the energy transition? ‘Green hydrogen’ that will be made using wind and solar power, but where do we get all that water from?”
Even if we do have enough water in the long run, the quality of the available water will be so poor that this quantity cannot be treated to meet legal drinking water standards using current treatment methods.
Pharmaceutical residues and PFAS
“That is all about quantity, but there is also a challenge when it comes to quality,” the professor continues in full flow. “Currently, there is nothing wrong with Dutch drinking water - we are one of the best countries in the world when it comes to quality. However, at the same time, we hear in the news about pharmaceutical residues entering water in ever-increasing quantities, and PFAS compounds - the forever chemicals. Slowly but surely, these are also being found in our groundwater, surface water, and PFAS has also been found in rainwater. Then there are microplastics and nanoparticles too, they all end up in the water. Current treatment technologies are incapable of removing them. So they remain in the environment.”
“So even if we do have enough water,” he concludes, “in the long run, the quality of the available water will be so poor that this quantity cannot be treated to meet legal drinking water standards using current treatment methods.”
Decentralised water treatment
Harry praises the centralised systems that make the provision of drinking water and the disposal and treatment of sewage seem so normal in our country, but at the same time advocates supplementing them with decentralised water treatment plants. The idea is that as much as possible of the water that is needed should be stored locally - where it needs to be available as drinking water, or as other types of water. Used water can be re-purified on location, using new technology that has the ability to remove all unwanted substances. “That way you can keep reusing the same water, and you don’t have to rely on new water, such as rainwater or groundwater. This principle is not only useful in the Netherlands, but this technology - adapted or not - can also provide solutions for fast-growing economies in South America and Asia,” says Harry.
…one of the things we do here is research how we can develop online systems that allow us to remotely monitor water quality on an ongoing basis.
TRENDY Water Centre
Two such decentralised water treatment plants can be found at the TRENDY Water Centre. Harry tells how they are used for research, for example in the field of quality control: “The advantage of our Dutch system is that we have central treatment plants. This makes monitoring water quality relatively easy. Some 60 to 300 substances are examined every day. However, this system is no longer enforceable if you have small plants scattered all over the Netherlands. That’s why one of the things we do here is research how we can develop online systems that allow us to remotely monitor water quality on an ongoing basis. In addition to our researchers, students from the Saxion Smart Solutions Semester also work in interdisciplinary teams trying to resolve such issues.”
The article continues below the video.
Living Lab
The TRENDY Water Centre also functions as a ‘Living Lab’: all appliances are actually in operation. The BluElephant purifies waste water from one of the buildings on the city campus in Enschede, so that it can be reused as flushing water for the toilets in the same building and so reduce the use of drinking water. A-Quality purifies excess groundwater to drinking water quality. This is used as process water in Saxion’s laboratories and for example, for watering the plants on Climate Square.
This not only benefits Saxion, but also contributes to knowledge development. “We wanted to have a real environment where we can test different water sources under different conditions. Not just in a laboratory environment - where it works well - but for real, 24/7, all year round. This lets us examine the influence of climate, seasons, day and night, and working and non-working days. And what happens to water quality if the appliance is not working for a day, for example?”
Mbo students (secondary vocational education)
That the lab is a ‘living’ one is also good news, according to Harry, for students from the ROC Twente who, for example, are studying for careers in laboratory technology and the processing industry. “It is a place where MBO-BOL4 students can gain practical experience under realistic conditions. For example, they can help monitor water quality, and optimally set advanced water treatment systems.”
We explore how to upgrade any local water source to achieve the desired quality - it does not always have to be quality drinking water.
Water as resource
“So far we have talked about water as an end," Harry continues, "but for many industries, water is a means. That demand is increasing. Earlier, I mentioned data centres that need cooling water. In addition, we are keen to develop the newest type of microchips in this region: photonic chips. This also requires a huge amount of pure water. I also briefly mentioned the partial transition to the hydrogen economy. This has led our research group to exploring how to upgrade any local water source to achieve the desired quality - it does not always have to be quality drinking water. For hydrogen, you need to have ultra-pure water. This is so pure that it is not even healthy to drink. If you look at it this way, we should also ask: is it necessary to strip irrigation water of its nutrients, such as phosphates and ammonium products? This is already actually liquid food for plants. We are also working on this in the TRENDY Water Centre: research into new forms of agriculture.”
The true worth of water
Harry overflows with fine examples of ways to use water more intelligently: “We are also exploring how we can use water to make our environment more liveable. Saxion has a good example in the form of its own Climate Square. It has been shown that having more water around houses can lower the wind-chill temperature you feel by two to five degrees. You don't need drinking water quality for that - swimming pool quality will do. So don’t let water drain to the sea as quickly as possible, instead build wadis, streams and rivers. The same goes for improving the indoor environment: why not fit boring grey walls with vertical planters, which you don't feed with drinking water, but with our own treated wastewater?”
“To get back to the question of what is the real value of water: is it just the 2 euros you pay for it economically? If water contributes to better health, a more comfortable living environment and a pleasant indoor environment, then the real value may in fact be much higher.”
Photography and video: Thomas Busschers
International Water Technology Research Group
The International Water Technology Research Group conducts research and provides education concerning water in cities and rural areas. Developments such as climate change, declining water quality and the energy transition all call for an adapted water cycle, combining optimal water reuse with maximum energy recovery, nutrient recycling, reliable water supply, quality and safety.
The research group focuses on the research topics Water & Energy, Water & Food and Water & Environment, contributing to the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
- SGD2: Zero hunger (Food) - reuse of water and nutrients for sustainable agriculture;
- SDG6: Clean water & sanitation (Water) - efficient use of available water for reliable drinking water and good wastewater facilities;
- SDG11: Sustainable cities & communities (Environment) - making water visible and using it for climate-resilient living;
- SDG12: Responsible consumption & production (Energy) - for example, use of highly treated wastewater (effluent) to produce green hydrogen, or storing heat/cold in water.
More information can be found on the page of the International Water Technology Research Group.
