Water Alliance: Sustainable use of industrial water

The content program is one of the components with which WoTS profiles itself. An extensive seminar program, trade fair projects and partnerships are ready for you. One of these partnerships is the seminar Sustainable use of industrial water.

Water Alliance will host the seminar on Friday 27 September Sustainable use of industrial water.

Water Alliance is a unique partnership between government, knowledge institutions and the business community. André Mepschen, business developer at Water Alliance, describes Water Alliance as a matchmaker that brings parties together in a solution-oriented manner and is also committed to marketing new technologies. The more than 200 members and the extensive network make Water Alliance a very valuable player, both nationally and internationally.

Together with Wetsus, CEW and CIV Water, Water Alliance forms an innovation chain for water technology at the WaterCampus in Leeuwarden.

2050, 100 percent circular

The focus of this seminar is on the use of water in the process industry. “Water is everywhere,” says André. “For both consumers and industry, water is vital. We use it for almost everything. For flushing pipes, for propulsion, for heating, for cooling, for transport and so on.”

“To be honest, the entire water supply is under pressure. Water is the new energy crisis,” André says cautiously. “Water discharges are under pressure, drinking water supplies are under pressure,” he lists, asking the question: “to what extent does pumping deep groundwater come at the expense of salinization inland?” This shows the relevance of the subject of ‘water’. “Ultimately, we all have to deal with it.”

“The National Plan of Action Drinking Water Conservation states that the consumer must return to 100 liters of water per person per day.” The seminar description states that we are currently at around 125 liters of water per day. But André indicates that we are already using more than 130 liters of water per day. And if we only have to change our behavior through awareness, then André does not have the most confidence in this. “This is where the government has a role to play. Politicians must get off their chairs and get moving and also think about strengthening legislation and regulations.”

“We need to create awareness, but with a forceful hand,” he says with a sense of humor. “You could call it ‘done and dusted’, but it’s anything but that. We still have a long way to go.”

The industry cannot escape a different use of water either. Sustainable, circular and clean. Major users must use significantly less water in 2035, namely 20 percent. We also want raw materials to be completely circular in 2050. “2050, 100 percent circular, is a generally known goal. We have written down the goals, we know where we want to go. But now comes the practice and what is possible counts; where the solutions lie and we are happy to show this at the WoTS.” André radiates enthusiasm and stands behind his seminar with confidence.

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