Climate change and drinking water production in The Netherlands: a flexible approach.
Climate change increases water system dynamics through temperature changes, changes in precipitation patterns, evaporation, water quality and water storage in ice packs. Water system dependent economical stakeholders, such as drinking water companies in The Netherlands, have to cope with consequences of climate change, e.g. floods and water shortages in river systems, upconing brackish ground water, salt water intrusion, increasing peak demands and microbiological activity. In the past decades, however, both water systems and drinking water production have become more and more inflexible; water systems have been heavily regulated and the drinking water supply has grown into an inflexible, but cheap and reliable, system. Flexibility and adaptivity are solutions to overcome climate change related consequences. Flexible adaptive strategies for drinking water production comprise new sources for drinking water production, application of storage concepts in the short term, and a redesign of large centralised systems, including flexible treatment plants, in the long term. Transition to flexible concepts will take decades because investment depreciation periods of assets are long. This implies that long-term strategies within an indicated time path have to be developed. These strategies must be based on thorough knowledge of current assets to seize opportunities for change.
Ramaker
T A B
TA
Water Resources Department, Kiwa Water Research, P.O. Box 1072, 3430 BB Nieuwegein, The Netherlands Toine.Ramaker@kiwa.nl
Meuleman
A F M
AF
Bernhardi
L
L
Cirkel
G
G
D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004777:Environment; D017752:Greenhouse Effect; D009426:Netherlands; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014881:Water Supply
D014867:Water; D012965:Sodium Chloride