AIWW2019: A good flirt to make water work

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Chair Gerhard van den Top of Waternet Amsterdam regional water authority sharing his view on involving other sectors such as health, energy and agriculture.

Engage with other sectors

‘Let us engage with farmers, energy suppliers, development workers, health care providers and financiers to move forward’, said Gerhard van den Top, chairman of Waternet Amsterdam regional water authority. ‘Make water work in other sectors and be an interesting partner to flirt with.’

According to Van den Top the water sector has huge challenges ahead as climate change will have severe impact on water systems all around the world. Extreme events of too much, too little and too polluted water will intensify. Population growth and economic development will sharply increase the demand for fresh water.

Van den Top said that the problems will be too big for the water sector to solve alone and therefore he called upon the water professionals present at the conference, to be more open and transfer knowledge of complex water systems to others, outside the sector.

Social network

‘We should not start with the ‘w’ word’, he advised, ‘but first find out what the other is doing and what we, as water managers, can contribute”. As an example, he mentioned the transition in the energy sector to move away from fossil fuels and the waste sector towards a circular economy. 

‘As a water authority here in Amsterdam we are helping with projects such as producing energy from water and making new materials from wastewater. We made a little beginning to change from a sectoral problem solver into a partner in a societal network that deals with today’s challenges.’

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Director Mark Gough of Natural Capital Coalition called upon companies and policy makers not to see water as a risk, but as a dependency.

Water is more than a risk

Another aspect addressed on the first day of the conference, was financing. The supply of clean water and the management of water systems is taken for granted and the availability of water as a natural resource is not properly valued, said executive director Mark Gough of Natural Capital Coalition in his keynote. ‘Companies should not see water as a risk, but as a dependency.’

In response to recognizing that water is a risk factor, businesses started water saving programmes, Gough explained. ‘But that is not enough as water resources are deteriorating quickly. We need to understand what water means to us. Here is where capital comes in.’

Light bulb moment

According to Gough the capitalisation should not only concern the monetizing of water as a commodity, but also include its intrinsic value where we depend upon. ‘In board rooms there are often discussions about the impact of business and policies. But it is not just about this impact.  A task group can deal with that on a Friday afternoon. If you introduce the capitalization of water, it is turned into a dependency on water as a natural resource. Flipping it around, creates a light bulb moment’, he said.

Stay tuned

Stay tuned as more news items on this website will keep you posted on the Amsterdam International Water Week. Visitors of the Aquatech Amsterdam trade fair are very welcome at the Holland pavilion in hall 11 and get in contact with the Dutch water sector.