In July, Sander Mager, vice president of the Dutch water authority Amstel, Gooi en Vecht, visited the Blue Deal partnership in the Palestinian Territories. There, he had the honour to open a new water laboratory in the city of Kharas.
Sander Mager (left) opens the new water laboratory
This will be the first lab to test the water quality in North-Hebron. It is a research centre in an area of around a quarter million people. Besides testing the water quality, it monitors the effluent of the local waste water treatment plant in the municipality of Kharas.
The construction was made possible through the cooperation with the municipality of Kharas, the Joint Service Council, and the Palestinian Water Authority.
From 20 to 24 August, Luzette Kroon and Emilie Sturm represented the Blue Deal during the World Water Week in Stockholm. There they participated in sessions and talked with, among others, the Islamic Development Bank about investment plans. The week was devoted to the follow-up of the UN Water Conference in New York.
Emilie Sturm (right) at the Wavemakers panel, together with Henk Ovink (left) and Meike van Ginneken (next to Henk Ovink)
Kroon is a board member of the Association of Dutch Water Authorities and responsible for the international portfolio. She is also president of the Blue Deal. Sturm is programme manager of the Blue Deal. The Blue Deal is the joint international programme of the 21 Dutch water authorities.
Why did you participate in World Water Week?
Sturm: “The week in Stockholm was all about the follow-up to the Water Action Agenda that was adopted during the UN Water Conference. What is the status of the commitments that were made? In the run-up to the UN Water Conference, we as Blue Deal were the first to make a commitment to the Action Agenda, namely doubling the money and commitment to the Blue Deal.”
“So we were also in Stockholm to show what we have done in the past 8 months since our commitment. Luzette Kroon talked about this in a panel during the session ‘UN 2023 Water Conference: From voluntary commitments to impact’. She explained, among other things, how we have focused even more on learning from each other within the Blue Deal. As partner countries among each other, but also how the Netherlands can learn from our partner countries. We facilitated this learning, for example, by organising a major Blue Deal Congress in Amsterdam in June. 14 partner countries were present. We have also focused more on learning from each other via Communities of Practice on various themes.”
In New York, the Blue Deal wanted to draw attention to the importance of investments in operations and maintenance. Did you also pay attention to that in Stockholm?
Sturm: “We organised a first session about this in New York to discuss this with financiers. This led, among other things, to an exploration with the Islamic Development Bank. We have now reached the point where we intend to cooperate, in which the Islamic Development Bank wants to invest in a pilot in 2 of our partner countries: Burkina Faso and the Palestinian Territories. We discussed this further one-on-one in Stockholm.”
Did you have any other goals in Stockholm?
Sturm: “We met the new Dutch water envoy, Meike van Ginneken. She is the successor of Henk Ovink. I participated in the Wavemakers panel. This was about how you can give young people a bigger role in solving water problems. Van Ginneken then announced the Gamechangers Challenge, which will be launched next year during the Olympic Games in Paris. This will be a challenge that in which young people are asked to come up with solutions for problems on important water themes. I have promised that we will make a prize available, whereby the winner can do a feasibility study to see whether we can really apply the solution in the practice of one of our partnerships.”
How do you look back at the World Water Week?
“Personally, I’m not really a fan of congresses at all, but I noticed that it really helps our programme further. This congress creates momentum for the water sector to follow up on the agreements made during the UN congress.”
“And I was very inspired. Especially from what we can learn from indigenous peoples, which was discussed in a number of sessions. As water authorities, we have been working on nature-based solutions for a long time, also within the Blue Deal. Indigenous people know much more about this than we do, their way of life is to live with nature. Yet they are often overlooked in water management, even though they may hold the key to success.”
Luzette Kroon, president of the Blue Deal, and Josette Van Wersch, member of the executive board of the Dutch water authority of Limburg, visited the Blue Deal partnership in Romania at the end of July.
There, after a visit to the largest hydroelectric power plant in Europe in Vidraru, Romania, they were surprised by a number of bears on the road (mountain route Transfagaran in the Carpathians). This was literally close! In Dutch, the saying ‘bears on the road’ means foreseeing a number of problems along the way. Of course, we don’t want to see these ‘bears’ during our Blue Deal cooperation.
Blue Deal and collaboration
Kroon: “The extreme heat in Bucharest has put our conversations about climate change in a special light. Floods, drought and a lack of clean water demand cooperation. That is not always self-evident in a country that emerged from a dictatorship not so long ago. It is good to see that steps are now being taken in the right direction. The Blue Deal initiates cooperation between all levels and regions.”
Hydropower
In Romania, a large part of the energy supply is covered by hydroelectric power plants. The Vidraru Dam, which was visited, has a capacity of 220 MW. The dam is 166 meters high, the arc length is 305 meters and it can store 465 million cubic meters of water. The mechanical parts of the dam are due for maintenance, but it has not been possible to find a party through a European tender that is able or willing to carry out this maintenance.
Generating energy with hydropower and meeting the water needs from the reservoirs are at odds during periods of drought. The use of a decision support system (Decision Support System) as an aid to better substantiate the choices to be made is therefore necessary. The Dutch water authorities have experience with this. In Arges-Vedea, the regional office of Apele Romane (Ministry of Water Romania) explained the water system and the applicable procedures for water management.
Better connections
The remainder of the short work visit also went well. Knowledge was shared about the current projects (Tackling Drought, Tackling Floods, Decision Support System and Economic mechanism). All these projects have a relationship with each other, which is why it was essential to have representatives from the different projects and regions together. The working visit contributed to a better connection between the various parties and the various projects.
The Blue Deal partnership in South Africa achieved a significant milestone in the Crocodile River project: the partner municipalities of Mbombela, Emakhazeni and Nkomazi each successfully developed and submitted their Green Drop Improvement Plans.
The Blue Deal Crocodile River project in Mpumalanga, South Africa, works on improving the water quality and sustainability of the Crocodile River. Perhaps the single most important objective of the partnership is to ensure that all participating waste water treatment plants attain the prestigious Green Drop status.
That the partner municipalities have now been able to submit their plans, is the result of the successful collaboration between the South African and Dutch partner teams who, through their joint efforts and ‘buddying’ peer-based learning approach, achieved this notable milestone on the journey towards Green Drop status.
Optimising the operation
The Green Drop Improvement Plans focus on crucial aspects of optimizing the performance of the waste water treatment plants. For example, the development of asset registers and strategies to improve the municipalities’ Green Drop score. By prioritizing these plans, the municipalities aim to secure the esteemed Green Drop certification, a mark of excellence in waste water management.
To attain the prestigious Green Drop Certification, waste water systems must achieve scores equal to or exceeding 90%, with different performance areas carrying a unique weighting based on regulatory priorities. The certification holds great significance as it recognizes the municipalities’ dedication to optimizing the operation of waste water treatment plants and ensuring the highest standards of treated waste water discharge.
First step
Drawing up these plans is the first step in the process of working towards a Green Drop Certificate. The Blue Deal project aims for all 6 participating waste water treatment plants to have obtained a Green Drop Certificate by 2030. However, in September of this year, the waste water treatment plants will be tested again by the Department of Water & Sanitation. We hope to see a concrete improvement in the scores by then. After all, concrete things have already been improved in the run-up and during the writing of the plans, such as the renewal of a number of assets. The next test moment is in 2026, when we expect that a number of waste water treatment plants will have already obtained the Green Drop Certificate by then.
What makes drawing up these plans special is that we have succeeded in drawing up these plans in a collaboration between 3 municipalities, MISA (regional organisation) and COGTA (ministry) and the Department of Water & Sanitation. This is unique to South Africa and may be a model that can be applied elsewhere.
Towards a harmonious environment
A vital beneficiary of improved water quality is the majestic Crocodile River. The river’s health is essential for sustaining important economic drivers of the region (including the abundant wildlife and tourism, as well as both export and local agriculture), meeting the needs of local communities, religious ceremonies and safe drinking water. By striving to enhance the quality of the Crocodile River, the participating organisations are actively working towards creating a more uplifting, sustainable, and harmonious environment for all.
In July, a Blue Deal team visited Indonesia. Toon van der Klugt, head ('dijkgraaf') of the Dutch water authority of Schieland and Krimpenerwaard, was there and signed the cooperation agreement for the Blue Deal Indonesia together with the Dutch embassy. This makes the Blue Deal an official part of the Dutch-Indonesian cooperation in the field of water.
The delegation visited various places on the island of Java. Van der Klugt went to the Dutch Embassy in Jakarta. There he sensed the enthusiasm of the diplomatic staff and the Dutch Delegated Representative for bilateral cooperation in the field of water. At the Indonesian Ministry of Public Works and Housing (PUPR) in Jakarta, he signed the cooperation agreement for the Blue Deal Indonesia, together with the deputy Dutch ambassador and the secretary-general of the Ministry. This makes the Blue Deal an official part of the Dutch-Indonesian cooperation in the field of water.
In addition, Van der Klugt and the Blue Deal team visited the locations of the 3 projects that fall under the Blue Deal: in Tangerang (just west of Jakarta), Pekalongan and Semarang (both in Central Java). The local administrators, employees and members of the project teams from Indonesia and the Netherlands were there. In Semarang, a city with over 1.6 million inhabitants, the mayor received the Dutch delegation so that he could attend the kick-off of the partnership as a special guest.
The project teams are now busy working out the plans. New work visits are planned for November.
'Nothing About Us Without Us'. A slogan that exactly expresses what the Blue Deal Theewaterskloof project in South Africa is doing: meaningful participation by all partners, especially with the local community as guiding project members. Since only an engaged community leads to sustainable change.
The ultimate goal of the Theewaterskloof project is to address the diffuse pollution threat emanating from rapidly growing informal settlements. We do this by improving sanitation and decreasing solid waste pollution. The project is rolled out in the towns of Grabouw and Villiersdorp in the Theewaterskloof Municipality, Western Cape.
The highly anticipated Blue Deal Theewaterskloof work visit took place from July 9 – 21. It included a team building session with all the parties involved. A clear way forward was discussed and steps to enable action plans with the project teams were made.
Nelson Mandela Day
July 18 marked a special day: Nelson Mandela Day. The worldwide Mandela Day Campaign message encourages people to use 67 minutes of their time to support a chosen charity or serve in their local community. The 67 minutes symbolically represent the number of years the former President fought for human rights and the abolition of Apartheid. The Blue Deal project team joined forces with local communities in Villiersdorp and Grabouw and took this opportunity to make a difference, which included a river clean-up, painting of a day care centre and fixing the sanitation facilities there.
Signing the Memorandum of Understanding
This was followed by the signing of the Blue Deal Theewaterskloof local Memorandum of Understanding by the core partners. These were Dutch Water Authorities, Theewaterskloof Local Municipality, Department of Water & Sanitation: Western Cape, and the Breede-Olifants Catchment Management Agency. In doing so, the partners expressed their support and commitment. Indeed an important moment for the project, led by a local pastor’s prayer, celebrated with singing and dancing.
On May 23, the water consultancy company HKV and the Dutch water authority of Limburg provided a Nature-based Solutions training course for a delegation of colleagues from the Blue Deal partnership in Romania. Now they made a video of this training.
Slowly working towards the summer, for many people this applies in the months of June and July. But this was definitely not the case for the Blue Deal programme in Colombia, called InspirAgua. 2 work visits took place in June and July, 1 in the Netherlands and 1 in Colombia.
In June, 8 Colombian colleagues joined the first Blue Deal congress in Amsterdam to participate in workshops and field visits, together with Blue Deal colleagues from all over the world. After 3 days of congress the work visit continued with various activities. The Colombians visited a waste water treatment in Zutphen, came to see the challenges we face within the peat meadow areas, talked about ‘adaptive pathways’ and saw examples of the ‘Ruimte voor de Rivier’-project (‘Room for the River’), in which there is more space for water in rivers to avoid flooding and other water related problems.
In July, 13 Dutch InspirAgueros went to Colombia to continue working on the different topics within the InspirAgua programme. Along the Río Magdalena we worked on Nature Based Solutions and a stakeholder network to improve the cooperation of all the parties involved, in order to protect the river and the people. In the northeast we continued working on participatory monitoring and how to actually apply the useful data you gather. The focus in the south was partly on making use of data, but also involved the further development of an action plan for waste water treatment.
Overall, InspirAgua had a productive summer in which we not only worked together on the work that has to be done, but we also managed to strengthen the relationships between our partners and colleagues.
The Blue Deal Congress has shown that international cooperation between water managers is useful, necessary and also a lot of fun. The NWB Fund is proud to have contributed to this on behalf of the bank of the Dutch water authorities (Waterschapsbank). 3 lessons learnt stand out.
Marion Wierda from the NWB Fund speaks at the dinner party
Lesson 1: Water management is about money
Water management is about money, because without money you won’t be able to get a lot done. The NWB Fund therefore co-finances projects and activities within (and outside) Blue Deal partnerships aimed at climate adaptation, with a focus on nature-based solutions and inclusiveness. Proposals are welcome.
Lessson 2: Water management is about trust
Water management also requires a different currency: not euros or dollars, but trust. Because good relationships are also a precondition for realizing change. There was a lot of networking during this congress and a party is the ultimate team building activity. The fund has therefore wholeheartedly sponsored the Blue Deal Congress party.
Lesson 3: Water management is about solving issues together
After all, this congress was a historic moment. As water managers, we traditionally mainly look at our own working area, because there is plenty to do there. After 800 years, the Dutch water authorities are now also looking outwards and are seeking international cooperation. Because climate does not respect borders and only together can we solve difficult issues. We are the pioneers of this movement in the Blue Deal. Let’s commit to making this a success.
For more information and questions about the NWB Fund, please contact programme manager Marion Wierda (mwierda@uvw.nl).
The first Blue Deal Congress took place from 12 to 14 June. Participants from 14 countries visited Amsterdam and exchanged knowledge about common challenges. “The Dutch model is not a blueprint for the rest of the world.” Watch the video and look back at the congress.
The goal of the Blue Deal congress? Getting to know each other, so that it will be even easier to exchange knowledge in the future. Between the Dutch and the Blue Deal partner countries, but also between the partner countries themselves. One of the participants: “Money is not the only thing to get something done. It’s about people working together to find solutions.”
The days consisted of a plenary programme on Monday, during which Peter Glas, among others, talked about Dutch water management. He did make a comment, however: “The Dutch model is not a blueprint for the rest of the world.” But perhaps the model can serve as an inspiration. On Monday, there was also a session on intercultural cooperation.
On Tuesday, the participants split into smaller groups and were able to follow workshops on Water pricing, Water safety management, Stakeholder participation, Urban waste water management, Nature-based solutions, and Smart monitoring. On Wednesday, the participants saw Dutch water management in practice by visiting the Sand Motor, the Markermeerdijken or the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen. On Thursday and Friday, the partnerships went their separate ways and visited the water authorities they work with. There, too, they saw more of Dutch water management in practice.
