By: European Commission DG Environment

Implementation of innovative, resource-efficient urban water systems depends on wide-ranging cooperation

Urban water systems manage water resources in urban areas, including water supply and waste-water treatment and disposal. Although radical innovations to water systems have been suggested in recent research — for example, separating the waste water produced so that it can be used for different purposes, such as heat recovery or re-use — in Germany, these have generally only been implemented at house or block level in pilot schemes, say the researchers.

To identify measures that could promote wider use of novel technologies, the researchers carried out a literature review, 24 expert interviews and six workshops with professionals from utility companies, water authorities and other interested professionals, gathering their knowledge and opinions on novel water technology. Analysing their findings, the researchers investigated what kind of strategic opportunities could be harnessed to promote novel urban
water systems, as part of the netWORKS 3 project in the cities of Hamburg and Frankfurt am Main
 

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Source: Schramm, E., Kerber, H., Trapp, J.H., Zimmermann, M. & Winker, M. (2017). Novel urban water systems in Germany: governance structures to encourage transformation. Urban Water Journal, DOI: 10.1080/1573062X.2017.1 293694.