Abstract

In the Netherlands, freshwater sources, such as large rivers and groundwater, are the basis for drinking water. In the coming years, there will be an increased demand for drinking water in the Netherlands, in part because of population growth and climate change. To meet this demand, more water will be extracted from these sources in the coming years. Additionally, other types of sources will be necessary, such as brackish groundwater. Simultaneously, drinking water conservation must be stimulated.

However, the water from these new sources must undergo additional purification to ensure the drinking water is of good quality. To prevent unnecessary purification, it is important to keep all water sources for drinking water as clean as possible. This emerged from an analysis drawn up by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) of developments that will impact the drinking water supply of the future.

Brackish groundwater can be turned into drinking water by removing the excess salt. In future, it may be possible to turn seawater and purified domestic wastewater into drinking water as well. Certain expenses will be associated with this additional purification. Moreover, laws and legislation must be amended before these sources can be used for drinking water production.

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) aims to ensure cleaner drinking water sources, to reduce the amount of purification drinking water companies have to perform as much as possible. The Netherlands is trying to meet that target. Nevertheless, many drinking water companies expect that more purification will be necessary in future to ensure good quality of drinking water, using membrane filters, for example, which can make very clean drinking water. The downside is that this will cost more energy, and dirty water will remain as a byproduct, which will also require a solution.

The effects of climate change, such as droughts and heavy rainfall, will have consequences for the drinking water supply. Some effects are already visible in dry summers, including water sources containing too much salt, rivers that are too warm and as a result foster the growth of unwelcome bacteria, poorer water quality and damage to the natural environment because ground water levels are too low. Droughts can also result in less water being available for drinking water, or additional measures may be necessary to ensure the quality of drinking water. It is expected that these climate effects will crop up more often in future.