Since 1 Jan 2023, the Partners of the WaterMan project work jointly on finding new ways to make local water supply in Baltic Sea Region more climate resilient. The strategic focus of the project is to provide local authorities and water companies, which are the key actors in this field, with knowledge and tools to develop strategic approaches and to implement concrete measures that bring water recycling into wider practice. The results are processed into a “BSR Water Reuse Toolbox”, which will be derived from model strategies and pilot measures that are created in seven partner regions (Kalmar & Västervik / SE, Bornholm / DK, Berlin / DE, Braniewo / PL, Klaipėda Region / LT, Kurzeme Region / LV). This online resource will give other local authorities & water companies, for most of which the topic is still a novelty, concrete guidance on how to foster water recycling - under the specific conditions of the Baltic Sea Region that is increasingly characterised by an alternation of periods of too little and too much water. Thus, a new element will be added to local water management in the area that can help to mitigate the effects of the climate change.

Around the Baltic Sea, water recycling is a rather new approach and only a few examples can be found so far. In other parts of Europe, however, it is common practice for many years. Consequently, the main focus of the first 18 months of the WaterMan project was to jointly explore real-world examples that may be adapted for wider use in the Baltic Sea Region. Activities included, inter alia, on-site visits to best practices for the recirculation of retained stormwater (so-called “multi dams” in Västervik / SE), the reuse of treated wastewater (demo site of “Nutzwasser” project in Schweinfurt / DE) and industrial water reuse (“Industrial Symbiosis” in Kalundborg / DK) in northern Europe. Workshops & dialogue sessions with representatives of further regions (e.g. Oldenburg-Friesland / DE) and related initiatives (e.g. AQUARES; ReNutriWater) added on top. But also inspiration from southern Europe, where water scarcity is an issue since many years, were acquired. A highlight was a joint study trip to Murcia Region / Spain, an international forerunner that succeeded to increase the reuse of wastewater from 0% to 98% in the last 30 years in order to stabilise its water supply. As a result of these peer learning activities, all partners obtained an overview on a full range of possible approaches and use cases of water recycling.

From this basis, the works on the pilot measures and model strategies to use water recycling for making local water supply more resilient started. Workshops and coaching activities by the participating “domain experts” supplied the involved institutions with in-depth knowledge on tools & methods for designing and implementing them. Joint “Peer & expert review sessions” delivered further inputs for refining the approaches. By the end of 2023, the concepts of all pilot measures were finalised and their practical implementation started. Three of the five pilot facilities of the WaterMan project (Bornholm / DK: Low-tech filter for purifying water of an WWTP for agricultural irrigation; Kalmar / SE: Mobile disinfection system for reusing water for watering of green areas, Västervik / SE: Advanced multi-dam to retain water for different purposes) started to operate in the meantime, and bring water recycling into local practice in the Baltic Sea Region. The work on the local model strategies, which will take up & apply lessons from the peer leaning process and be elaborated in dialogue with local stakeholders & inhabitants, will become the main focus of the last 18 months of the project lifetime. Their purpose is to find & test different pathways to find strategic approaches at local level that establish water recycling as additional element of the water management.

In parallel to these activities in the WaterMan partner regions, the project initiated an international dialogue for promoting a wider application of water recycling in the Baltic Sea Region. Key stakeholders were invited to the 1st WaterMan & ERB Water Core Group Dialogue Forum on “Water Reuse in the BSR” that took place in Rønne / DK on 8 Nov 2023. Furthermore, a number of “WaterMan on tour” sessions & presentations took place at external events at BSR level or national level, such as the EUSBSR Annual Forum in Riga on 4-5 Oct 2023 or the annual meeting of the Chamber of Commerce Polish Waterworks in Ostróda / PL on 17-19 April 2024.
(Text status: 30 June 2024)