Germany
Berlin
Four million people live in Berlin, the German capital. It is one of the most populous urban areas in Europe, which covers nearly 900 km². There is low topographic variation (30-70 m above sea level) and lakes and rivers comprise 6% of the city’s surface area. The flow in these surface waters is very low with a summer average of less than 20 m³/sec.
Regenerative Water Services for All
Replenish water resources
- Creating a partially closed water cycle
- Obtaining drinking water completely from the urban area
Reduce the amount of water and energy
- Berlin Energy and Climate Protection programme 2030
Reuse and use diverse sources of water, recover energy, recycle nutrients
- Phosphorous recovery
- Sludge to energy
Systems approach
- InfraLab Berlin: Joint Innovation network of all (public) infrastructure enterprises in Berlin
- Rain water agency: Co-working between water utility and the State of Berlin; facilitates dialog about decentralised storm water measures (e. g. green roofs).
Increased modularity
- Smart remote-controlled pumping stations
Water Sensitive Urban Design
Planning and implementing urban design; Enabling regenerative water services
- New neigbourhoods and buildings are constructed on the principle of “sponge city”
Design urban spaces to reduce flood risk
- Political goal for decentralised rainwater management: 1% uncoupling rate from sewer system per year
- 1000 green roof programme
Enhance liveability with visible water
- Drinking fountain programme
- Lakes and rivers as public accessible recreation zones
- Early warning system for bathing water sites
Modify and adapt urban materials to minimise their impacts on water pollution
- Decentralised rainwater management
- Partial permeability of pavement
- Reduction of Trace Organic Contaminants (TrOC) in stormwater
Basin Connected Cities
Secure the resource water
- Berlin Federal Strategy for water supply 2030 (in revision)
Protect the quality
- Nutrient reduction strategy Berlin-Brandenburg;
- TrOC strategy Berlin: millions of euros are being invested in wastewater treatment plants with tertiary filtration and also ozonation
Plan for extreme events
- Increase of storage volume for CSO
- Multiple strategy to connect the operation of seven wastewater treatment plants
Water-Wise Communities
Citizens involved
- Several Public water initiatives and NGO's
Professionals with various expertise
- Cooperation and communication network with local authorities, SME´s, public service providers and scientific institutions; About 500 water scientists
Transdisciplinary planning teams
- Excellence cluster "Urban water interfaces" (funded by German research foundation)
- KURAS method (see http://www.kuras-projekt.de/) as stakeholder dialogue to increase Berlin as a blue-green city
Policy makers
- Berlin climate protection programme 2030
- City development programme – adaption to climate change in a growing city
Leaders that engage and engender trust
- Demonstration sites for innovative Water Concepts (e.g. Potsdamer Platz, grey water use in buildings, aquaponic)
City Water Stories
Amsterdam
Since a cloudburst in the summer of 2014 and many more severe cloudbursts since then in other regions of the Netherlands, the urgency for a way to adapt this buzzing international city grew. Hence Waternet, the well-known innovative water utility of Amsterdam and its surroundings, created Amsterdam Rainproof.
Copenhengen
Copenhagen is a northern harbour city which has experienced a number of severe rainfall events, namely cloudbursts, with the largest pouring down in July 2011. The damages amounted to around 1 billion US dollars, and climate projections predict even larger events in the future. Protecting citizens and businesses from the impacts of climate change, while also continuing to secure high quality drinking water for a growing population are the concerns related to water.
Dakar
Dakar’s urban population is exploding with an annual growth rate of 2.5% and urbanisation rate of 97.2%. This massive urban expansion leads to overpopulation and construction in restricted areas, creating illegal slums without planned infrastructure including proper drainage and sewage systems.
Gothenburg
Built into a low-lying swamp area near the Göta River estuary, Gothenburg finds itself in a strategic yet vulnerable place. Flood risks and sea level rise are the two most important challenges the city is now facing.
Kampala
Kampala is Uganda’s largest city and is located at the periphery of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest fresh water lake. Kampala is rapidly growing, with economic opportunities driving the rural-urban migration, and consequently increasing the rate of informal settlements.
Kunshan
Due to the city’s low-lying nature, Kunshan, a city in China’s Jiangsu Province, has faced frequent inundation throughout time.
Lyon
Lyon, the beautiful French city at the intersection of the Rhone and Saone rivers, is expecting some changes.
Perth
Perth is on the frontier of extremes, isolated from all other major cities in Australia on the largely wild west coast. Perth’s declining water availability from both surface and groundwater sources is well recognised.
Shenzhen
The city of Shenzhen was established in 1979, and in a swift 36 years, this tiny border town of just over 30,000 people has grown into a modern metropolis. However, rapid urbanization has brought with it many challenges, including serious water crises in the form of stormwater pollution and flood risks.
Singapore
This international port city is no stranger to shifting tides. With limited land to collect and store rainwater, Singapore has faced drought, floods and water pollution in their early years of nation building.
Sydney
The millennium drought affected all of Australia, and certainly it’s star city Sydney. This drought caused serious water security concerns for Sydney in the past, and further strain on the current water supplies is expected into the future.
Xi'an
Xi’an is located in the middle of the Yellow River basin, one of the largest river basins in the world. Even with all this water around, the city still faces severe water shortages for a growing population.
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