Dutch Water Authorities and international engineering and project management consultancy Royal HaskoningDHV have signed a partnership agreement under which Dutch Water Authorities  will offer support in the start-up of wastewater treatment plants abroad that use RHDV’s Nereda® technology.

It is the first time that Dutch regional water authorities will use their knowledge and expertise internationally on this scale for a company and get paid for it.

 Dutch Water Authorities will work on new Nereda plants in Brazil, Australia and South Africa, among others. In the Republic of Ireland, the first joint start-up is underway. Meinard Eekhof of regional water authority Waterschap Vechtstromen was part of the Royal HaskoningDHV team during the start-up of the Nereda wastewater treatment plant in the Irish town of Clonakilty.

René Noppeney, Global Director Water Technology Products & Innovation at Royal HaskoningDHV commented:

“Dutch Water Authorities brings unique experience in the field of operational management of Nereda plants. Together with our knowledge and experience of design, this creates a powerful combination. Consequently, we can provide an even better service to our Nereda clients and partners abroad.”

Dutch Water Authorities is an international organisation comprising 23 regional water authorities in the Netherlands and their umbrella association, the Unie van Waterschappen. It promotes the interests of the regional water authorities at national and international level and shares a European office in Brussels with Vewin, the Dutch association of drinking water companies.

 Dutch Water Authorities already offer expertise in regional water management and water governance through joint projects, expert capacity, field visits and presentations. They also deal with specific requests for international cooperation in one of nine focal countries: Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Romania, Vietnam and South Africa.

Board member Mr Gerard Doornbo added:

“Dutch Water Authorities shares global knowledge with countries where water management faces many challenges. We learn from this ourselves and, at the same time, support the export potential of the Dutch water sector. Moreover, our employees will gain ‘out of the box’ experience and learn from applying the technique in a different context. This, in turn, will help us with the water requirements in the Netherlands.”

Nereda is a successful Dutch sustainable wastewater treatment technology for which there is considerable international demand. Nereda treats wastewater with bacteria (aerobic granular biomass) that quickly sink. The plants are cheaper than traditional plants and up to four times smaller -  they also consume up to half the energy and hardly any chemicals are required.

The technology was developed by Delft University of Technology and Royal HaskoningDHV in cooperation with the Dutch Foundation for Applied Water Research (STOWA) and several Dutch water authorities.