Uw uitdagingen
Water is geen vanzelfsprekendheid meer in gebiedsontwikkeling. In steeds meer regio’s vormt het een directe beperking voor:
- Vergunningverlening
- Aansluiting op infrastructuur
- Planning en projectdoorlooptijd
Zonder slimme oplossingen ontstaat er vertraging, onzekerheid en extra kosten
Watertekorten en aansluitproblemen
In Nederland en Europa komt de beschikbaarheid van drinkwater onder druk te staan. In sommige gebieden is aansluiting niet meer gegarandeerd.
Dit betekent voor u als ontwikkelaar:
- Projecten die niet aangesloten kunnen worden
- Vertraging in vergunningen
- Vertraging in oplevering van woningen
- Onzekerheid in business cases
Overbelasting van infrastructuur
Bestaande riolering en waterzuivering bereiken hun capaciteit. Gemeenten stellen daarom strengere eisen aan watergebruik en lozingen.
Gevolg:
- Hogere eisen vanuit vergunningen
- Beperkingen voor nieuwe ontwikkelingen
- Toenemende complexiteit in projectrealisatie
Klimaatimpact en risico’s
Extreme neerslag en droogte nemen toe. Dit leidt tot:
- Wateroverlast en verhoogde ontwikkelrisico’s
- Bodemproblematiek (krimp/zwelling)
- Toenemende eisen rondom klimaatadaptatie
Kosten en duurzaamheid
Drinkwater wordt duurder en duurzaamheidseisen nemen toe. Tegelijk moet uw project financieel haalbaar blijven.
Dit betekent voor u als ontwikkelaar:
- Stijgende operationele en investeringskosten
- Hogere eisen aan watergebruik en circulariteit
- Complexere afweging tussen duurzaamheid en rendement
- Toenemende druk op business cases
Waterbesparende oplossingen voor gebouwen
>50%
Minder drinkwatergebruik mogelijk
50+
Bewezen toepassingen in vastgoedprojecten wereldwijd.
0,0
Richting zero wastewater
Referenties
- Building facilities
- Municipal
- Municipal wastewater
- Municipal drinking water
Decentralized water reuse for residential community to achieve water-neutral living – Heuvelstraat
Project’s context and challenges
In the rural village of Silvolde, located in the Dutch Achterhoek region, the Heuvelstraat pilot project tackles a growing regional crisis: prolonged droughts caused by sandy soils and declining groundwater levels, combined with increasing pressure on the drinking water supply due to urban development. Traditional centralized water systems—where rainwater is drained away and wastewater transported to distant treatment plants—no longer provide a sustainable solution.
The challenge: design and implement a decentralized, circular water system that allows residents to live water-neutral and sewageless, by harvesting and reusing water within each household.
- Building facilities
- Municipal
- Municipal wastewater
Onsite water reuse for heritage tourism – Stonehenge Visitor Centre
English Heritage manages Stonehenge, one of the world’s most iconic prehistoric monuments and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, welcoming approximately 1.6 million visitors annually. To enhance the visitor experience, a new Visitor Centre was opened in 2013, located approximately 2 km from the monument and featuring exhibition areas, a café, and retail facilities.
Operating in an area affected by water scarcity and without access to mains water or sewerage infrastructure, the Visitor Centre required a sustainable and reliable wastewater treatment and water reuse solution capable of handling peak visitor numbers of up to 9,000 people per day. At the same time, the solution needed to meet strict environmental discharge requirements while preserving the integrity and conservation status of this World Heritage Site.
The challenge was to design and deliver a compact, above-ground decentralised treatment system that would remain largely invisible to visitors, minimise environmental impact, reduce freshwater abstraction, and provide long-term operational reliability.
- Municipal
- Municipal wastewater
- Building facilities
Water reuse systems for residential building to reduce drinking water consumption – Battery Park City
Context
As part of a pioneering initiative for sustainable urban development, Battery Park City in New York became one of the first neighborhoods in the U.S. to adopt decentralized water reuse systems on a building scale. The challenge: design and operate multiple in-building systems that could sustainably treat blackwater, reduce potable water use, and relieve strain on municipal infrastructure — all while maintaining long-term performance and public confidence in a dense urban setting.+
Solution
Natural Systems Utilities, part of Nijhuis Saur Industries, partnered with the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) to develop and operate six decentralized water reuse systems across eight residential buildings: The Solaire, Tribeca Green, Millennium Tower, The Visionaire, Riverhouse, Liberty Luxe, Liberty View, and The Verdesian. These compact, in-building membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems treat blackwater on-site using advanced technologies including hollow fiber micro-filtration, ultraviolet light disinfection, and biological nitrogen removal to meet New York City Department of Buildings’ direct water reuse standards.
- Municipal
- Municipal wastewater
Decentralized sewage treatment for residential communities to recover resources and remove micropollutants – Oosterwold
The Oosterwold district in Almere is a unique residential area where sustainability, self-sufficiency and innovation are central design principles. To support this vision, a decentralised sewage treatment plant was developed to serve approximately 800 households. The challenge was to create a compact, future-proof system that not only treats wastewater safely, but also recovers valuable resources and removes micro-pollutants such as pharmaceutical residues.
In a consortium with Royal Oosterhof Holman (main contractor), Akanova and Van Remmen UV Technology, CirTec played a key role in delivering an innovative solution. The system had to perform reliably under fluctuating influent conditions while meeting strict environmental and water quality requirements. The municipality of Almere deliberately chose an unconventional approach, pushing technological boundaries to realise a sustainable, circular water treatment concept.
- Municipal drinking water
- Municipal
- Building facilities
Decentralized water reuse for urban environment to produce drinking-quality water – Canal Café
Context
As part of the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Nijhuis Saur Industries (NSI), together with Natural Systems Utilities and Sodai, in collaboration with the world-renowned architecture firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R), launched Canal Café: a visionary urban installation that transforms brackish canal water into high-quality espresso. The challenge was both symbolic and technical: prove that water reuse can be safe, sustainable, and culturally inspiring — even in one of the world’s most iconic cities built on water.
Solution
NSI, through its companies Natural Systems Utilities and Sodai, designed, built, and operated a cutting-edge hybrid water treatment system that combines natural processes with advanced filtration. The system purifies canal water to drinking-water standards, used on-site to brew espresso at the Canal Café — a public, interactive space designed by DS+R. The installation challenged perceptions and inspired dialogue on sustainable water reuse, earning international acclaim and the prestigious Golden Lion Award at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025.
