The country's leading water experts come together to find solutions to the looming shortage of drinking water on Zealand

A number of Denmark's leading water experts will now create an overview of the distribution and need for drinking water on Zealand. They will provide concrete suggestions for how utility companies and municipalities can rethink the way we produce and distribute drinking water today in order to address the looming water shortage. The project has received 7.5 million kroner from Innovation Fund Denmark.

A new, large research project will investigate what is needed to avoid the looming water shortage on Zealand.

The capital area could already be short of 12 million cubic meters of water by 2040, equivalent to the annual consumption of the entire Odense region. But what does it look like on Zealand as a whole? And what options are there to avert the crisis?

The research project will find out by bringing together a number of Denmark's leading water experts from GEUS, the University of Copenhagen, DTU, the consultancy firm DHI and the utility company HOFOR. First, the project will create an overview of the distribution of drinking water on Zealand and the total need for water for both citizens and businesses up to 2050. The experts will then look at what measures are needed if there is to be enough water for both citizens and businesses in the coming years.

Lack of drinking water threatens

The background for the project is that Zealand, and especially the capital area, is facing significant challenges in providing enough water for both citizens and businesses in the future.

In the coming years, more water will be used, as climate change will result in longer and warmer periods without rain, and more and more residents and businesses will need water. At the same time, the already limited amounts of groundwater are threatened by increasing pollution.

Professor of Hydrology and Water Resources at the University of Copenhagen, Peter Bauer-Gottwein, is leading the project. He says that this is the first time that anyone has looked at the total need for water on Zealand towards 2050, and how it compares to the available resources.

-The overview will give us unique knowledge that, to a greater extent than before, makes it possible to analyze which solutions are necessary to ensure that there is enough water for everyone towards 2050. We may find that some areas have more water than others, and that it makes sense to cooperate more on the distribution of water by, for example, expanding the pipe systems on Zealand, so that we can more easily send water between municipalities, says the professor and continues:

"For example, we need to investigate whether companies can use alternative water sources such as desalinated seawater or lake water to a greater extent in their production. This water does not have to be of drinking water quality and can therefore relieve the pressure on our drinking water resources," he says.

Million-dollar grant from Innovation Fund Denmark

The project has received 7.5 million kroner from Innovation Fund Denmark and will run for the next 3.5 years. The capital area is one of the places on Zealand where the water shortage seems to be most pronounced. Here, the utility company HOFOR supplies drinking water to more than a million people in eight municipalities.

Analyses show that HOFOR faces a shortage of 12 million cubic meters of drinking water in just 15 years. This corresponds to the annual consumption of the entire city of Odense. Therefore, solutions must be found to the problems. Professor of public health engineering at DTU Sustain Hans-Jørgen Albrechtsen, says:

"These are some significant challenges we face. And even if the project finds that it is possible to collaborate more on the distribution of water, it will only be one of the solutions we need to implement to ensure that there is enough water for all the coming years," he says, continuing:

-It is important to protect groundwater from pollution. Groundwater is the backbone of Zealand's water supplies, and the entire infrastructure is built around it. But water supplies are so under pressure that it will also be necessary to supplement with other solutions – for example, better opportunities to create new spring locations or save water for both companies and citizens, says Hans-Jørgen Albrechtsen.

Gives politicians the tools to make the right choices

Peter Bauer-Gottwein says that the goal of the project is to calculate a number of scenarios for development towards 2050 and provide concrete proposals for solutions to the looming water shortage.

"It is difficult to predict developments many years in the future. That is why we are now gathering the necessary knowledge and providing our best suggestions for solutions. After that, it is up to politicians to decide how we ensure enough water in the future," he says.

The solutions can probably also be used in the future in other parts of the world, such as Southern Europe, Africa and Asia, which are increasingly affected by water shortages.

Facts: The project

• Innovation Fund's investment: DKK 7.5 million.
• Total budget: DKK 10.4 million.
• Duration: Starts April 1 and lasts 3.5 years
• Official title: Water2050 - Water Supply Security in Denmark to 2050

Website: The Team | Water2050

The project's parties

GEUS:

Contributes, among other things, with expert knowledge about hydrological models over Zealand and calculations about future groundwater formation.

DTU Sustain:
Contributes, among other things, with expert knowledge about adaptations of infrastructure such as water pipes between municipalities. In addition, DTU Sustain contributes with expert knowledge about water recycling – for example industrial water – and desalination.

HOFOR:

Contributes, among other things, with expert knowledge in water needs and how it is possible to regulate the price of water.

DHI:

DHI develops modeling tools that will form the foundation for the scenario analyses in the Water2050 project, and which can subsequently be used in a global context as part of DHI's international consulting services.

UCPH:
Project leader Peter Bauer-Gottwein is a professor of hydrology and water resources.