Case 1: Water supply for Mekong river delta in Vietnam

Case owner: Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST)

Recently, a research on Mekong river in Vietnam suggested to use VKIST to solve water supply problems in the river delta. Mekong delta has salty groundwater due to saline water intrusion, while rainwater is only available in the rainy season. KIST researchers try to find solutions for this water supply problem. How can water be provided to citizens in Mekong delta?

Final Poster

• Team 1: Innovation on Rainwater harvesting techniques

Case 2: Culture: Catalyst of water transitions

Case owner: Province of Fryslan

In the coming decades, we face major water challenges in the urban environment (both quality and quantity management). In the City of Leeuwarden in The Netherlands, important steps have been taken with regard to water quality over the past 20 years. Climate adaptation is a major new challenge. Interventions will be necessary, and are going to affect people’s lifes in the city. Important is the support and acceptance of the citizens. How can ‘culture’ increase the acceptance of citizens, so they increasingly support the necessary climate change interventions? After all, Result = Quality x Acceptance.

Final Poster – Winning team!

• Team 2: Creating cultural solutions to raise water awareness

Case 3: Coastal villages adaptive to sea level rise

Case owner: Water Authority Noorderkwartier

One of the tasks of Water Authority HHNK is to manage and maintain the primary flood defense systems. Along their coastline, where part of the dunes are the primary flood defense system, erosion is taking place. To stabilize erosion, the Dutch national government has set up a nourishment scheme to keep up with sea level rise. When sea level rising persists, this scheme might not be enough for the protection of the villages situated in the dunes. The Wetskills team is challenged to come up with different/new adaptation options for an imaginary village along the HHNK coastline.

Final Poster

• Team 3: Solutions for gradual and safe adaptation to sea level rise

Case 4: Sustainable Future: Water & Energy

Case owner: Waternet Water Authority Amsterdam

For 2040, Amsterdam wants all energy used in the city to come from renewable resources. If the city wants to have a 100% sustainable energy supply, they have to find new sustainable energy sources in the near future. Waternet, the city’s Water Authority, is looking for ways in which water can contribute to this energy transition. During the previous Wetskills-South Korea edition in 2018, the assigned (winning) team came up with the ‘Water Wide Web’: an energy network that can store energy on different levels close to households. The challenge for the new team now is to come up with a practical implementation strategy for this ‘web’.

Final Poster

• Team 4: Water conservation and renewable energy

Case 5: South Korea’s virtual water trade

Case owner: Water Footprint Implementation

South Korea is one of the largest net ‘virtual water import’ countries for agricultural products. At the same time, more than 50% of South Korea’s exports are electronics, machinery and other type of equipment. Other notable exports are refined petroleum and minerals. All with a large ‘domestic Water Footprint’. How is ‘virtual water trade’ affecting the sustainability and security of water resources in South Korea? And what is the relationship in virtual water trade with a trade partner like Mexico?

Final Poster

• Team 5: Balancing the virtual water