AquaConnect is a large NWO-funded research programme with 13 PhD’s and 4 Postdocs supported by about 40 stakeholders that aims to develop innovative solutions for making water supply resilient against future droughts and salinization. Collaboration among researchers and with stakeholders is an important part of the job. We aim to start with AquaConnect on September 1st, 2021. AquaConnect offers you the opportunity to obtain your PhD in advanced hydrogeology, to work with other scientists, consultancies, and government on local, regional and national levels and to contribute to a sustainable society.

Rapid coastal groundwater modelling and scenarios for strategic policy development

The main goal of the Water Nexus programme is to create saline water alternatives for freshwater use in agriculture and industry. This specific PhD research -as part of the whole programme- is focused on developing tools for quick construction of fresh-salt groundwater flow and coupled salt transport models and scenario development of climate and anthropogenic changes (sea-level rise, increased water demand etc.) and their impact on coastal fresh groundwater reserves, both in terms of quantity and quality. Development of these tools will provide a firm ground in identifying vulnerabilities and opportunities for water distribution control, management decisions and future policy planning. Furthermore, it will give an opportunity for stakeholders, e.g. from within WN, to use the tools for fresh-salt groundwater model development in new areas around the world.

• prof. dr. ir. Frans van Geer
• dr. Daniël Zamrsky

The growing population and booming economy in deltas, often occurring in mega-cities, will increasingly tax existing groundwater reserves, notably through excessive groundwater abstraction and urbanisation that results in the sealing of aquifers to groundwater recharge. As deltas are already under threat by climate change and sea-level rise, the confounding effects of these stressors will most likely lead to enhanced depletion and salinisation of fresh groundwater resources. At the same time, groundwater reserves are key to solving the problem of future water scarcity in deltas under a growing climate- and socio-economic change. Until our technologies are advanced enough to increase supply (using water of lesser quality) or reduce demand, fresh groundwater will be of vital importance to economic (agricultural and industrial) development in many countries. Here will we apply a combination of state-of-the-art models of surface water hydrology and variable-density groundwater flow to estimate the current fresh groundwater reserves and distributions in 40 major deltas around the world as well as their projected trends under climate- and socio-economic change. This novel approach includes the detailed palaeo-hydrogeological modelling of four deltas in combination with assessing the main factors explaining the fresh-salt groundwater distribution in deltas and mapping these factors worldwide. Using this setup, we will greatly increase understanding of salinisation processes in deltas and contribute to better coastal groundwater management. We will also analyse the effectiveness of possible mitigating measures (such as reducing groundwater abstraction, implementing aquifer storage and recovery) to safeguard or even increase fresh groundwater reserves in the near future.

• dr. Kim Cohen

• Joost Delsman; Marta Faneca Sanchez

This project aims to enhance the capabilities of individuals and organisations to develop sustainable strategies for dealing with groundwater extraction, land subsidence and salt water intrusion in the increasingly urbanising Mekong Delta (Vietnam). We will enlarge the knowledge base of stakeholders (including policy makers, water managers and scientists) and work with them to develop and implement innovative tools and technologies in practice and policy. A new integrated delta model will be developed, linking surface water, groundwater and geo-mechanical models, to analyse the interrelated character of groundwater extraction, subsidence levels and salt water intrusion. Together with stakeholders the new and comprehensive model will be constructed and applied to quantify the effects of water management strategies in the Mekong Delta. Stakeholders will analyse and develop adequate strategies by simulating and demonstrating the effects of development scenarios and policy recommendations, such as expressed in the Mekong Delta Plan (2013).

• prof. dr. Piet Hoekstra
• prof. dr. Esther Stouthamer
• dr. Maarten van der Vegt
• dr. Gilles Erkens
• dr. Carel Dieperink

In the SW delta, the agricultural sector is confronted with growing impacts of water shortage and salinization. The Province of Zeeland is aware of the negative influence on the socio-economic development. The agricultural sector (ZLTO) and municipalities (e.g. Schouwen-Duiveland) consider a reliable freshwater supply as one of the key issues for future development and sustainable growth. On a national level, strategies to reduce freshwater demand and increasing freshwater supply are being developed within the Delta Programme..

Our project’s main goal is to improve the use of existing fresh groundwater resources and create new freshwater reserves, thereby increasing regional self-sufficiency and reducing dependence on external freshwater supply. Research already takes place on theoretical feasibility of possible measures. Building on this knowledge, the research goals are: 1. to investigate which measures actually ‘work’ in practice, and 2. to analyse whether such measures are economically feasible.

We want to develop showcases of three promising technologies which increase local or regional water supply. Basically, two showcases are set up on aquifer storage and recovery (ASR), utilizing the potential of sandy creek ridges for water storage. These showcases are located in 1) Zuid-Beveland (The Freshmaker concept) and in 2) Walcheren (Creek Ridge Infiltration Test, infiltration via drainage). The third showcase is optimizing the freshwater volume in shallow rainwater lenses with a pilot on Schouwen-Duiveland (Drains2Buffer). Integration of new knowledge, stakeholder participation and opportunities for practical implementation in the region (including economic feasibility analysis) will take place in two parallel work packages.

The Drains2Buffer showcase involves the installation of drain tiles at a depth of 1.2 m below ground level, which is 0.5 m deeper than the current drainage depth, and the horizontal drain separation is reduced from 10 to 5 m. The new tile-drainage system allows the discharge of deeper and more saline groundwater from the mixing zone during rain events while the rainwater lens is growing by the recharge of infiltrated rainwater until a new equilibrium is reached.

wiki site: GO-FRESH

• Esther van Baaren
• Koen Zuurbier
• Jouke Velstra
• Jeroen Veraart
• Wim Brouwer
• Marta Faneca Sànchez
• Pieter Pauw
• Jan Vreke
• Marlon Schoevers