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EUWMA midterm meeting in Milan, Italy

On July 22-23, on behalf of the Italian Presidency of the EUWMA (European Union of Water Management Associations), ANBI Lombardy Region hosted the intermediate technical meeting and field visit to illustrate the theme of the 2024 Presidency: “Water in a highly anthropized environment: more regulation or return to nature?”

It is always a real pleasure to “live” with the top representatives of water management organisations from different countries. Sharing national idiosyncrasies, as well as the most relevant incidents and challenges of the way water flows, always helps to thinks of new solutions to possible common problems in the European watersystem.

Why in Lombardy?

Lombardy is ‘a region of water’ thanks to its large lakes, numerous rivers, the dense and intertwined network of canals, fountains and springs. The abundance of water resources has allowed over the centuries the construction of a harmonious landscape centred on agricultural production, supported by complex and innovative irrigation systems. Today in Lombardy there are 12 Agricultural Water Boards in charge of supplying water for irrigation and managing water networks and reclamation systems.

We were able to carry out 2 field visits:

  • Panperduto receives water from the Miorina dam and distributes it over 47,600 hectares through 3,000 km of canals. The historical installation is made up of numerous artefacts: an overflow weir with a hydrodynamic profile, an intake building connected to the weir, a navigation basin, a derived water storage basin, a spillway, the Villoresi canal intake buildings.
  • The San Massimo Reserve, a natural area of over 800 hectares, is the rarest environmental context of the Ticino Lombard Valley Park. Agricultural areas, moors, an uncontaminated forest full of springs and fountains, paths with native fruit trees alternate spontaneously, giving life to a unique variety of landscapes, a cradle of biodiversity.

I must highlight the level of knowledge of the participants at the event, as well as the good understanding among them. It was my first participation from the National Federation of Irrigation Communities of Spain (FENACORE), and I would like to express my deepest thanks to all those who made this comprehensive meeting possible. The cooperative atmosphere and the interesting talks on the uses of water in the different countries, as well as the specific circumstances at this time within the water course were very enriching.

Young water managers come together at EUWMA Event

From February 26th to 28th, the EUWMA Young Professionals Event took place in Brussels. Sixteen young professionals from six different countries, working at European water management organizations, came together to meet, inspire, and strengthen each other. Given their roles in water management organizations, they are connected to the European Union of Water Management Associations (EUWMA).

This umbrella organization promotes good and efficient water management, both regionally, nationally, and in Europe, with the main goal of enhancing cooperation among European water managers. This three-day event contributed to this goal by bringing together young individuals working in the water sector. Each participant shared their background, work, the challenges they face, and the role EUWMA could play in addressing them. Together, they formulated a list of recommendations. Young professionals believe that EUWMA could significantly contribute to gathering and sharing knowledge, best practices, position papers, know-how, perspectives, and information from the field; what works where and why? Also, they advocate for more frequent gatherings of European water managers; through online training or workshops, excursions, and events like the EUWMA Young Professionals Event.

During this event, five speakers were present:

  • Luzette Kroon, Member of the General Assembly of EUWMA, portfolio holder International & Innovation Union of Water Boards, dike reeve of Wetterskip Fryslân
  • Li An Phoa, founder of Drinkable Rivers
  • Sébastien Mouret, policy advisor at umbrella organization EurEau
  • Bart Millenaar, policy advisor for MEP Jan Huitema and candidate MEP for the VVD (nr. 7)
  • Bram van den Groenendaal, policy advisor for MEP Bas Eickhout

The speakers managed to inspire the attendees in their own unique way, encouraging more mutual learning and collaboration. This EUWMA Young Professionals event was not just a one-time meeting but the beginning of collaboration; within the group, within EUWMA, and especially beyond, with other European water managers.

Urgent call for political and societal support in climate adaptation

Dry ground due to climat change

The national water management umbrella organizations of several European member states are calling on European leaders to put climate adaptation higher on the political agenda.

They say this in a joint statement they drafted at the annual meeting of European Union of Water Management Associations (EUWMA) in Ostend earlier this month. This year’s meeting of the EUWMA, following the extreme drought that gripped big parts of Europe last summer, focused on increasing weather extremes and the importance of climate adaptation measures. European water managers urgently called for political and societal support in climate adaptation and signed a joint declaration to this end.

Political priority

Hein Pieper, outgoing president of EUWMA and president of Water Authoritiy Rijn and IJssel: “This summer’s extreme drought has shown once again that weather extremes have socially disruptive consequences. Two-thirds of our continent has been affected. Water is essential for public health, industry, agriculture, nature and transport, but only when there is a shortage does this become apparent. Taking action in water management is therefore urgent because no country can cope with this problem alone. A more ambitious European approach and a dedicated European Commissioner for climate adaptation are therefore desperately needed. True climate adaptation can only be achieved with political prioritization and societal change in dealing with water.”

Extra capacity and investments

Water managers in the capillaries of the water system strongly feel the effects of climate change in their daily work. Longer periods of drought, higher temperatures, and reduced rainfall are forcing water managers to adapt their practices. Their focus is primarily on water retention, water conservation, and water safety measures. This requires additional capacity and investment, something many water managers (elsewhere) in Europe do not have easy access to.

Luzette Kroon, board member of the Dutch Water Authorities, and responsible for international affairs is representing the Dutch delegation in the EUWMA. She too underlines the importance of investment: “Governments must therefore prioritize climate adaptation more in their policies and regulations, and urgently release funding for this. Economic sectors and citizens must also change their behavior and activities. Without this change in society, the water system will increasingly run into its limits.”

EUWMA declaration

EUWMA’s statement includes the following elements:

  1. Description of the impact and link of climate change to local water management
  2. Water safety at risk due to climate change
  3. The impact of increasing drought
  4. Package of climate adaptation measures for water managers
  5. Importance of a good governance structure
  6. Investment needed for climate adaptation
  7. Better cross-border and cross-sector cooperation and coordination needed
  8. Climate adaptation measures create essential added value for society.

The full EUWMA declaration: Climate adaptation in local water management

EUWMA presidency visit France: April 2022

Field visit in the surroundings of Dunkerque of the EUWMA members.

In April the EUWMA presidency spend two days in France. One day in Paris to meet with the OECD and a professor on local water management. The next day the presidency spend in the surroundings of Dunkerque together with Marc Polge from Asa de France. They visited the Wateringues Nord – Pas de Calais to learn more about their challenges and work in the northwest part of France.

ADA peatland visit Netherlands: May 2022

ADA president, Robert Caudwell on field visit in the lgreen lowlands of the Netherlands with two ministry representatives.

At the invitation of the EUWMA presidency, the former EUWMA president and current ADA president, Robert Caudwell visited the Netherlands with two ministry representatives. Robert Caudwell is chairing the UK peatland expert committee and is preparing with colleagues from the ministry an advisory report on halting the peatland deterioration by changing agriculture water management practices.

Annual EUWMA meeting Vinkeveen, Netherlands: September 2021

Member visiting the annual EUWMA meeting at Vinkeveen, the Netherlands

Due to COVID-19 It was the first time after 2 years that I physical meeting was possible. The focus of the meeting was on climate adaptation. Special guests of the meeting were experts from the OECD and DG CLIMA (European Commission). The day after, 6 September, there was a field trip to the center of the country to learn about water management in sandy areas.

EUWMA midterm meeting Arnhem, Netherlands: June 2022

The field visit of the members of the EUWMA midterm meeting in Arnhem

The central topic of this expert meeting was climate adaptation in rural areas. Climate adaption in rural areas goes hand in hand with close cooperation with farmers. Therefore the field trip was on a farm where several measures to better retain water on and near the agricultural plots were discussed. Focus was on climate adaptation in rural areas and sharing