About the Project
Transition Management to Promote Sustainable Water Management. Sustainable Water Supply and Sewage Disposal Infrastructure in Municipalities (July 2007-December 2009)
What is being analyzed?
Municipal water management is founded upon a central system of water supply and sewage disposal facilities and networks which emerged over a long period of time. Until now the generally accepted rule was that in areas with mid to high population densities, centralized and uniform systems held decisive technical and economical advantages over de- or semicentralized systems. It was not until the emergence of the phenomenon of (socio-demographic) contraction in former East Germany that an entirely new problem arose: quantitative functional thresholds were reached as a result of under-utilization. Since this is also a basic trend in former West Germany , taking a closer look at individual cases and investigating urban service systems' scope for transformation are worthwhile undertakings. In numerous trial municipalities the feasibility of intelligent system solutions, in this case the linking of centralized and semi-centralized system alternatives, is to be analyzed using selected methods of participative scenario planning. This will incorporate cities undergoing a process of contraction, cities experiencing instances of fluctuation in certain areas, and cities with growing populations which result in stagnating or rising consumption.
Special challenges facing municipal politicians and administrators
Decision-makers in many German cities are faced with the challenge of elaborating guiding principles to encourage development in municipalities where populations are (tendentially) shrinking. Even now citywide development concepts already form the backbone of urban redevelopment and urban deconstruction. Tackling demographic change in a way that is compatible with urban development and accounts for residents' needs necessitates nothing less than a renaissance of long-term, uniform urban development planning and policy. However, current studies highlight considerable deficits with respect to the conceptual content of these guiding principles. On the one hand, these studies report considerable planning uncertainty in the mid- to long-term in many places. On the other hand, modification strategies often fail to integrate technical infrastructure. Restrictions concerning aid objectives and aid modalities for implementing urban deconstruction and redevelopment concepts aggravate the situation further, inhibiting redevelopment of the technical infrastructure. This is exacerbated by the fact that the necessary pairing out of follow-up costs for subsequent urban renewal is a difficult undertaking. Against this background, sharing experience is of the utmost importance. Equally important to municipal players are the formulation of ideas concerning practicable alternatives to existing technical structures, assessment of the urban planning and financial conditions these alternatives entail, and the cultivation of requisite expertise in local government administration. This demands close cooperation between municipal engineers, architects and planners.
Special challenges facing utilities involved in residential water management
Facilities and networks which increasingly operate under capacity also present supply and waste management companies with complex problems. Several cities and regions must perform redevelopment and reconstruction measures in networks and facilities in the foreseeable future which reach the limits of economic viability. However, entirely new types of technology should be considered and the benefits of alternative systems weighed against continuing operation of current facilities. This adds an important angle to current debates concerning modernization of German water management.
Intelligent combinations of centralized and semi-centralized system alternatives
All things considered, demographic transformation combined with falling capacity utilization of existing facilities highlights the necessity to contemplate possible transformation of existing systems. In this context small units and self-sufficient systems may gain importance. To enable the switchover to semi-centralized facilities, existing systems must be successively expanded and adapted. This must be done without endangering the functionality of the system as a whole and must satisfy economic requirements. At the same time this transformation must follow in a way which is ecologically and socially feasible. Development of innovative water supply and waste management strategies and concepts is particularly necessary in shrinking regions. Both municipalities and their water management companies must meet this challenge.
Innovations to offer opportunities for municipal water supply and sewage disposal companies
In the past two decades in Germany there have been noteworthy innovations in the field of alternative water supply and sewage disposal technology. To date, however, these innovations have only been implemented in a few, small-scale pilot projects. The specific experiences gathered through experimental housing and urban development projects do not, however, provide sufficient basis to draw general conclusions or indicate that the innovations should be implemented on a larger scale and combined with existing facilities and networks.
Pilot projects have clearly illustrated that, in principle, it is possible to differentiate between resources and innovatively combine wastewater and freshwater. German municipalities now require reference projects concerning the construction of more flexible supply and waste management structures (in particular existing structures) which take due account of network coordination considerations (mid- to long-term transformation of central components) and have the potential to inspire other cities to follow suit. Three central considerations lend this point particular importance:
- From a macro-economic perspective, these are flexible and sustainable solutions which aim at achieving closed nutrient cycles and - particularly in view of rising energy prices - promote produce energy using wastewater. Particular consideration must be paid here to the fact that resources of fertilizing mineral phosphorus are already exceedingly scarce, making it necessary to extract phosphorus from wastewater so plants can easily absorb its nutrients.
- In this respect wastewater is considered a resource from a technical and economic standpoint. Intelligent system solutions are characterized by material flow reductions (eco-efficiency), greater flexibility and, in part, shorter pipelines; in the long term, when compared to conventional system solutions (in terms of technological regulations), they exhibit increased economic efficiency (energy exploitation). Furthermore, quality-assured rainwater as a drinking and process water resource enables the creation of an entirely new system design vis-à-vis classic freshwater provision.
- In addition, long-term transformation of existing systems opens up a range of possibilities which exceed the bounds of German municipalities and their supply and waste management companies. Integrated solutions for supply and waste management may also provide considerable incentive to countries in other parts of the world to follow suit, thereby helping alleviate the global water crisis. In so doing they could help secure Germany 's standing on the global market. German cities and their supply and waste management companies could assume a crucial and pioneering role in this field.
The project's objective
- Long-term sustainable concepts for services and infrastructure shall be developed in cooperation with utility companies from six different test municipalities. One of the central questions of the study is the extent to which semi- and decentralized solutions are economically and ecologically more efficient and how they can be gradually introduced within existing operational frameworks. Structural customization of the technical infrastructure of systems and facilities should be performed under due consideration of entrepreneurial demands. In addition, the need for action and adaptation must be established in each city while accommodating corresponding urban development concepts, and the necessary operative knowledge must be developed in politics and administration. A further area for discussion is the extent to which the acknowledged regulations for technology and the state of technological installations must be customized.
- Trials will be performed along the lines of the netWORKS' existing integrated strategy formulation approach. In this respect the scheme will also help further develop the netWORKS approach.
- And finally, conducting a technical discussion on the “Transformation of Network-related Infrastructure” with a focus on water, with the participation of national and European research projects.
The project's European dimension
The challenges posed by demographic transformation and change in technical infrastructure in Europe are not confined to Germany , although the extent and the temporal and spatial dimension varies from country to country. Most countries are addressing the long-term economic and social consequences caused by demographic developments. However, concrete recommendations on how best to deal with them are often lacking. This is also true of the necessity to adapt infrastructural capacities to changing framework conditions.
Breakdown of the individual research projects
Despite varying subjective priorities, research partners contributed equally to the core work packages.
In depth problem analysis and preparation of initiatory steps
- Appraisal of existing literature and documentation, particularly regarding existing assessments of future developments and issues which form the core of questions of housing development and residential water management.
- Problem analysis in the six practice partner cities to enhance the precision of later scenario analyses.
International comparison
- Review of international experiences and projects which examine issues concerning demographics, infrastructure, water management and potential courses of action. To enable a transfer of knowledge gained, the varying demographic, infrastructural, planning and institutional conditions in different European regions and countries will be considered.
- Technical discussion with international experts. These technical discussions shall focus on strategies to adapt infrastructure to changing conditions, the impact of institutional structures responsible for infrastructural provision on possible courses of action (public-private enterprises, role of municipalities), and the application of alternative system solutions.
Microeconomic assessment and an evaluation in terms of environmental economics of system alternatives for sustainable resource conservation and efficient resource utilization
- Economic and environmental evaluation of system alternatives to identify integrated strategies which sustainable conserve and efficiently utilize resources in selected model cases. The evaluation of various system alternatives (scenarios) for transition management encompasses economic aspects from the perspective of supply and waste management as well as the environmental-economic criteria of resource use.
- Complementing the microeconomic costs analysis with a macroeconomic cost-benefit analysis of system variants.
- This results in a multi-dimensional evaluation concept for water management transformation strategies which enables the development of sustainable resource preservation and efficient resource utilization. The methodological concept is designed so that it can be applied to comparable tasks.
Creating participative scenarios
- Scenario planning is employed to open up the debate on optimal technology and network structures. Central to each case study is the development of explorative future scenarios to identify possible effects and consequences of alternative courses of action.
- The study begins by outlining three possible contrasting action plans to be used as scenarios for further work (raw scenarios). These differing initial scenarios provide the basis for quantitatively elaborated scenarios. The scenarios are then described in a more qualitatively precise manner. In collaboration with representatives, the scenarios are then refined, correlations within the various scenarios are expounded upon and differences between the scenarios are especially highlighted (consistency check).
- The practice partners will subsequently simulate the initial phases of the various action plans. During the simulation, each participant represents the respective interests of their institution. Adapting strategies in response to given circumstances is permitted in order to ensure that the action plans devised in the fictional reality of the business game can also be implemented effectively in municipalities. Issues which arise and problems which become apparent must be acknowledged and resolved.
Generalization
- Preliminary studies hint that a myriad of results for various ways of approaching problems, planning and implementation experiences for the possible transformation of networks and facilities for urban development and urban planning as well as water management companies can be expected. These results must be prepared for practical municipal and company application.
- Formulation of procedural recommendations for other municipalities regarding the possibilities and processes of transformation of networks and facilities. In addition to printed guidelines an Internet-based advice tool will be developed.
Validation
- Integrated transformation strategies are developed under the supervision of a third party which comprises a small circle of illustrious experts from municipal politics, corporate management, associations, the municipal advisory and research. The skills and professional impartiality of the “third-party" members ensures that the further development of the netWORKS integrated strategy formulation approach is subject to independent testing. They advise the research groups with regards to project goals.
Capacity building
- A series of seminars will be held in various regions across Germany which aim to disseminate expert knowledge in the field of transition management to other municipalities.
- A target-group-specific compilation of best practice case studies from Germany and neighbouring countries, their economic scope and their socio-ecological impact will be made available on the Internet to support cities and their supply and waste management companies when faced with relevant decisions.
- A major event will also be organized at national level to present the core findings not only to municipalities and supply and waste management companies but also to the housing industry and consumers' associations and, in addition, to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas between the various players.