IHE Delft and the WaterLab

By now you are sure to be thirsty. Across the street you will find a public drinking fountain outside the offices of IHE Delft.

The large tap you see outside the building is from Join the Pipe
Join the Pipe is an organisation that dreams of redistributing drinking water all over the world in a fairer way. They are using refillable water bottles and public water taps to achieve their dream.

IHE Delft (Institute of Water Education) was established in 1957 and since then has trained over 23,000 water experts from 190 countries. They take the knowledge gained in Delft back to their home countries, where most of them are employed in the water industry. Some of these countries are confronted by enormous water-related problems such as flooding, drought and poor sewer systems and drinking water supplies, or they have limited knowledge of sustainable water management.

The institute works actively on all the United Nations sustainable development goals, in which water plays an important role, for example access to clean drinking water and good sanitation for everyone.

WaterLab and Citizen Science
TU Delft, IHE Delft, Delfland and consultancy office PulsAqua work together in the WaterLab. The WaterLab sets up citizen science projects in which citizens, scientists and businesses work together to explore water-related issues.

Citizen science is all about bringing science and society closer together and promoting collaboration between them. To achieve this, the WaterLab acts as a connection between citizens, research and innovation, for example engaging school classes in research into the quality of water in rivers in Alle Scholen Verzamelen!, and last summer measuring rainfall in Delft together with city residents in the Delft Meet Regen project (see the results here). Everyone can carry out research and become a citizen scientist. Want to join in? Take a look at www.onderzoekwater.nl

Science Centre Delft – tests using water
The WaterLab also has a place in Science Centre Delft where you can learn about flooding, how to keep our drinking water clean and water management, and you can conduct your own water tests during the demonstrations. The WaterLab is part of the exhibition and can be visited during the opening hours of Science Centre Delft (www.sciencecentre.tudelft.nl). Here you can also see a large-scale replica of the Kruikius map and the Delfland Geographic Information System, which enables you to compare this map to the situation as it is today. For more stories about water management at TU Delft, see: water management