Integrated Water Governance in Flanders

Flanders, Belgium faces growing water stress that threatens the reliability of its centralized drinking water supply, prompting the region’s ambitious Blue Deal strategy emphasizing circular use of rainwater and wastewater. This RETOUCH NEXUS policy brief examines innovative demonstration projects across two business parks and a residential area that showcase industrial reuse, irrigation, and domestic water applications while embedding a local Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems nexus approach. By analyzing real implementation experiences, the brief offers practical insights into the governance frameworks, business models, financing mechanisms, and partnership arrangements needed to scale decentralized, collective water solutions from pilots to systematic approaches that complement centralized infrastructure and strengthen regional resilience.

Decentralization enhances resilience through risk distribution: Spreading water supply across multiple systems ensures service continuity and reduces vulnerability to droughts, floods, pollution, or infrastructure failures. Local rainwater harvesting and wastewater reuse reduce pressure on centralized treatment, lower costs, and improve both drought and flood resilience.

Governance complexity requires new coordination: Transitioning from centralized systems to hybrid approaches introduces challenges requiring legal clarity on ownership, liability, and quality standards, plus transparent agreements defining roles and responsibilities among water utilities, municipalities, private actors, and residents.

Business models must demonstrate full value: Comprehensive cost-benefit analyses should capture avoided flood damage, deferred central infrastructure investments, and environmental co-benefits alongside direct water supply value. Well-designed pricing mechanisms must align incentives, improve cost recovery, and reward efficient use.

Water utilities can bridge centralized and decentralized systems: As trusted public actors with technical expertise, utilities can foster local partnerships, develop innovative financing models, and drive circular, collaborative, WEFE-aligned water management that links decentralized solutions with broader infrastructure planning.

Local WEFE integration maximizes co-benefits: Linking water management with energy recovery from wastewater, renewable energy integration, and ecosystem services like groundwater recharge within the same local projects enhances both water and energy resilience while cutting costs and emissions.