In this episode, it is explored how Integrated Water Management (IWM) can help prevent infections in drinking water caused by pollution from agriculture, industry, and urban sources. Despite existing efforts, only 13% of Dutch water bodies meet EU quality standards, highlighting the urgent need for improvement. Using the DPSIR framework, this research identifies key gaps in current strategies - such as weak source protection, limited stakeholder engagement, and ineffective water pricing. It is discussed how IWM principles like participatory governance, dynamic pricing, and nature-based solutions can enhance pollution prevention and ensure safe, sustainable drinking water for the future. Tune in for insights and solutions.
Disclaimer: Note that the episode is completely staged.  The experts featured in this episode portray representatives from different organizations; however, the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the actual positions or perspectives of those individuals or their affiliated institutions.

In this episode of The Integrated Water Management Podcast, we journey to India to explore one of its most ambitious - and controversial - water infrastructure projects: the Polavaram Dam. Promising flood control, hydropower, and irrigation, this dam on the Godavari River raises pressing questions about equity, legality, and environmental sustainability.

Host Britt is joined by two guests - Ruben, who breaks down the political and historical stakes, and Zehra, a modelling expert who shares insights from a dynamic simulation of treaty performance under drought and surplus conditions. Together, they unravel the complexities of water allocation, ecological impact, and the challenges of building fair and adaptive water-sharing agreements in a changing world.

Whether you’re into engineering, policy, or just fascinated by how water shapes power, people, and places, this one’s for you. 

Did you listen to this podcast and want to get a better picture of the Polavaram dam? Then the following YouTube video gives an excellent overview of it: https://youtu.be/vZiL--dFqCg?si=EPZZ7wCTG88nQsVa

 Cape Town’s 2015–2018 drought crisis exposed the city’s vulnerability to extreme water scarcity. This episode explores whether desalination - specifically reverse osmosis - could be a viable solution to meet the city’s future drinking water needs. Based on literature review, stakeholder analysis, and a multi-criteria assessment, the feasibility of supplying 300 million litres per day through desalination is evaluated. Technical options, energy demands, environmental concerns, and the financial implications are discussed, ultimately concluding that while desalination could help diversify Cape Town’s water sources, it must be part of a broader, integrated strategy supported by robust energy infrastructure and inclusive governance. 

This episode dives into the operational and systemic challenges of managing Sri Lanka’s Victoria Reservoir - with a specific focus on monsoon season. Findings from a combined water balance model and systems thinking approach using Causal Loop Diagrams are explored. The research reveals how rigid operational rules, limited discharge capacity, and competing water demands make the system vulnerable to overflow and flooding. By uncovering hidden feedback loops between agriculture, energy, and policy, the study highlights the need for adaptive, stakeholder-driven management. Join us as we unpack how technical and systemic insights can shape resilient water futures.

This is the trailer introducing the second season of UTwente's Integrated Water Management podcast. Each episode presents a student group project related to water management across the globe.

This episode addresses the pressing issue of drought management in Catalonia, Spain, through a comprehensive examination of the region's Integrated Water Management (IWRM) framework. The study presented aims to identify the current state of freshwater availability in Catalonia,
project its future status, and outline efficient water allocation strategies to maximize stakeholder satisfaction. The investigation reveals the critical state of Catalonia's water resources, exacerbated by climate change, increased demand from population growth, and inefficient water infrastructure. Through qualitative and quantitative analyses of the Catalonian water system, the outcomes propose measures to increase the robustness of the current IWRM approach to optimize freshwater availability amid the region's ongoing drought conditions. Recommendations for future IWRM strategies include enhancing desalination processes, improving drought management plans, upgrading water infrastructure, and promoting stakeholder engagement through participatory governance.

California has a unique climate where most of the rain falls in the winter months. Much of the water that is used is pumped up out of aquifers. The state also experiences periods of extreme drought. However, the water demand is high, leading to water scarcity. There are various stakeholders involved in California's water management, but clear policies on water distribution are lacking. Agriculture is the largest user of water in the Central Valley. In this region, a significant amount of crops are produced, crucial for both the American food supply and global sales. Some of these crops require substantial amounts of water. The water that is due to climate change and declining water levels in aquifers becoming scarcer. Hence, there is increasing scrutiny on foreign investors who own land in the Central Valley and produce crops for export out of the United States of America. Restricting these foreign farmers, however, doesn't seem to be the solution to the water scarcity in California. Addressing water scarcity requires complex solutions, including stricter water policies, water taxes, and stakeholders such as farmers and cities implementing water-saving technologies.

Due to the changing climate and rising temperatures worldwide, the sea water level will continue to increase. Different scenarios projected that the sea level would rise from 0.80 to 3.90 meters. This means that countries located by the sea worldwide are scared of what an increased sea water level will do to their shores.
Mitigating this problem seems to be too late, so those countries must adapt to this problem. One way to do this is to build dams. As is known, the Dutch are frontrunners in this matter. For example, they have built the Afsluitdijk. For that time, this was an ingenious project that was never seen elsewhere. A Dutchman named Sjoerd Groeskamp plans to create a bigger dam protecting 15 countries. He plans to place dams in Northern Europe to ensure these countries are safe from rising sea water levels. His plan is called the Northern European Enclosure Dam, also known as NEED. This dam is planned to connect France, the southern part of England, and Norway to the northern part of England. In total, the dam will be over 600 kilometres long. This is a massive undertaking and would be the largest human construction project ever undertaken.
This episode presents research results about the environmental impacts of constructing the Northern European Enclosure Dam.

Water scarcity in Egypt has been rising in the past decades. Due to multiple drivers like rapid population growth, rising temperatures and increasing water consumption the country is using more water than its renewable sources can provide . Additionally, the freshwater resources of Egypt are threatened by upstream withdrawals of the Nile. Thus, water demand is increasing and water supply decreasing, leaving Egypt in a vulnerable position with regards to water scarcity. The problem of water scarcity will impact Egypt negatively , especially within the agricultural
sector due to its high share in water usage . Consequently , the water use in the agricultural sector is crucial in the development of Egypt’s water scarcity.
Integrated water management (IWM) is essential in order to guarantee sustainable management of the world’s water resources. Facing the problem of water scarcity, Egypt is in need of integrated water management. The goal of integrated water management is to ensure that the needs of multiple stakeholders are satisfied while also protecting the needs of the environment. In this episode, the possibilities and opportunities surrounding integrated water management will be explored by means of an integrated assessment . An integrated assessment involves a comprehensive consideration of the economic, social, environmental, institutional, and other relevant aspects of the entity including the relationships between these factors. The specific focus of this episode is the agricultural sector of Egypt.