This year, water company Vitens had to refuse several drinking water requests from companies in Overijssel and Gelderland for the first time. A spokesperson for the company said this after reporting in Fidelity† Director Jelle Hannema says in the newspaper that the security of water supply is under pressure due to, among other things, drought as a result of climate change, economic growth and the construction of new homes.
In the Netherlands, the ten drinking water companies have a supply obligation. However, this only applies to households and not to companies. The Vitens spokesperson states that the application of “a few companies” has been rejected, but cannot name specific numbers. The rejected companies are active in various economic sectors, but not in the healthcare sector. When assessing an application, the water company checks, among other things, whether the drinking water is not used for other purposes, such as cooling equipment.
The Dutch drinking water demand will increase by 10 to 15 percent by 2030 due to the planned construction of one million homes, Vitens expects. According to Hannema, it is already impossible to honor all applications, because not all permits granted can be used for the extraction of drinking water. For example, the Nature Conservation Act prohibits Vitens from pumping drinking water in areas that endanger vulnerable species. Hannema calls on municipalities and provinces to issue new permits more quickly for the extraction of drinking water.
With 5.6 million customers, Vitens is the largest water company in the Netherlands. In addition to households, it supplies drinking water to more than 400,000 companies.