Reducing the water footprint, reusing water
The mission driving NSI’s decentralized water solution is to accelerate full-scale installations by harnessing insights from temporary setups, such as festivals and buildings, and advancing a circular economy by transforming wastewater into a valuable resource within a closed-loop system. Festivals serve as ideal testing grounds, simulating the conditions of temporary camps where scalable solutions can be refined and optimized.
By using festivals as real-world laboratories, NSI gathers critical data to enhance system efficiency and resilience, ensuring readiness for deployment in emergency camps, remote villages, and other off-grid locations. This approach not only supports sustainable water management in temporary environments but also fast-tracks the development of robust, decentralized systems that deliver long-term water security, turning wastewater challenges into opportunities for resource recovery and environmental stewardship.
Why decentralized solutions are needed?
We see in Europe that upcoming regulation, water scarcity, and local ground water pollution are drivers in the decentralized water market to take action. For example, water authorities must meet the objectives of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) by 2027, meaning that those who provide their effluent to the sewage treatment plant also need to start treating their effluent better.
Water-neutral festivals
At one of Europe’s largest festivals, Zwarte Cross in the Netherlands, NSI tested its system with the goal of saving at least 6 liters of water per urine flush. This initiative is especially important due to the water pollution challenges facing the Baakse Beek, a vulnerable creek in the Achterhoek region. The creek, which is primarily fed by rainwater, relies on inflows from local wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) during summer months. This leads to high concentrations of ammonium and phosphate, which hinder progress toward meeting the Water Framework Directive (WFD) goals.
To address this issue, the water authorities, Rijn en IJssel and Vechtstromen, are exploring alternative pre-treatment methods to reduce the pressure on WWTPs while achieving WFD compliance. The festival organizers, Feestfabriek, are also committed to ensuring the sustainability of the event, with the goal of maintaining its future viability without compromising the surrounding water quality.
Save a minimum of at least 6 liters of water per urine flush
“At festivals, we collect as much as 40,000 liters of pee from all the beer and cocktails the festival goers consume,” says Peter Scheer. “In this amazing way, we are not just treating and reusing water that has already been taken from city pipelines to flush the toilets, we are actually creating a new source of water.”
During the Zwarte Cross festival, Nijhuis Saur Industries introduced an innovative solution in the form of a bright yellow unisex urinal. Urine from both men and women was collected and stored in plastic containers. Peter Scheer explained that the treatment process involved two key steps: the first step removed drug and pharmaceutical residues, while the second separated nutrients like nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, which could then be repurposed as fertilizer for potted plants.
In addition to the urine treatment, shower water was processed using a mobile treatment unit from Nijhuis Saur Industries, turning it into flush water for toilets. After removing foam and soap residues, the water was filtered through a sand filter to capture larger particles. It then passed through an ultrafiltration unit to remove smaller particles, bacteria, and viruses. The final treatment step involved activated carbon filtration and UV disinfection (provided by Van Remmen UV Technology), ensuring the water was crystal-clear before it was used to flush camping toilets.
The Zwarte Cross festival, in collaboration with the ‘Green Deal Circular Festivals’ initiative by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, is leading the way in sustainable water management. Together with local partners such as the Vechtstromen and Rijn en IJssel Water Boards, Vitens, the municipality of Oost Gelre, and the Collaboration Water Region Achterhoek, they are working to reduce water consumption, provide water on demand, and promote water reuse throughout the event.
Helping real estate agents and housing companiesto reduce the impact of local drought and reduce drinking water use
The redevelopment of Heuvelstraat in Silvolde, Netherlands, is focused on sustainability and circularity, with a strong emphasis on water usage. In thirteen homes, toilets are flushed using purified shower water, and wastewater, which would typically flow into the sewer system, is treated on-site in a local water treatment unit. The treated wastewater is then safely infiltrated into the ground nearby. In two homes, an additional innovation will allow residents to drink purified rainwater, with the first glass of water set to be tapped on June 5, 2024, in the presence of key stakeholders. This marks the official start of the ‘Sustainable Water Management’ initiative, which will begin with a comprehensive testing phase. If the rainwater consistently meets the required standards, these homes will be fully integrated into the system, providing purified rainwater directly from their taps.
The project goes beyond water management, incorporating sustainability and circularity into every aspect of the redevelopment. This includes the demolition of old homes, the design of new homes with efficient heat generation and water usage systems, and the sustainable layout of the surrounding environment. Heuvelstraat is expected to be fully completed and ready for occupancy by early 2025, setting a new standard for sustainable urban development.
Temporary base camps solutions at the Orient Express Racing Team basecamp for the ‘America’s Cup
Together with the Saur Group, we have deployed two innovative solutions at the Orient Express Racing Team’s base camp to help reduce its water footprint. The first
involves treating grey water (rain and shower water) so that it can be reused. This grey water will be treated using our cutting-edge technologies which guarantees
the production of quality water that meets strict standards. The treated water can then be reused for flushing, showers and boat washing, halving overall water use at the French base.
The second solution focuses on treating wastewater from bathrooms and kitchens. A mobile Bioreactor Wastewater Treatment Unit (BWTU) effectively treats the wastewater of 150 people per day while offering a cost-effective and circular solution. With a carbon filter and a UV lamp, the solution will guarantee in-depth treatment, enabling virtually all the wastewater to be treated and discharged back into the environment with a superior compatible quality.
Conclusion and summary to close the water loop
At festivals and temporary camps, decentralized water solutions are being tested and refined, laying the groundwork for broader adoption in emergency camps and remote villages. With Europe facing increasing water scarcity and stringent regulations, festivals like Zwarte Cross are leading the charge by integrating innovative water-saving systems.
These systems allow for the collection, treatment, and reuse of wastewater, helping to reduce environmental impact while meeting regulatory requirements. Technologies such as vacuum toilets and mobile treatment units ensure the efficient reuse of water and the recovery of valuable nutrients for agricultural purposes. Similar solutions are also being applied to real estate projects, like the ‘Heuvelstraat redevelopment’, where homes use treated shower water for toilet flushing and rainwater is purified for drinking. Moreover, temporary setups like those for the America’s Cup are leveraging advanced water treatment technologies to reduce their water footprint, reusing greywater and efficiently treating wastewater to support sustainable operations.
In this way, solutions are being implemented to close small and local water loops!
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For more information, please contact our water champion Peter Scheer: Peter.Scheer@nijhuisindustries.com