Drinking water companies and water boards present Water Manifesto to coalition parties
Call to the new cabinet: protect our water, conserve it, and give it space
On January 15, 2026, all drinking water companies and water boards jointly sent a clear message to the new members of the House of Representatives and coalition parties: protect our water, preserve it, and give it space. In the Water Manifesto, the water authorities and drinking water companies, united in the Union of Water Authorities and Vewin, call on a new cabinet to show decisiveness on these issues.
Certainties under pressure
The new cabinet must now take action to prevent the Netherlands from becoming bogged down in water issues; from having too much or too little water and from being unable to use it (any longer). Water boards and drinking water companies play a crucial role in our water-rich country, ensuring strong dikes, clean and sufficient water, and clean water from the tap. But the challenges are growing. Water boards and drinking water companies are reaching their limits and, in this Water Manifesto, are calling on politicians to stand together for water. The water organizations mentioned are investing heavily themselves to meet the challenges, but they cannot do this alone. Cooperation with the national government is essential.
Five specific points
The Water Manifesto lists five specific points for the new cabinet:
1. Protect drinking water sources and ensure sufficient areas for water retention.
2. Focus on a strict source approach to water pollution.
3. Take a leading role in improving water quality.
4. Take control of the national approach to water conservation.
5. Provide financial scope to carry out the statutory tasks of drinking water companies and water boards.
Strong together
With its presentation, the manifesto is not a static document, but an invitation to collaborate. The Union of Water Boards and Vewin are reaching out to a new cabinet to make a difference together in the coming years. Because a healthy, clean, and sufficient water supply forms the basis for public health, food security, safety, and prosperity.
Remco Bosma, dike reeve of the Hollands Noorderkwartier Water Authority: “Protecting, retaining, or providing space for water does not happen automatically. It is a shared responsibility, and it is important that a new cabinet comes up with feasible, ambitious, and future-proof policies. Policies that also explicitly take water and soil into account in spatial planning decisions. So that, for example, critical infrastructure such as a high-voltage substation for a new 380-kilovolt electricity connection is not planned in a deep polder such as the Wieringermeerpolder."
What are the water boards and drinking water companies doing themselves?
The drinking water companies and water boards have indicated that they will be working hard in the coming years on issues such as water retention, securing drinking water supplies, and strengthening purification capacity in order to ensure clean, safe, and sufficient water in the Netherlands. However, they are also making a clear appeal to the incoming cabinet: establish strict legal frameworks, reserve space for water and drinking water sources, and implement a source-based approach based on the principle that "what doesn't go in doesn't have to come out."
