SUPERLOCAL - gesloten waterkringloop (closed water cycle), Kerkrade
Description
Demonstration circular neighbourhood in Bleijerheide (Kerkrade, Limburg) where materials from two vacant social housing towers are reused to build ~130 homes and a closed water cycle is implemented at neighbourhood scale: rainwater is collected, stored and treated to drinking quality in a decentralized modular plant; greywater is treated in a helophyte filter for reuse; and blackwater from vacuum toilets (1 litre per flush) is digested to produce biogas and fertilizer. It is one of the first attempts in the Netherlands to produce drinking water from rainwater at neighbourhood scale.
Lessons learned
This type of project takes 5 to 10 years from idea to implementation; the main challenges are regulatory (Dutch law does not yet allow delivering treated rainwater as mains drinking water) and the maintenance of the decentralized system.