Water is one of society’s key sources of life – and it is a resource that is coming increasingly under pressure. Climate change is altering precipitation pattens, strengthening extreme weather events and creating ever bigger challenges for local authorities and their infrastructure. It is, therefore, not possible to underestimate just how important it is to handle water not only sustainably but also with the future in mind: humans can survive for only a few days without water.
Water can be found in every cell in our body. Between 50% and 80% of the human body is water depending on the person’s age. No other substance is as vital to our survival as this chemical compound of hydrogen and oxygen. And process water is also indispensable to industry.
Water is collected, processed, transported and fed through various closed loops as wastewater as part of our existential infrastructure. This infrastructure is facing some serious challenges today: climate change is already putting the functionality and performance of our supply systems to the test. On top of this, our water and wastewater systems must meet new security requirements to ward off threats, safeguard these core services and ensure that we can continue to live comfortably and safely – as always – each and every day.
Water can be found in every cell in our body. Between 50% and 80% of the human body is water depending on the person’s age.
Water management & climate change
For decades now, it has been an undeniable fact that Germany’s water is one of the best monitored and best controlled foodstuffs in the country. A whole raft of laws, guidelines and ordinances ensure that the highest quality of water flows out of the nation’s taps. It is one of the tasks of Michael Figge, managing director of EURAWASSER Betriebsführungsgesellschaft mbH Goslar, and his team to make sure this remains the case. EURAWASSER is part of the REMONDIS Group and specialises in, among other things, the services needed by local authorities to supply drinking water and treat wastewater.
Acting as a partner to local authorities, EURAWASSER reliably carries out all the tasks required to supply drinking water, transport and treat wastewater and manage surface water. It does this in a variety of places including Goslar, a town with very close links to water. Famous for its important status in the Middle Ages thanks to the highly productive silver mining operations of its Rammelsberg mines and for being the place where the Knappschaft, the world’s oldest social security organisation, was founded, this town has great experience of managing water. The highly successful Upper Harz Water Management System – which began storing and diverting water back in the 16th century to drive the waterwheels that provided the mines with energy – is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site together with the historic town of Goslar and the Rammelsberg mines. The people living in the Harz region have, therefore, known how to manage water for centuries now.
A walk through Goslar’s sewage treatment plant clearly shows that the owners are making the most of their expertise and know-how to invest in the future. A combined heat and power plant supplies electricity generated from biogas. Innovative technologies are being deployed to treat the wastewater and make sure that this valuable resource is returned to the natural water cycle so it can be reused. There are also obvious signs of the close cooperation work with Clausthal University of Technology: a scientific station has been set up on the grounds to look into, for example, how the sewage treatment plant can become more energy self-sufficient as well as to research new methods of wastewater treatment.
“Looking at the impact of climate change, it can be assumed that the rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns will result in Germany also having more periods of drought, sinking soil moisture and groundwater levels over the long term and fewer water resources.” These words (translated from the German) were written in 2024 in the Federal Environment Ministry’s final report: ‘The impact of climate change on water resources – adapting to dry conditions and drought in Germany (WADKlim)’. Experts, like Michael Figge, are well aware that global climate change is not only having an effect on a country’s average rainfall but is also driving extreme weather events, such as heavy rainfall.
In order to be as best prepared as possible for future extreme weather events, EURAWASSER took part in the collaborative EXDIMUM project (‘Extreme weather management with digital multiscale methods’) to carry out research work into and develop digital methods and tools for managing extreme water events. This research project was sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and ran from February 2022 to July 2025. Its systematic, interdisciplinary approach went beyond previously known methods. “At its core, this was also about using innovative sensors to provide databases with much more information,” Michael Figge explained. People can only adapt to future extreme weather events, he continued, if they have all the facts and figures on hand.
Climate change is, however, just one of the major challenges facing the water management sector, this water expert remarked. There are numerous challenges that the company must master together with its municipal partners.
These include the obligation to further reduce trace substances in drinking water (as stipulated in the amended Drinking Water Ordinance / TrinkwV); how microplastics must be handled in drinking water and wastewater; the obligation to recover phosphorus from sewage sludge from 2029 onwards; and the upcoming wastewater treatment obligations set out in the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) – think ‘fourth treatment stage’ here.
PPPs: pooling strengths to be fit for the future
For decades now, REMONDIS has been a trusted partner to local authorities, working successfully with them in the area of water management. These long-standing collaborations are carried out by several different companies in Germany, in towns such as Goslar, Schwerin and Cottbus to name just a few. The local authorities select the collaboration model that suits their exact requirements. Public private partnerships (PPPs) can be designed in a whole variety of ways – and they are always adapted to meet the municipal partners’ needs and challenges.
Public private partnerships unite the best of both worlds: the local authorities ensure their key services are delivered to their local residents over a long period of time and the private sector firm brings its speed, flexibility and technical and business strengths to the table. Heike Heim, managing director of REMONDIS Energy & Services GmbH & Co. KG, can certainly confirm this. “The corporate values and philosophy of future-oriented, family-run companies like REMONDIS make them particularly suitable collaborative partners for local authorities. We act strategically as a reliable and fair partner,” Heike Heim explained. This is also underlined by the fact that, for the most part, the local authorities are the majority shareholder in such collaborations and keep their responsibilities. By having REMONDIS as a strong infrastructure partner at their side, they can work together as equal partners to find the solutions that make the most of both their worlds, this expert for municipal collaborations continued.
Heike Heim believes that it is particularly important to pool together strengths in uncertain and difficult economic times. With such huge challenges having to be overcome, PPP models provide both a solid base for securing everyday core services as well as an opportunity to invest in the future. “Many of the municipal firms that deliver key public services find themselves facing high costs without them having any other obvious sources of revenue,” commented Heike Heim. With REMONDIS collaborating as a strategic investor, it is able to provide additional support and make the most of its extensive know-how of delivering core public services to work with the local authorities to safeguard their infrastructure in the best possible way as well as to open up new opportunities. And, if key services are delivered well, this helps to grow local residents’ trust in local – and also in some cases national – government expertise and competence: “Ultimately, well-functioning public services always help to both stabilise and strengthen democracy as well,” Heike Heim concluded.
“The corporate values and philosophy of future-oriented, family-run companies like REMONDIS make them particularly suitable collaborative partners for local authorities.”
Heike Heim, Managing Director of REMONDIS Energy & Services GmbH & Co. KG
Protecting the environment & critical infrastructure
Erik Höhne, board spokesperson of ENERVIE Südwestfalen Energie und Wasser AG, also values this combination of public and private sector commitment. The main shareholders of this group of companies are the City of Hagen (42.66%), the City of Lüdenscheid (24.12%) and REMONDIS (19.06%). The ENERVIE Group provides around 400,000 customers and energy trading partners with a reliable supply of electricity, gas, heat and drinking water.
The ENERVIE Group provides around 400,000 customers and energy trading partners with a reliable supply of electricity, gas, heat and drinking water.
“It is, in principle, much more than a classic cooperation model,” Erik Höhne explained, “There is a deep sense of trust between the local authorities and REMONDIS and lively discussions as well – both of which are really important, especially in difficult times such as these.” This experienced manager with a degree in mechanical engineering is responsible for the production, finance, trade and sales activities at the ENERVIE Group. He particularly values the “unique spirit of REMONDIS’ founding family”; a spirit that has had a very positive impact on the collaboration and, consequently, on stabilising core public services.
Nowadays, the latter is more important than ever, Erik Höhne believes. This was made very clear by the recent arson attack in Berlin when cables on a bridge were set on fire, leading to tens of thousands of homes suffering from a blackout for several days. “Whether it be the Covid crisis, the war in Ukraine or the current geopolitical situation – the last few years have clearly shown us that there are new challenges and stressful scenarios that we must master to uphold our way of life.” He continued: “Having had such a long period of peace in Europe, we must now deal with issues that we did not wish to discuss before.”
Those in positions of responsibility have been well aware of this for a long while, especially as – unfortunately – some challenges have become the norm nowadays, such as cyberattacks which have been happening practically every day for years now. What needs to be done here is not just to understand and evaluate the changing political situation but also to ensure that companies and society are prepared. “For us, this means beginning with a seemingly simple question: just how well am I protecting my critical infrastructure, what is really practicable and, ultimately of course, financially viable.” For a while now, ENERVIE has been looking at how physical protection can be organised and holding discussions with policymakers on, for example, transparency and disclosure requirements. Erik Höhne also pointed out that having resilient infrastructure costs money – a truth that cannot be ignored.
Looking at the threats around them, the people living in Germany are certainly worried about the country’s infrastructure. Wolfgang Ischinger, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference, believes:
“The resilience of critical, sustainable infrastructure – including its protection against sabotage and cyberattacks – belongs right in the centre of a national security strategy, especially when it comes to green defence.”
Support is coming from Berlin: on 06 March 2026, the Bundesrat, Germany’s upper house, passed the ‘umbrella act for critical infrastructure protection’, the so-called ‘KRITIS-Dachgesetz’. This bill makes it obligatory for companies in ten key strategic sectors, such as energy and water, to improve the way their plants and facilities are physically protected. The BMI (Federal Ministry of the Interior) intends to draw up a regulation identifying specific criteria. Risk analyses and resilience plans are to be prepared, if this has not already been done.
Public private partnerships provide the right conditions for tackling and mastering these challenges as well. “We benefit from each other’s expertise and our discussions are very useful – particularly when it comes to the issue of resilience,” Erik Höhne concluded.
“Whether it be the Covid crisis, the war in Ukraine or the current geopolitical situation – the last few years have clearly shown us that there are new challenges and stressful scenarios that we must master to uphold our way of life.”
Erik Höhne, Board Spokesperson of ENERVIE Südwestfalen Energie und Wasser AG
Image credits: image 1: Adobe Stock: sornram; image 2: © U. Mertens; image 3: Adobe Stock: PHOTO JUNCTION; image 4: © H. Blossey
