Integrated Water Cycle Program
On March 7, 2024, the City Council adopted the 2024–2028 Integrated Water Cycle Program (IWKp). This program addresses the water cycle in the Leiden region. The municipalities of Leiden, Leiderdorp, Oegstgeest, Zoeterwoude, Wassenaar, and Voorschoten are developing this plan in collaboration with the Rijnland Water Board and the drinking water utility Dunea. The program is valid through 2028 and succeeds the IWKp 2019–2023. It is important to work on this together. How we manage water collectively does not stop at municipal boundaries.
Municipal Water Management Responsibilities – Why an IWKp?
The water cycle program specifies which party is responsible for what. Within this partnership, all parties have their own tasks and responsibilities. But in reality, there is a single system: the water cycle. Municipalities are responsible for waste water, stormwater, and groundwater. The water authority is responsible for water management and wastewater treatment. The program also covers the production and delivery of drinking water. We refer to this as drinking water production and supply. Drinking water companies ensure the sustainable security of the drinking water supply.
What does this mean for Voorschoten?
One of the commitments in the IKWp is to address the sewer system. In many neighborhoods in Voorschoten, rainwater is drained through the same sewer pipes as wastewater. The municipality plans to change this: neighborhood by neighborhood, we will ensure that rainwater is drained separately into ditches and other waterways. This will reduce the amount of wastewater sent to the treatment plant. This has already been done in the Vlietwijk neighborhood, and this year we will begin work in the Adegeest neighborhood. This will create sufficient capacity in the sewer system for the homes that will be built in the coming years.
Contact
Do you have any questions about the plan? If so, please send an email to Mr. M. Buitenhuis at mbuitenhuis@voorschoten.nl.