STOWA (Dutch acronym for the Foundation for Applied Water Research) was founded in 1971. The foundation coordinates and commissions research on behalf of a large number of local water administrations. The bodies which contribute to the STOWA are the 26 water boards, the provinces and the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management.

Soon after the foundation of the STOWA the benefits of joint research programmes readily paid off: duplication of work could be reduced; strategic planning of research over a longer time span (looking several years ahead) was made possible because money was guarantied; considerable money could be saved through centrally coordinating and planning of research Water managers were closely involved and communication between water managers from different agencies was enhanced; the general knowledge about water management augmented.

Workfields

STOWA provides water managers with scientific knowledge and practical instruments they require for carrying out their jobs sufficiently. The STOWA projects cover the following fields: collection, transport and treatment of waste water; management of the quality and quantity of surface and ground water; urban water management; prevention against flooding and maintenance of water barriers.

Organisation

The STOWA staff comprises one director, two secretaries and six research coordinators. With their expertise, the coordinators cover almost whole of the water management fields. They are predominantly occupied with the preparation of the research programs and contracting out and accompanying of projects to, for instance, research institutes, consultancies, universities, etc. For every project a board of experts and water managers will be established to accompany the project team. This committee is responsible for the quality of the project and will safeguard the relationship between research and practical water management.

Research programs

The STOWA works according to the research programs, which will be updated every year. The project coordinators prepare a list of candidate projects, which will be presented to a commission of programming. The commission will deliberate upon the continuation of a candidate project, in the light of the strategy of the STOWA and the financial restraints. The commission holds representatives from the members of the STOWA foundation.

If you have an idea for a STOWA project, please write a project proposal and send it to STOWA. Use our special application form.

Products

Products of the STOWA include publications (reports, newsletters), computer programs (models) and databases (e.g. a list of ongoing research programmes by water managers and a literature databank of publications released by the water administrations). All STOWA products are free for STOWA members.

There are too many products to list them here, please visit the Dutch part of our website if you want more information. (in Dutch).

Finance

The finances required to carry out research programs and to run the STOWA secretariat are obtained from the member water administrations. The annual budget has grown over the passed years and is now estimated at approximately 6 million Euro.

Contact us

STOWA

P.O. Box 2180

3800 CD Amersfoort

The Netherlands

phone: + 31 33 460 32 00

fax: + 31 33 460 32 01

Our general e-mail address is: stowa@stowa.nl