The citizen panel, set up by Danish Waterworks and funded by Region Zealand’s Partnership for Sustainable Water Supply, has now submitted their recommendations to the national board of Danish Waterworks. The recommendations will strengthen visibility, engagement and support for the consumer-owned waterworks that today supply the majority of Denmark with clean drinking water.
A citizen panel at work
In Denmark, we are privileged: we can turn on the tap and drink the water directly. But preserving this unique and vulnerable resource requires awareness, knowledge and commitment from all of us. That’s why Danske Vandværker has invited a representative selection of citizens to discuss how to future-proof our shared water supply.
Over the course of four meetings, the citizens worked to understand the challenges facing the water sector, from pesticide and PFAS pollution to climate change, geopolitics and volunteer recruitment, and finally developed 14 concrete recommendations across five themes. They suggest, among other things, that local ownership is maintained and strengthened, that board work is renewed, and that water utilities become more visible in the local community.
The panel has also formulated a shared vision for the future of water and identified five core values that should guide efforts to protect our drinking water.
“Clean drinking water is a unique and vulnerable resource that we must take good care of if our children and grandchildren are to enjoy it. Therefore, many more people need to realize that they can actively contribute to ensuring good drinking water,”
says Lise Lotte Toft, CEO of Danish Waterworks.
Experts in their own everyday life
The citizen panel is based on methods known from citizens’ assemblies and citizens’ consultations, where citizens meet across backgrounds to discuss social issues on an informed and representative basis. The participants are composed to reflect the population of Zealand in terms of gender, age, education and place of residence – and they participate as themselves, based on everyday experiences and values.
As part of the process, participants have been professionally equipped to understand the structure, economy and challenges of water supply. In this way, the citizen panel combines local experience and professional insight and shows how democratic conversation can create real and sustainable solutions.
“Most waterworks in Denmark are owned by the consumers themselves – you and me. This provides local anchoring and responsibility for our own drinking water, but it also requires people to get involved,”
says Jan Andersen, National Chairman of Danish Waterworks.
A democratic process designed by We Do Democracy
The process Together on the future of drinking water was designed and facilitated by Johan Galster and Simone Klint from We Do Democracy in collaboration with two expert advisors. The aim was to create a safe and trusting space where citizens could share experiences, ask questions and develop joint recommendations together. The program shows how citizen involvement and deliberative formats can strengthen democracy in practice, also in technical and complex sectors such as water supply.
About the recommendations
The citizen panel’s recommendations will now be considered by the National Board of Danish Water Utilities, which will subsequently provide the panel with feedback on how the recommendations are implemented.
You can read the full report and the citizen panel’s vision for the future of water here:
Read the report on the Danish Water Utilities Association website