Direct Potable Reuse in Flanders: Hofstade’s Living Lab with Hans Goossens, Chief Executive of De Watergroep

In this episode of the Exec Exchange podcast, host Piers Clark speaks with Hans Goossens, CEO of De Watergroep, about the company’s direct potable reuse scheme in Hofstade. Hans shares his background moving into leading Flanders’ largest public water company, which serves about 3.6 million people. He explains how water scarcity and Flanders’ Blue Deal prompted De Watergroep and fellow public utility Farys, through their Waterunie cooperation, to use wastewater treatment plant effluent with advanced treatment and aquifer storage and recovery. The plant has operated since mid-2025 at 1,000 m³/day with plans to double capacity, with ongoing work to stabilize stored-water quality, transparent public communication, and use of continuous online monitoring and chlorination as safeguards. The conversation also delved into the benefits of continuous online monitoring through flow cytometry and a mention of bNovate's BactoSense. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro00:27 Hans Career Journey01:33 About De Watergroep02:20 Why Direct Potable Reuse04:08 Farys Partnership and Merger06:20 Hofstade Plant Performance07:22 Costs Versus Other Sources08:24 Public Acceptance and Outreach10:03 Monitoring and Flow Cytometry11:50 Final Advice and Wrap Up