WaterMiner is a joint research project under the framework of the research programme “Sustainable technologies and concepts for an increase of water availability through water reuse and desalination” (WaVE) of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

The Hon Gai peninsula in the province of Quang Ninh, Vietnam, is characterized by competing land uses in a limited space. Challenges and conflicts in the water sector arise between the contrasting poles coal industry, urban environment, and tourism in the Ha Long bay and preclude a sustainable urban and regional development. In particular, a harmonized integrated water management between the coal mining industry and the city with the main focus on water reuse and water recycling is missing. For this, an appropriate approach should be developed, which considers the spatially and temporally variable water availability and the different water uses of the region.

The project has 7 sub-projects:

– Sub-Project 1: Project coordination, project communication, capacity development, reporting, public relations, baseline survey: hydrology, hydrogeology, water resources management
– Sub-Project 2: Cadaster on water-related infrastructure: „mobile cadaster“ for the computer-based documentation and control of water-related infrastructure during on-site inspections
– Sub-Project 3: Information system for monitoring: integrated „Information System Monitoring“ based on the software GW-Base and GW-Web
– Sub-Project 4: Spatial and temporal material flow management for water reuse: spatial-temporal planning for the reutilization of mining-impacted waters and drainage waters in the mines as well as for other water users in the region by using a simulation model based on Umberto NXT
– Sub-Project 5: Comprehensive technical concept: water treatment, water distribution, regional integrated control, coal dust reclamation
– Sub-Project 6: Economic concept, acceptance
– Sub-Project 7: Exemplary implementation of a technical concept incl. monitoring (pilot watershed), joint design, joint supervision of implementation