Research and Development, R&D  

VA SYD wants to influence the future and contribute to a sustainable development. To achieve this goal, Research and Development, R&D, is a fundamentally important area. In view of the current climate changes, VA SYD is facing important challenges. Our systems are becoming more environmentally efficient and better adjusted to the ecological cycle. Environment is the watchword. 

OUR R&D DIRECTOR 

The start-up of our R&D Department took place in 2009 when an R&D Director was appointed at VA SYD. We have a long-standing cooperation with universities and colleges, and the R&D Director has a central role in our future efforts within this area. 

COOPERATION WITH THE FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS IN LUND 

The task requires knowledge of our different fields of operations as well as space in which to act, so that this knowledge can be translated into concrete efforts. VA SYD is mainly engaged in two R&D areas, where young scholars from the universities of the South of Sweden are contributing. 

• Cooperation with the Faculty of Engineering at Lund University (LTH), where we seek to strengthen both the education and the interest in the water and sewage field. 
  
• Cooperation with the University of Economics, a project which studies and evaluates the forming of the joint municipal authority VA SYD. 

For our technical development, a graduate student is investigating the conditions and possibilities of improving waste management, within the Augustenborg project. Together with representatives from LTH, we have also initiated the forming of a network focusing on network maintenance and infrastructure.  

DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THE NEXT 50 YEARS

In the coming year, a strategic development plan for the Water and Sewage Departments will be worked out. In the plan, the changes occurring in the member municipalities in the next 50 years will have to be taken into account.

In 2060, will our member municipalities have become one big city? In what way will the climate changes affect the conditions of our work? How do we handle increasing flooding risks? Are open drainage systems the answer? 

Within three years, R&D will also be an important part of our work in the Network Maintenance and Drinking Water Department.