21 March 2018: In the lead-up to World Water Day on 22 March and in conjunction with the World Water Forum, three prominent water-related prizes were announced. The World Water Council and government partners announced the winners of the King Hasan II Great World Water Prize and the 5th Kyoto World Water Grand Prize, while the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) announced the Stockholm Water Prize laureates for 2018.

Bruce Rittmann of Arizona State University, US, and Mark van Loosdrecht of Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, were named 2018 Stockholm Water Prize laureates for their work in pioneering biotechnology-based processes for the treatment of water and wastewater. In their announcement, the SIWI committee noted that the two scientists had revolutionized the treatment of water for safe drinking and had refined the purification of polluted water for release or reuse, all while minimizing the energy footprint of water treatment technologies. The treatment processes they developed apply microbiological engineering to extract nutrients and other chemicals from wastewater. The Stockholm Water Prize will be presented to the winners at an award ceremony on 29 August in Stockholm, Sweden, during World Water Week.

Two scientists revolutionized water treatment for safe drinking and reuse, while minimizing the energy footprint of water treatment technologies.

On 21 March, the World Water Council and the Government of Morocco announced the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as winner of the King Hasan II Great World Water Prize, for its work on promotion and policy guidance for water security. The prize is awarded at the World Water Forum once every three years to recognize excellence in cooperation and sound management in the development and use of water resources. At the award ceremony during the Eighth World Water Forum in Brasilia, Brazil, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría recalled that he had singled out water use as one of his top three priorities for the OECD 12 years ago. He called on governments to properly value water and factor it into decisions on agriculture and land use, urban development, energy, and adaptation to climate change.

Ministers from OECD countries adopted the Principles on Water Governance at the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting in June 2015, noting that water crises most often relate to crises of governance rather than to lack of water or technical knowledge. The OECD Council Recommendation on Water was adopted as a policy instrument in 2016. On the day the award was presented, the OECD also launched a report, ‘Implementing the OECD Principles on Water Governance.’ The report takes stock of the use and dissemination of the OECD Water Governance Principles, provides a water governance indicator framework, and describes evolving practices drawn from various countries and contexts.

Prior to these events, on 28 February, the World Water Council (WWC) and the Japan Water Forum announced the winner of the 5^th Kyoto World Water Grand Prize. The 2018 winner is the Charité Chrétienne pour Personnes en Détresse (Christian Charity for People in Distress, or CCPD) from Togo. The Kyoto World Water Grand Prize is for grassroots organizations in developing countries that have shown outstanding performance in solving water issues. The CCPD has constructed and refurbished drinking water and sanitation facilities, organized site clean-ups, and run educational campaigns and workshops, leading to a decrease in illness from water-borne diseases in Togo. [Stockholm Water Prize Announcement] [King Hasan II Great World Water Prize Announcement] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on OECD Principles on Water Governance] [Full Text of ‘Implementing the OECD Principles on Water Governance’] [World Water Council Press Release]