Learning from the past: Future water governance using historic evidence of urban pollution and sanitation

Given the complexity and urgency of future governance, the beneficial use of historic evidence for decision-making is examined. Considering the megatrends and the objective of sustainable development, environmental governance has become subject of a global policy and local (in particular urban) management. The ongoing shift from a technology-driven to a governance-driven society will define the need and kind of future technological improvements and innovations. Mainly based on the industrial and sanitary revolution, it is illustrated lessons can be drawn from facts and storylines, suitable for decision-making and technological applications. Water technology provides part of the solutions for water-related issues, in the sense techniques from the past may still offer opportunities for future applications. But historic evidence on the process of decision-making becomes of higher value in supporting future governance. The cases of London (UK) and Ghent (Belgium) show successes and failures of technological developments related to the process of decision-making. At the same time, they provide an example of deriving a storyline from facts.