GreenFlow – Visualizing the Future of Wastewater Treatment

How can a wastewater treatment plant become a sustainable source of energy and resources for an entire region? With the “GreenFlow” Big Picture, the city of Emsdetten brings its vision for a climate-neutral and resilient wastewater treatment plant to life—making it understandable, tangible, and vivid for funding agencies, stakeholders, and the public.

topic

Sustainable Transformation of Wastewater Treatment

industry

Public Infrastructure, Water Management & Environment

format

• Big Picture (transformation image) for print and digital use

area of application

• Discussions with funding agencies and stakeholders • Public communications • Employee communications

target group

• Funding agencies & policymakers • Partners & the professional community • Citizens • Employees

special features

• Focus on climate neutrality, resilience, and the circular economy

Initial Situation & Challenge: Winning Over Stakeholders for the Transformation

The city of Emsdetten aims to develop its wastewater treatment plant to be climate-neutral, resilient, and resource-efficient in the long term. The planned measures range from energy self-sufficiency and sector coupling to water protection and the circular economy. The challenge was to present these complex technical and strategic interrelationships in an understandable way—especially for people without a technical background. Above all, the goal was to highlight the concrete benefits that this transformation will bring to the environment, urban society, and future generations.

The Solution: Visualizing Sustainability as an Integrated System

"The Big Picture" translates the wastewater treatment plant’s future strategy into a cohesive visual landscape. At its center is the Emsdetten wastewater treatment plant itself—based on the actual structures of the existing facility and supplemented by planned sustainable new construction and renovation measures. The surrounding scenes illustrate how energy generation, water protection, resource conservation, and crisis resilience can be integrated in the future. Set within the landscape surrounding the Ems River and featuring the hinted-at skyline of Emsdetten, the illustration shows how the wastewater treatment plant can—and aims to—be even more closely integrated with the city’s energy supply, heating, and sustainable infrastructure in the future.

Individual scenes

A section of the "Big Picture" illustration showing sector coupling with energy cycles, H2 supply, wastewater, heat, and electricity.

This scene illustrates that, in the future, the wastewater treatment plant will not only treat wastewater but also generate energy and provide hydrogen for other applications. As a result, the facility will become an active component of the city’s sustainable energy supply.

A detail from the "Big Picture" illustration on biological phosphorus removal and energy self-sufficiency, featuring a woman standing next to a water treatment basin, O2 and H2 storage tanks, and a green recycling symbol

The section on crisis resilience demonstrates how the wastewater treatment plant will be able to operate largely self-sufficiently in the future and produce some of its own key operating materials. This will make the facility less dependent on external supply chains and ensure it remains operational even during crises or power outages.

A watering truck uses treated and UV-treated water; a man uses the water to water the city's green spaces

The presentation on resource management and the circular economy demonstrates how purified and treated water, as well as recovered materials, can be put to good use. This paints a picture of a system that does not consume resources but instead operates on a circular basis.

This is how the big picture came about

In collaboration with the city of Emsdetten, the Big Picture was developed in several coordinated steps—from structuring the content to the final visual design.

1. Content & Structure

At the outset, the key future challenges facing the wastewater treatment plant were jointly defined and prioritized. The focus was particularly on climate neutrality, security of supply, water protection, and resource efficiency.

2. Iteration & Development

Based on the analysis, an initial draft of the big picture was created. The image was adjusted, supplemented, and optimized in several rounds of iteration—with a focus on comprehensibility and completeness.

3. Feedback & Finalization

The final version was presented at an executive conference. Direct feedback from all areas ensured that the image promotes understanding of change among all participants and is accepted.

Effect & Results

Today, “The Big Picture” helps the city of Emsdetten communicate its future strategy in a way that is clear, easy to follow, and visually tangible. Especially in discussions with funding agencies and external stakeholders, the illustration helps convey complex technical concepts more quickly and highlight the societal benefits of the measures. The down-to-earth and easy-to-understand presentation fosters a shared understanding of the role the wastewater treatment plant can play in the future for climate protection, security of supply, and resource conservation.

"The high level of flexibility was especially helpful to us."

“We really enjoyed working with Big Pictury. Their high level of flexibility was especially helpful, since we had to complete the project within a very tight timeframe. We received excellent support throughout the entire process, and the open, creative atmosphere made the collaboration very pleasant.”

Joscha Blum, City of Emsdetten

Get started today—schedule your free initial consultation!

Take advantage of this opportunity to learn how a big picture can simplify and strengthen your communication in a 30-minute conversation. We look forward to hearing about your challenges.