Rusteberg Water Consulting
Dr.-Ing. Bernd Rusteberg
Dr. Bernd Rusteberg is a water resources engineer with 30 years of experience in consulting, research and teaching. He is a Director at Rusteberg Water Consulting (RWC), but also acts as independent consultant, for example as “International Water Consultant” for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and German GIZ.
His academic career began with a degree in civil engineering at the University of Hanover and studies in economics at the University of Hagen. After completing his doctorate at the Institute for Water Resources Management, Hydrology and Agricultural Hydraulic Engineering at the University of Hanover, he initially worked for several years as a University Professor of hydraulic engineering, water resources management and environmental technology in Brazil. This was followed by consultancy services for GTZ and Brazilian ministries in the areas of integrated water resources management.
Over the past 20 years, he has often worked at the interface between research and consultancy in a wide range of water management tasks and numerous projects in Europe, the Middle East and South America, focusing on the water scarcity challenge.
Water management, climate change and water scarcity
- Integrated water resources management (IWRM) under water scarcity
- Transboundary water management
- Regional water management planning and expansion strategies of the water resources systems
- Assessment of the potential for water management conflicts
- Strategies for adaptation to climate change
- Mitigation of drought impacts
- Seawater desalination and water transfer via long-distance pipelines
- Controlled groundwater recharge and integrated use of water resources
Green hydrogen and renewable energies
- Risk assessment and decision support for the implementation of large-scale H2 production by electrolysis under water scarcity
- Potential analyses in relation to green hydrogen production in Brazil, North Africa and the Middle East and H2 imports
- Utilization of conventional and non-conventional water resources for H2 electrolysis
- Integration of renewable energies into water management planning
Irrigation, wastewater reuse and water allocation
- Irrigation under water scarcity and optimal allocation of different water resources
- Expansion of irrigation at regional level (master plan)
- Management of irrigation sites at risk of salinization
- Strategies for wastewater reuse
Project evaluation, information systems and decision support
- Integrated evaluation of measures, strategies and projects
- Feasibility studies and cost-benefit analyses
- Development of GIS-based online information and expert systems
As an expert in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), RWC has meanwhile made a name for itself internationally as well as in Germany (German Water Resources Management Journal/2022).
Company Profile
The company Rusteberg Water Consulting (RWC) was founded in 2014 and specializes in tasks in the above-mentioned areas, among others.
At German level, RWC offers consulting services for the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive, the National Water Strategy and the National Hydrogen Strategy. As part of the implementation of the German hydrogen strategy, there is an urgent need for integrated water resources planning in order to avoid water supply bottlenecks and conflicts over water use during the increasing dry weather conditions (droughts) (presentation on June 14, 2024, Hydrogen Week Lower Saxony).
The same applies in particular to the production of green hydrogen in arid regions such as the Middle East, North Africa and Brazil. In these regions, RWC has been active as water consultant in recent years as part of IWRM projects and has many years of experience there. The (SALAM Initiative) and the (BRAMAR project) should be mentioned here as representative long-term projects.
The company also has a group of experts in related fields to meet the complex requirements of integrated water resources planning and management (IWRM). RWC has considerable international experience and has worked with more than 50 partners since its foundation. Further information on the company, services, projects and partners can be found on the following pages.