Plans for a water plant on Urk have advanced after local entrepreneurs received a €425,000 grant from the European Programme of Opportunities for West. An earlier feasibility study found that water could be taken from the IJsselmeer and purified to a quality suitable for the fishing industry. The industry uses about 1 billion litres of water a year, currently supplied by Vitens from a groundwater source at Sint Jansklooster, which is said to be nearing its capacity. This is also creating problems for further growth, particularly at the new Port of Urk business site.

The project is still in an exploratory phase and is far from certain. Permits would be needed to draw water from the IJsselmeer, a solution for the power supply would have to be found, and construction would require substantially more funding. The grant is intended for further preparation, not construction. Rein Brands of the Association of Fish Wholesalers and Processors Urk said he hopes the plant could open within five years, while acknowledging that this is ambitious.