ND-WEB

New Directions in Wastewater-based Epidemiology. Identification of small and large biomolecules as Biomarkers of public health and industrial activities

Our hypothesis is that the combination of environmental proteomics with genomics/transcriptomics (e.g. virus RNA or ARGs) and the analysis of small (exogenous and endogenous) chemicals (ABS or other chemicals, typically m/z<1.000 Da) using metabolomics workflows, can lead to novel and holistic early-warning systems capable to diagnose present and future environmental issues. With the aim of proving the strength and capabilities of the strategy, ND-WEB will apply proteomics and metabolomics workflows and qPCR to a specific case study in order to: 1) Determine which specific human activities can be linked with the presence of ARGs and 2) Prioritize chemicals that are linked with the presence of specific ARGs. For this purpose, six different WWTP in Catalonia, where different economic sectors overshadow, will be analysed, including: two with a strong primary sector (Vic and Olot, with farms and meat industry), two where secondary sector prevails (Manresa and Igualada) and two highly-populated with a strong secondary and tertiary sector (Barcelona Prat and Besos). Sinergia Project 2023

Start Date: 15/07/2022 – End Date: 14/07/2023

Project Leader: Damià Barceló Cullerès , Rubén Gil Solsona

Funding: National Project

Preventing Recalcitrant Organic Mobile Industrial chemicalS for Circular Economy in the Soil-sediment-water system

PROMISCES will identify how industrial pollution prevents the deployment of the circular economy in the EU and which strategies help overcome key bottlenecks to deliver the ambitions of the European Green Deal and Circular Economy Action Plan. Funded as an H2020 project, PROMISCES considers specific circular economy routes including (i) semi-closed water cycles for drinking water supply at urban and catchment scale; (ii) wastewater reuse for irrigation in agriculture; (iii) nutrient recovery from sewage sludge; (iv) material recovery from dredged sediment and (v) land remediation for safe reuse in urban areas.

Start Date: 01/11/2021 – End Date: 30/04/2025

Project Leader: Miren López de Alda Villaizán , Víctor Matamoros Mercadal

Funding: European Project

https://promisces.eu/

MAGO is the new 3-year PRIMA-funded project that aims at developing Mediterranean wAter management solutions for a sustainable aGriculture supplied by an Online collaborative platform. The project kicked off on the 1st of May, 2021. The overarching objective of the project is to make this connection between research results and real market needs and end-user demands, in the field of food security and water management in the Mediterranean region, especially focusing on the challenge of climate change. MAGO will develop WEMED, a collaborative platform with WEb applications for agriculture in the MEDiterranean.

It will introduce novel participatory processes for better water and innovation governance, enhance monitoring and modelling for better water use efficiency and soil conservation, and improve planning and operation of wastewater reuse systems in agriculture.

Funded by EC, PRIMA (Horizon 2020)

Start Date: 01/04/2021 – End Date: 31/03/2024

Project Leader: Miren López de Alda Villaizán

Funding: European Project

https://www.mago-prima.eu/

SCREEN&TOXIN

Interferência de protetores solares na acumulação de biotoxinas marinhas em conquilha (Donax trunculus) e procura de alternativas “verdes”: inovação para a sustentabilidade ambiental e socioeconómica

This project aims to investigate whether simultaneous exposure to okadaic acid and to oxybenzone, an active ingredient in sunscreens, could increase the interdiction period for snail (Donax trunculus) capture and consumption by "overloading" the metabolic pathways that ensure the elimination of this marine biotoxin. Likewise, the possibility that natural substances that act as UV filters (such as the components of certain marine macroalgae) may not have such an effect on the elimination of okadaic acid will be studied. If this hypothesis is confirmed, the use of "greener" sunscreens (with macroalgae in their composition) would be recommended, as an alternative to the common oxybenzone present in many products that contain UV sunscreens.

As a positive impact of the BLOOM & TOXIN project, an improvement in coastal water quality is expected by reducing oxybenzone levels, allowing a reduction in the time spent fishing and catching shellfish, and an increase in its quality. These improvements are also expected to have a positive impact on local tourism, also encouraging the cultivation of bivalves and algae under controlled conditions.

Funding: Universidade de Aveiro (Portugal)

Start Date: 01/01/2021 – End Date: 31/12/2023

Project Leader: Silvia Díaz Cruz

Funding: International Project

ImPeFora

Impactos de contaminantes emergentes en Posidonia de Formentera

The main objectives of this project are to quantify the accumulation of PMs, nanoplastics and sunscreen components (UV filters) in the water column and sediments of Posidonia oceanica meadows and in the plant itself around the Formentera coast and to investigate its effects. Two types of sampling strategies will be followed: (1) Intensive studies to quantify both the accumulation of emerging pollutants in the environment and in P. oceanica tissues and correlate them with the health status of the plants at different points during the first year of the project and (2) controlled on-site experiments during the second year to determine the effects of these emerging pollutants on the plant.

The results of this project will provide the first scientific evidence on the real effects of this type of pollutant on P. oceanica, whose grasslands are classified as a priority habitat for conservation according to the Habitats Directive (Dir. 92/43 / CEE). This scientific evidence is necessary to establish local environmental policies and include these emerging pollutants in their follow-up and monitoring programs and promote sustainable tourism on the Mediterranean coasts, particularly in Formentera.

Funding: Consell Insular de Formentera. Illes Balears

Start Date: 01/01/2021 – End Date: 31/12/2022

Project Leader: Silvia Díaz Cruz

Funding: Regional Project

Exploración de las aguas residuales como indicador complementario, rápido y objetivo sobre el consumo de sustancias de abuso.
The main aim of this project is to implement the sewage water based epidemiology as a tool, complementary to the classic epidemiological indicators, to estimate the consumption of substances of abuse, including illegal (cannabis, cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine and ecstasy), legal (alcohol and tobacco), and new psychoactive substances, in Spain. The objective is to include in the study a large number of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) giving service to different types of populations (in terms of size and main economic activity), located in different autonomous communities, representing a large part of the Spanish population. The research team includes 33 researchers from 12 different centers, many of which have already worked together, and with public entities such as the Observatory European Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the Spanish Observatory on Drugs and Addictions, on this issue through the ESAR-Net network
Funded by: Ministerio de Sanidad. Delegación del Gobierno para el Plan Nacional sobre Drogas (Exp. Núm. 2020I009).

Start Date: 01/01/2021 – End Date: 31/12/2023

Project Leader: Miren López de Alda Villaizán

Funding: National Project

https://www.esarnet.es/

Managed recharge of aquifers and use of organic substrates to accelerate the renaturalization of water

The general objective of RESTORA is to improve the managed recharge of aquifers using reactive layers and demonstrate that it is a safe technology to tackle new challenges of pollution. These layers, coupled with a conventional purification system, allow water to be renaturalized in the aquifer without any risk to human health or the ecosystem, benefiting water quantity and quality in Catalonia.

Funding: Agència Catalana de l'Aigua (AGA)

Start Date: 01/03/2020 – End Date: 16/05/2023

Project Leader: Silvia Díaz Cruz , Jesús Carrera Ramírez

Researchers: Albert Contreras Llin , Adrià Sunyer Caldú , Gerard Quintana López

Funding: Regional Project

https://restora.h2ogeo.upc.edu/

Developing an innovative toolbox for pollutant monitoring and risk assessment to human health

CICLIC proposes an innovative toolbox to monitor the environmental fate of contaminants and to assess their risks to human health and ecosystems in the current climate change scenario. This toolbox will be developed and tested on highly biodiverse areas, in wetlands, and will include massive data analysis, contaminant monitoring and analytical techniques, wastewater reuse and analysis, metabolomics, environmental and ecological modelling, ecotoxicological tools, and ecosystem vulnerability and resilience analysis.

Funding: Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCIU), la Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) y el Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER)

Start Date: 01/01/2019 – End Date: 31/12/2023

Project Leader: Sandra Pérez Solsona , Antoni Ginebreda Martí

Researchers: Nicola Montemurro , Francesc Labad Roig

Funding: European Project, National Project

https://www.proyectociclic.com/