UPWATER

Understanding groundwater Pollution to protect and enhance WATERquality

Groundwater plays a key role in providing water supplies and livelihoods to respond the pronounced water scarcity. Groundwater pollution is a widespread worldwide problem. The scientific and technological goals of the UPWATER project are:
-To provide scientific knowledge on identification, occurrence and fate of pollutants in the groundwater with cost-efficient sampling methods based on passive samplers.
-To develop sources apportionment methods to identify and quantify the pollution sources.
-To validate and assess the performance of bio-based engineered natural treatment systems designed as mitigation solutions.
The monitoring and mitigation solutions will be validated in 3 case studies (Denmark, Greece and Spain), representing different climate conditions and a combination of rural, industrial and urban pollution sources. Expected outcomes include amongst others updating the EU chemical priority lists, scaling-up the pilot bio-based solutions to demonstration scale, the adoption of some preventive measures in the case studies and the close-to-market development of the passive sampling devices.

Start Date: 01/11/2022 – End Date: 30/11/2024

Project Leader: Enric Vázquez Suñé

Researchers: Sandra Pérez Solsona , Víctor Matamoros Mercadal , Sergi Díez Salvador , Sílvia Lacorte Bruguera , Eike Marie Thaysen , Victoria Osorio Torrens , Mònica Escolà Casas , Clara Laguna Marín , Sergio Santana Viera

Funding: European Project

BIODAPH₂O

Eco-efficient system for wastewater tertiary treatment and water reuses in the Mediterranean region

The LIFE BIODAPH2O project (LIFE21-ENV-ES-BIODAPH2O) is funded within the LIFE program, which is the only financial instrument of the European Commission entirely dedicated to environmental protection and climate action. The project has a duration of 42 months, ending in January 2026 with a total budget of € 2.1 M.

The project is coordinated by the University of Girona (UdG) and the partners are ACSA (Sorigué Group), Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), MINAVRA Techniki, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), BETA Technological Centre (UVic-UCC) and Catalan Water Partnership (CWP).

LIFE BIODAPH2O is a demonstration project with the main objective of scaling-up and implementing an eco-efficient nature-based tertiary wastewater treatment (BIODAPH) at two demo sites located in two water-stressed regions of the Mediterranean area. This system will produce reclaimed water that will contribute to diminish discharges of pollutants to freshwater ecosystems and to promote agricultural reuse. The BIODAPH system, previously developed during the INNOQUA project, is based on the depuration capacity of biological organisms: water fleas (Daphnia), microalgae and biofilms for removing pollutants (nutrients, organic carbon, suspended solids, pathogens, heavy metals, emerging and priority pollutants, and micro plastics). This compact and low-energy consumption system does not produce sludge nor use chemicals for its operation.

The implementation of this system at Quart Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), Spain, will reduce the impact of secondary wastewater discharges to the Onyar River, while improving the chemical and ecological quality of aquatic ecosystems in this river and allowing reaching the standards set in Water Framework Directive of the EC (Directive 2000/60/EC). In the case of Greece, the BIODAPH system will be implemented adjacent to the Antissa WWTP in Lesvos, which features modular units of the up flow anaerobic sludge blanket digestion, constructed wetlands, and a UV unit, put into operation as part of the HYDROUSA project. These modular treatments will allow BIODAPH system to be tested in different configurations to obtain reclaimed water in accordance with EU Regulation 2020/741 to irrigate 7,000 m2 of nearby agricultural land.

The main expected results / public deliverables of the project are listed below:
• Policy Assessment report with the policy and legislation assessment and contact with administrations (D2.1).
• Guidelines for setting-up and operating the BIODAPH reactor (design, construction, operation, testing and optimization), as well as the monitoring requirements to assess its efficiency (D3.2).
• Graphic report with pictures, schemes and maps of the two demo-plants (Spanish-site and Greek-site) and their main characteristics (D3.3).
• Results from the assessment of the demonstration plants in three different periods: after the first six first months (D4.1), after the BIODAPH demonstration plants optimized in each site (D4.2), and after long time operation at optimal conditions (D4.3).
• Sustainability assessment reports (D4.4 – Environmental impact assessment (LCA) and Techno-economic assessment (LCC) Intermediate report and D4.5 – LCA and LCC assessment final report).
• Impact of the BIODAPH on the ecological and chemical status of the river ecosystem after action (D4.6).
• Impact of BIODAPH reclaimed water on the agricultural productivity and quality after action (D4.7)
• Reports of key indicators collected in a matrix concerning the performance of the project (D4.8 & D4.9).
• Dissemination Plan, document describing a thorough plan for all dissemination activities of the project and providing dissemination guidelines to be followed by all partners (D5.1), and websites (D5.2).
• BIODAPH2O manual and guidelines with data sheet of design to implement the technology full-scale (D6.2).

Reference: LIFE21-ENV-ES-BIODAPH2O/101074191
Acronym: LIFE21-ENV-ES-BIODAPH2O
Project coordinator: Victoria Salvadó (UdG)
Total Eligible Budget: 2.128.772 €
EU Contribution: 1.277.263 €

Start Date: 01/08/2022 – End Date: 31/01/2026

Project Leader: Víctor Matamoros Mercadal

Researchers: Jessica Subirats Medina , Mònica Escolà Casas

Funding: European 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

Researchers: Rocío Inés Bonansea , Marinella Farré Urgell , Marta Llorca Casamayor

Support: Alicia Cano López , Pol Martín Chulio , Dana Pierina Orlando Véliz

Funding: European Project

https://promisces.eu/

Nature-based solutions to reduce antibiotics, pathogens, and antimicrobial resistance in aquatic ecosystems

An array of nature-based solutions including conventional and high-end constructed wetlands, river re-naturalization, and restoration of wetlands will cover the continuum from urban sources to coastal biota in estuaries. We propose a comprehensive quantification of the fate of antibiotics, pathogens, and antimicrobial resistance in these systems together with ecotoxicological and human health assessments. Nature-based solutions performance will be analyzed using multivariate modeling techniques to identify parameters with the greatest empirical influence on the attenuation of targeted pollutants.

Start Date: 01/09/2021 – End Date: 30/08/2024

Project Leader: Víctor Matamoros Mercadal

Researchers: Josep Maria Bayona Termens , Mònica Escolà Casas , Enric Vázquez Suñé

Support: Yolanda Rodríguez Espelta

Funding: European Project

https://natureproject.eu/

EXSIMBIO

Use of simulated exudates to enhance the biodegradation of trace organic pollutants in biofilm reactors

EXSIMBIO is a project inspired in the plant-microorganism symbiosis to degrade trace organic contaminants from wastewater. In nature, plants are able to detect compounds which are not related to their environment (xenobiotics). Once detected, they can stimulate the microorganisms of their surroundings to degrade such compounds. This stimulation is made via de release of chemical signals through their root exudates. Due to this phenomenon, nature-based wastewater treatment systems, such as constructed wetlands, can eliminate trace organic contaminants faster than plant-independent wastewater treatment systems (biofilm systems like slow sand-filters or MBBRs). However, constructed wetlands take plenty of space, and plants can only stimulate the microorganisms that surround them. The EXSIMBIO project wants to identify the chemical signals that plants emit via their root exudates when they are in contact with trace organic contaminants. Once identified, the chemical signals will be prepared to stimulate microorganisms (biofilms) from wastewater treatment systems. In this way, it will be possible to enhance the efficiency of constructed wetlands to degrade trace organic contaminants, reducing the space to treat wastewater. Furthermore, the addition of those signals will also increase the efficiency of plant independent wastewater treatment systems (slow sand-filters, MBBRs).

Funding: Beatriu de Pinós 2018 Grant

Start Date: 01/02/2020 – End Date: 20/10/2023

Project Leader: Mònica Escolà Casas

Researchers: Víctor Matamoros Mercadal , Yolanda Rodríguez Espelta , Sandra Pulgar Garcia

Funding: National Project

Linkages

Understanding the role of dissolved organic carbon in modulating marine microbiome

Marine microbiomes are the main engines driving the main global biogeochemical cycles, today under threat by global change. Our understanding on the role played by dissolved organic carbon, both biogenic and specially anthropogenic, modulating microbiome functioning, has been hampered by limited analytical techniques.
This project aims to apply meta-omic approaches to disentangle the linkage between chemical, functional and taxonomical diversities in the upper ocean.

Start Date: 01/01/2020 – End Date: 31/12/2023

Project Leader: Maria Vila Costa , Pablo Gago Ferrero

Funding: National Project