Water4All’s 2022 Joint Transnational Call sought to deliver knowledge, models, approaches, tools and methodologies to better understand hydrological processes at different scales and to respond more efficiently to emerging water issues related to extreme events.
The Call also addressed innovative governance models, and enhanced participation of stakeholders, communities and society at large in water management issues related to extreme events.
The increase in the number of hydrological extreme events in the last few decades has motivated the research community to investigate their spatial variability and underlying processes. Evidence suggests that to properly support water management and tackle future and emerging challenges, it is necessary to make progress in understanding the spatiotemporal complex systems that drive hydrological events.
Today the series of portray of the 27 excellent R&D projects selected for funding continues. An introduction to the last three projects: WAMA-WADIT, WATER-BIOFIL, and WATERGREENTREAT.
WAMA-WADIT project
The WAMA-WADIT project is focused on water management and adaptation based on watershed digital twins
The general objectives of this project are:
- Improve the understanding of the effects that drought and floods have on the operation of water management systems,
- How optimal management strategies may mitigate the effects of such extremes.
This objective will require tackling more specific objectives related to the characterization of climate, hydrology, and reservoirs, the most relevant are:
- Analysing systematic errors in climate and hydrologic predictions
- Including more complete groundwater dynamics models, with the surface hydrology ones
- Incorporate more complex snow dynamics into hydrological modelling,
- Assess the effect that long-term forecasts and projections of extreme events may have on reservoir management.
Link to the Water4All project webpage
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WATER-BIOFIL project
The WATER-BIOFIL project is focused on next-generation biodegradable filters for water purification and desalination.
The general objectives of this project are:
- Design & assemble & test next generation compostable filters, (from biodegradable polymers and/or bio-sourced polymers),
- Integrate the filters in regular POU systems,
- Serve their purpose as first-aid tools to cope with hydro-climatic extreme events, while diminishing the environmental impact of hazardous materials.
Link to the Water4All project webpage
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WATERGREENTREAT project:
The WATERGREEENTREAT project is focused on a green approach in the frame of the circular economy: robocasted photocatalysts for wastewater treatment and use of reclaimed water in agriculture.
The general objectives of this project are:
- Green synthesis of photo-catalysts based on metal oxides, nanoparticles,
- 3D-printing structures based on ecogenic metal oxides by robocasting,
- The use of the obtained 3D photocatalytic structures based on metal oxides, NPs, to remove contaminants (pharmaceutical/textile industry) from the wastewater,
- The use of the microalgae to reduce pollutant species generated during the photocatalysis process, and
- The assessment of the synergistic effect induced by the 3D photocatalytic structures and microalgae at laboratory/ semi-industrial/greenhouse level on synthetic wastewater (by adding drugs/dyes) and in real wastewater (treatment plants).
