Newsletters   Subscription   Contributions       Newsletter issue n°2 - March 07

 

FP7 - Follow-up of the Info Day on Environmental Technologies Research:

The major intention of the event held in Brussels on 23 January was to provide detailed information about the various topics identified in the first call for proposals under FP7. The event was an excellent opportunity to describe and present the Work Programme for environmental research as well as relevant FP7 novelties to the audience. The programme was followed by four parallel sessions on 1) Water and Soil technologies; 2) Waste and Clean Processes; 3) Built Environment and Cultural Heritage; 4) Risk assessment of chemicals and alternative strategies for testing. Participants were given the possibility to present their project ideas, competences or interest. The presentation's session was followed by an open brokerage event.

 

The Info Day programme, including the links to all presentations and to the list of participants, is available at the following web address: http://forum.europa.eu.int/Public/irc/rtd/eesdwatkeact/library?l=/environmental_technologi/info-day-results-fertigh/_EN_1.0_&a=d or from the web site: http://forum.europa.eu.int/Public/irc/rtd/eesdwatkeact/library?l=/environmental_technologi&vm=detailed&sb=Title

 

FP7- The EC has published the draft grant agreement.

The grant agreement, formerly known as the model contract, is aimed to include all contractually binding issues among parties. The document is established in conformity with the rules for participation and the EC financial regulations. The published draft is for applicants' information about the future standard grant agreement. Are published the main parts of the draft standard grant agreement comprising the core text and the Annex II "General conditions". The other related annexes will be available later on. The attention is drawn to the fact that the presented documents are subject to substantial revisions before being adopted by the Commission.

 

Draft documents, only for information, are available at: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/calls-grant-agreement_en.html

 

FP7 - EPSS will go live on 19 March 2007

The Electronic Proposal Submission Service, the IT tool allowing applicants to prepare and submit their proposals in response to respective calls, is expected to be available from 19th March onwards, starting with the calls having early deadlines. Access to the application will be given throughout the call web page (Environment theme, call FP7-ENV-2007-1: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.CooperationDetailsCallPage&call_id=6

 

Surveillance and control of microbiological stability in drinking water distribution networks (SAFER) 

The SAFER project, a four year FP5 research project investigating the deterioration of the drinking water quality due to biofilm development during its transportation through the distribution system, has been recently finalised. Thanks to the development of new fast detection techniques, the SAFER project will permit the implementation of early warning tools for biofilms and pathogens.

 

Most specifically, the SAFER project has permitted the following:

As a whole, SAFER gives means to water industry to improve treatment and drinking water distribution. It also provides opportunities for more consumers protection by reducing accidents and epidemiological incidents and provides important insights to be considered in the context of the revision of the European policy in drinking water quality.

 

For more information about the project results, please see: http://www.safer-eu.com/projects_results.html

 

Real-time flood decision support system integrating hydrological, meteorological and remote sensing radar technologies (FLOODRELIEF)

The FP5 project FLOODRELIEF, which deals with the development and demonstration of a new generation of flood forecasting methodologies which will advance capabilities and accuracies of present forecasting systems, has recently submitted its final report.

 

Real-time flood forecasting systems, which link weather forecasts, the state of the river catchment, river discharges and water levels, can be used to respond to floods as they occur and to reduce their costs in terms of lives, property and infrastructure breakdown. In comparison to the construction of major flood protection works such as dams, dikes and polders, flood forecasting is cost effective and the environmental impacts are minimal. More importantly, when used for flood warning, these systems can save lives. By using new technologies to improve flood forecasting, we can thus forecast floods ahead of time rather than clearing up afterwards.

 

Current flood forecasting and warning systems have several limitations, such as insufficient lead-time to provide accurate flood warnings, inadequate spatial and temporal resolution of the real-time rainfall observations and forecasts for flood producing storm, little integration of different sources of forecast information. Moreover, their ability in considering the uncertainties in estimating and forecasting precipitation and flood discharges is very limited; their application at regional level is also limited and the costs of improving forecasting may be prohibitive.

 

The FLOODRELIEF project addressed these limitations. A new powerful and highly accessible Internet-based real-time decision support system designed to meet the needs of regional flood forecasting authorities and make the results more readily accessible has been developed. The system exploits and integrates different sources of forecast information, including improved hydrological and meteorological model systems and databases, radar, advanced data assimilation procedures and uncertainty estimation.

 

The technologies developed in the project have been evaluated and tested in two highly flood prone regional basins, one in Poland and one in the United Kingdom. Flooding in Poland captured Europe’s attention in July 1997 when a devastating flooding was triggered by an extreme cyclonal weather condition of heavy rainfall in the Beskidy and the Sudety. In the Czech Republic as well as in Poland, the catastrophe led to the loss of over 100 lives, the evacuation of almost 190,000 people and the incurrence of 3 billion EUR in damages. The importance of flood forecasting and flood management in Poland was highlighted by the localised flooding of 1998 but also by the severe storms which, over several weeks in July 2001, resulted in thousands being forced from their homes and in around 25 reported fatalities.

 

Additional information about the project is available at: http://projects.dhi.dk/floodrelief/

 

Technology Enabled Universal Access to Safe Water (TECHNEAU)

The TECHNEAU project, a major integrated project that addressed the tremendous challenges that face the water supply sector worldwide, has submitted its first periodic report.

 

The project delivered various reviews on state-of-the-art knowledge and practices as well as trends and threats that might impact current and future water systems and cause concern to water industry, such as climate change, urbanization, infrastructure maintenance, globalization, increased bottled water consumption, emerging pollutants, consumer involvement, risk management, technological progress and privatization. Additional reviews on consumer issues, such as nature and promotion of trust, willingness to pay, awareness of water supply issues, responses to restrictions on water use and bottled water use,  list of hazards that might influence water supplies from source to tap, key parameters for monitoring and control of drinking water quality, RO-desalination systems, UV and chemically based oxidation processes, small scale treatment systems in developing and transition countries,  operational status and optimization issues on Enhanced Coagulation, Ozonation–biofiltration, nanofiltration processes (NF) and in low-pressure UF processes with upstream coagulation (PC-UF) have also been done. These reviews are accessible through the project website.

 

Project partners started the development of the Oxidation Bio-filtration Membrane reactor. The first year results show a high potential of this novel process as multi-barrier system for pathogens and pollutants. Work on ceramic membranes (made from inorganic materials) has showed that these membranes may become an innovative solution for several tasks in water treatment in the future. E.g. pilot testing at water works shows that, for surface water, ceramic membranes could produce a stable flux which is two times greater than for non-ceramic membranes. Pilot tests also show promising applications for the treatment of backwash water of conventional rapid filters. A combination of processes, such as adsorption and ozonation, shows good elimination of pesticides from membrane concentrates.

 

Various teams work on novel water quality detection systems, both for field and laboratory applications. Progress is made on various topics (UV/Vis spectrometer, real-time fish biomonitoring, detection system for waterborne contaminants using mechanism-based bioassays, analytical procedures for trace analysis of several algal toxins, etc).

 

During the first year, TECHENAU has also made progresses on optimizing and improving existing systems by building models that ensure the transfer of micro-scale processes into practical applications for operational improvement. A TECHNEAU modelling team achieved to set a first step towards integration of existing European models into a common modelling platform which will exceed the capabilities of the existing ones. Another team designed a framework of an integrated model for water quality in distribution networks. The model will be based on processes that determine water quality changes in networks such as particle release and movement, biofilms, regrowth and corrosion.

 

TECHNEAU has given particular attention to the early dissemination of its project results. Apart from the website and newsletters, regional workshops (Regional Technology Platform) are also important instruments for TECHNEAU to communicate with external stakeholders. The first RTP was successfully organized for the Baltic States in October 2006 in Riga, Latvia. About 100 delegates from universities, water companies, consultants and regulators participated. Attendees discussed project results and identified challenges for the water supply sector in the Baltic States including options for TECHNEAU to contribute.

 

For more information about project results, please see the following website: http://www.techneau.org/

 

Soil and groundwater related environmental technologies: A European Verification System.

The Environmental Technology Action Plan of the European Commission [ETAP, COM (2004) 38 final] stimulates technologies for sustainable development. The overall objectives of ETAP are: i) to remove the obstacles that prevents full exploitation of environmental technologies, ii) to ensure an EU leading position for developing and applying such technologies,  while iii) mobilising all stakeholders in support of previous objectives. One of the priority actions in ETAP focuses on getting from research to market. With this purpose, the establishment of a European Environmental Technology Verification System will favour and speed up the diffusion of technologies into the market through a third party confirmation of the performance of a technology. The Verification System will provide confidence to technology purchasers for buying a particular technology and will help producers to convince the market of the technology's merit. Some countries, e.g. USA and Canada, have already established verification systems with a long record of verified technologies.

 

During the last Framework Programme (FP6, 2002-2006), a series of projects has been granted for the study and development of a European Environmental Technology Verification System. The projects cover a wide range of environmental technologies including water, soil and air related technologies. Further information and actual progress of these projects can be found at http://www.eu-etv-strategy.eu.

 

Within the range of the ongoing activities, PROMOTE is organising a CEN Workshop Agreement focussed on environmental technology verification for soil/groundwater remediation and monitoring systems. The workshop will be held in Stuttgart (DE) on 25 April 2007. CEN Workshops Agreements are consensus-based specifications, drawn up in an open workshop environment. This is open to all interested parties without geographical restrictions because participation may be by physical presence or electronically. All details about this workshop can be found at http://www.cen.eu/cenorm/businessdomains/technicalcommitteesworkshops/workshops/non+ict+workshops.asp. Contact person: Karsten Friis, DECHEMA e.V.  D-60486 Frankfurt, friis@dechema.de

 

PUBLICATIONS and AVAILABLE DOCUMENTS

 

Global Change and Ecosystems, EU Research for the Environment - Catalogue of FP6 projects

The latest version of the FP6 full catalogue of RTD projects is available at: http://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/pdf/global_change_ecosystem.pdf

 

The overview of other available publications can be found at: http://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/newsanddoc/other_pubs_en.htm

 

"Climate change impacts on the water cycle, resources and quality.  Scientific and policy report"

The publication is a result of the workshop organised by the European Commission that was held in Brussels on 25 and 26 September 2006.  The workshop proceedings comprise a summary of the sessions, discussions and abstracts of the contributions to sessions from speakers. The electronic version of the publication can be downloaded from http://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/pdf/kina22422ens_web_water_and_cc.pdf

 

"Human Pharmaceuticals, Hormones and Fragrances.  The Challenge of Micropollutants in Urban Water Management"

Editors: Thomas Ternes, Adriano Joss

The book covers all aspects of the fate and removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the whole water cycle: consumption and occurrence, analytical methods, legal background, environmental risk assessment, human and animal toxicology, source control options, wastewater and drinking water treatment as well as indirect reuse. It presents a summary of the results obtained during the FP5 EU project POSEIDON, combined with further expert knowledge on the field.
 

More information available at: http://iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843390930

 

"Integrated Transboundary Water Management in Theory and Practice.  Experiences from the New EU Eastern Borders"

Authors: Geoffrey D Gooch, Per Stålnacke

The book covers the problems inherent to integrated water management in transboundary conditions. It provides new knowledge and policy recommendations based on the experiences and results of the EU funded research project MANTRA-East.

 

More information available at: http://iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843390841
 

"Climate change and water adaptation issues" EEA Technical report n°2/2007

The European Environment Agency has recently published a technical report addressing climate change and EU water policy, national practises in relation to flood, drought and water scarcity. The report concludes with a discussion and future challenges, including an annex addressing water-climate change related activities.

 

The report is available at http://reports.eea.europa.eu/technical_report_2007_2/en/eea_technical_report_2_2007.pdf

 

EU Report Series available from IWA Publishing:

This EU Reports series resulted of a special agreement between the International Water Association and the European Commission, Directorate-General for Research, Environment Directorate, aiming to articulate to researchers, policy makers and water practitioners scientific knowledge and innovative technologies for the sustainable management of natural resources, generated by multidisciplinary research projects supported in successive European Union's environmental research programmes.

 

This series intends also to disseminate results for dedicated policy-oriented research undertaken in the context of Community Research Framework Programmes, especially research to support the implementation of the Water Framework Directive, the Drinking Water and Urban Waste Water Directives, as well as research to support the implementation of EU Water Initiative, a European commitment towards the Millennium Development Goals.

 

List of available publications - EU Report Series

Integrated Evaluation for Sustainable River Basin Governance - ADVISOR

Editors: N. Videira, G. Kallis, P. Antunes and R. Santos

http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843391481

 

Urban Water Resources Toolbox - AISUWRS

Editors: L. Wolf, B. Morris and S. Burn
http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843391384

 

Integrated Deliberative Decision Processes for Water Resources Planning and Evaluation - ADVISOR

Editors: G. Kallis, N. Videira, P. Antunes and R. Santos
http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843391678
 

Water and Liberalisation - European Water Scenarios - EUROMARKET

Editors: M. Finger, J. Allouche, P. Luís-Manso

http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843391139

 

Comparative Evaluation of Sludge Reduction Routes - W.I.R.E.S.

Editor: P. Ginestet

http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843391236

 

Computer Aided Rehabilitation of Sewer and Storm Water Networks - CARE-S

Editor: S. Saegrov

http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843391155

 

Computer Aided Rehabilitation for Water Networks - CARE-W

Editor: S. Saegrov

http://www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn1843390914

 

EVENTS

 

Water Status Monitoring under the Water Framework Directive Conference, 12-14 March 2007, Le Nouveau Siècle, Lille, France.

The event will bring together key actors from the water sector, with focus on science and policy interactions.

 

The final SWIFT-WFD workshop will be organised as a side event. The two main objectives of this workshop are to present SWIFT-WFD results obtained during the three-year project and to give an overview of the main outputs.

 

For detailed information, please visit: http://www.wfdlille2007.org/

 

First Joint Workshop of the European Projects RECLAIM WATER – GABARDINE, 21-23 March, 2007 in Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain).

Aquifers are the main source of water in most semi-arid zones of the Mediterranean basin. As a result of over-exploitation, hydrologic deficits of varying acuity prevail in these areas. Moreover, the water quality has decreased, due to seawater intrusion and pollution. Aquifer artificial recharge has been practised for a long time worldwide and this for a variety of purposes: to restore groundwater levels, provide a barrier for seawater intrusion, use the aquifer as a reservoir facility and as a water carrier, prevent floods and improve the water quality.

 

In this sense, the objective of the project GABARDINE is to identify alternative sources of water to be artificially recharged and to investigate the feasibility, both environmental and economical, of their utilization. RECLAIM WATER proposes reclaimed municipal wastewater as water alternative source and has the objective of developing hazard mitigation technologies for water reclamation, providing safe and cost effective routes for artificial groundwater recharge.

 

Both projects, GABARDINE and RECLAIM WATER, are closely related and this Joint Workshop will enable a closer communication and allow attendants to share knowledge and information. An overview of the work done in both projects will be given in the workshop. Besides, internationally well-known experts in the field will be invited and will give their views on the aquifer recharge tool.

 

The workshop programme and details are available on: http://www.tilesa.es/reclaimwater-gabardine/

 

European Water Conference, 22-23 March 2007, Brussels, Belgium.

The conference will coincide with World Water Day.  The Environment Commissioner Mr Stavros Dimas will present the first implementation report for the Water Framework Directive. On the same day, the Water Information System for Europe (WISE) will be launched.

 

For more information, please visit: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-framework/conference.html

 

REVIT & CABERNET 2007 - 2nd International Conference on Managing Urban Land, 25 - 27 April, 2007, Theaterhaus Stuttgart, Germany.

It will bring together a wide range of professionals managing urban land to share best practice experience, problem solving knowledge and the application of new techniques and tools. Current thinking and future trends in innovative land management will be highlighted and new approaches for public and private sector decision-making will be explored. The outcome of the conference will formally contribute to a number of European research activities and funding programmes in the field of European regional development.

 

The conference will cover three plenary sessions presenting 11 keynote lectures and 32 parallel sessions with more than 130 presentations.

 

For more information, please visit: www.revit-cabernet.org

 

3rd European Conference on MTBE and other Fuel Oxygenates, 7- 8 June 2007, Antwerp, Belgium.

Oxygenates such as methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) are required in gasoline to replace toxic additives as lead and to realize a cleaner fuel combustion. In recent years, MTBE has found its way into the soil and especially the groundwater, threatening groundwater supplies. This conference on MTBE and other oxygenates is relevant for scientists, policy makers, consultants, petroleum industry, site owners and remediation companies dealing in one way or another with MTBE and other oxygenates. The purpose is to gather pioneers and experts from all over the world to exchange information and new experience.

 

The conference will address scientific and engineering aspects on the following topics:

Additional information is available at: http://wwwb.vito.be/vitoevenement/evenementenlijst.aspx

 

NICOLE Workshop "Redevelopment of sites - the industrial perspective", 13-15 June 2007, Akersloot, The Netherlands.

The Network for Industrially Contaminated Land in Europe (NICOLE http://www.nicole.org/) will hold a workshop in view to present and discuss drivers for redevelopment, management of liability, cases and tools for facilitating redevelopment. An interactive session in which participants will be challenged to "redevelop a site" is part of the programme including a possibility to visit the result of redevelopment activities in "Zaanstad" - the industrial area in the north of Amsterdam.

 

Nicole Secretariat: Marjan Euser (marjan.euser@tno.nl)

 

First Regional Fair of ProMembrane project, 9 - 10 September 2007, Homs, Syria.

During the Fair, the Research centres, local universities and young researchers will present their current research activities in the membrane technology field.


The Young Scientist Award will be given to the best scientific work presented by a young scientist of the Region.


For more information please contact: Prof. Adnan Ghata: ghatasyr@scs-net.org or Dr. Fouad Atallah: atalf@scs-net.org

 

XXXIV IAH Congress on Groundwater and Ecosystems,  17 -21 September 2007, Lisbon, Portugal.

IAH is a scientific and educational organisation which aims at promoting research into and understanding of the proper management and protection of groundwater.

 

During the Congress, different special sessions will be held related to specific groundwater topics such as 1) Groundwater Policy (European Groundwater Directive) co-organized with the European Commission; 2) History of Hydrogeology; 3) Thermal and Mineral Waters in Hard Rock Terrains.

 

UNESCO-IHP/UNEP is co-organizing a special session on its funded projects related to the congress' main topic.

 

More information is available at: http://www.iah-2007.com

 

RTD RESULTS: USE, EXPLOITATION AND COMMUNICATION EXPERIENCES

 

From research to implementation: the DEPURANAT Project- Management of wastewater in rural areas and protected natural spaces

The project Depuranat was co-financed by the EU Interreg IIIB Atlantic Arc Programme (2004-2006). Nine organizations from the Atlantic Arc, led by the Canary Islands Institute of Technology (ITC), successfully focussed their activities on research and technological development of decentralised sewage and waste water treatment systems based on natural processes.

 

The most important achievements of this project are:

 

For additional information: http://depuranat.itccanarias.org or contact: depuranat@itccanarias.org

 

MORE INFORMATION: click here

 

LEGAL NOTICE

The information and views set out in this newsletter are those of the author(s) and do not reflect necessarily the official opinion of the European Communities. Neither the European Communities institutions and bodies nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made on the information contained therein. This newsletter may be freely distributed.

See also http://europa.eu.int/geninfo/disclaimer_en.htm

 

EDITOR:

European Commission

DG Research, Unit I03

Rue de la Loi 200, B-1049 Belgium                                     © European Communities, 2007

e-mail : Avelino.Gonzalez-Gonzalez@ec.europa.eu            Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged