The Tarragona Water Consortium (CAT) and the Eurecat technology centre have hosted a technical conference on the impact of climate change on drinking water quality at the Drinking Water Treatment Plant (DWTP) in l’Ampolla which brought together nearly a hundred professionals from all over Catalonia involved in water management and set out the first conclusions drawn from the European SafeCREW research project.
This international study, which includes the participation of the Tarragona Water Consortium and Eurecat along with nine other European organisations, is to explore how water purification processes will have to adapt to the consequences of the new climate scenario. Specifically, the study will make it possible to determine the impact of climate change on both surface water and groundwater and what effect this will have on their properties, treatment processes and distribution.
The conference shared the first conclusions drawn from analysis of data on the lower course of the Ebro River gathered over the last twenty years. The experts identified a 2ºC rise in the temperature of the river water over the last decade coupled with a significant increase in conductivity, i.e. the concentration of salts.
“Not only is climate change transforming the characteristics of water but there is also a strong human factor which impinges on the river and that is precisely why strategic projects such as SafeCREW are needed,” said Irene Jubany, a researcher and Research Coordinator in Eurecat’s Sustainability Area. “If we gain a better understanding of the characteristics of this water, we will be able to enhance and optimise treatment processes to ensure the highest quality of the water which ultimately gets to our homes.”
“The data show that as in other rivers, the quality and quantity of water flowing down the Ebro is increasingly fluctuating, and if this trend continues water purification processes will have to be reworked and adapted.”
The European SafeCREW project is part of the European Union’s Horizon 2022 research and innovation programme. It has an overall budget of €4 million and involves a total of eleven international organisations from countries including Italy, Germany and Ukraine.
