Welcome to the 10th edition of the UPWATER newsletter! After a well deserved summer break, we'd like to update you about the progress we've made, updates on our ongoing work, results that we are proud to share, and announcements of upcoming events. Plus, we’re sharing news from our partners and the ZeroPollution4Water Cluster. Dive in and stay informed!

19th International Conference on Chemistry and the Environment (ICCE)
During the ICCE conference in Belgrade, Serbia, researchers from Aarhus University and IDAEA-CSIC presented new results on ceramic passive samplers and localised micropollutant metabolism in wastewater, highlighting UPWATER’s contribution to advancing sustainable water treatment solutions.

3rd International Association of GeoChemistry (IAGC) International Conference
During this event in Cagliari, Italy, UPWATER presented a poster titled "Source apportionment in urban aquifers. SOUPY code, an update of MIX code". SOUPY is a new Python-based tool for groundwater source apportionment. In UPWATER, SOUPY is used to identify recharge sources in the Barcelona and Athens Case Study sites, an essential step for improving groundwater quality and resilience during drought.

EU Green Week Partner Event: 32 Case Studies For Zero-Pollution drinking and groundwater
UPWATER took part in the EU Green Week 2025 online side event "ZeroPollution4Water Cluster: Unlocking Solutions – 32 Case Studies for Zero-Pollution Drinking Water and Groundwater", hosted by the ZeroPollution4Water Cluster. The event attracted strong interest, with more than 1.000 viewers following the livestream. The session highlighted 32 case studies from the cluster, showcasing innovative solutions and the pathway to bringing these technologies to market. Did you miss the event or want to revisit the presentations? You can access them here.

3rd Participatory Workshop (PW) in Denmark
During the 3rd PW of UPWATER, results were presented at the 'Gå-hjem' event by ATV Jord og Grundvand in Denmark. Nineteen participants learned about the designs, removal efficiencies, and challenges of the UPWATER Nature-Based Solutions tested in Stengården and Besòs. Treatment costs and an upscaled, transferable MBBR + biofilter design from Stengården were also shared. The focus then shifted to organizational aspects, introducing a decision support tool for selecting groundwater pollution treatment options. Participants discussed project criteria, weighted them in an interactive session, and the results will feed into a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and be shared with them.

Euroanalysis Congress 2025
Yesterday, UPWATER presented a poster on the calibration of Ceramic Passive Samplers for the measurement of 54 contaminants and 5 PFAS in river- and groundwater. We showed the presence and distribution of 8 contaminants and 5 PFAS in the river Besòs (Barcelona) and the surrounding wells.

Right: Giacomo Moro and Silvia Lacorte at the Euroanalysis Congress

The UPWATER team continues to advance work on groundwater risk assessment, monitoring, and upscaling activities across the three case study sites: Besòs, Athens, and Stengården.

Groundwater Risk Assessment
Lab experiments have been completed to provide site-specific data, and PFAS analyses are ongoing. Results analysis is planned for autumn to finalize the risk assessment for all three sites.

Monitoring and Mitigation Measures
Data collection for monitoring measures is nearly complete, while the work on mitigation measures is in its final stages. Our experts have weighted the importance of the defined criteria, and we are now finalizing the cost-comparison, cost-effectiveness analyses, and the three multi-criteria assessment (MCDA) methods selected. Preliminary priority lists are available for Besòs, while Athens and Stengården await additional groundwater monitoring results. 

Upscaling
Preliminary upscaling reports for Besòs and Athens have been completed, with Stengården’s report in progress. Feedback is being collected to refine the reports, and further definition of potential monitoring networks and plans for all sites is underway.

The UPWATER team is on track to deliver final results that will support effective groundwater management strategies across all pilot sites.

3rd Participatory Workshops
On 4 and 12 September, the 3rd participatory workshops with local stakeholders will be organised in the Besòs and Athens Case Study. These sessions, Feasible Pathways for Implementation of the Governance and Policy Options (GPOs), have the goal of exploring the feasibility of GPOs to inform policy briefs. 

Solutions of the governance & policy options
(GPOs) in the Besòs Case Study

The output of these discussions will inform the preparation of the UPWATER policy briefs, including demonstrating feasible pathways to implementation for local stakeholders.

Interested to stay up-to-date? Follow UPWATER on LinkedIn!

Researchers at IDAEA-CSIC, project partner of UPWATER, have recently tested a novel hybrid constructed wetland system to tackle contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in wastewater. 

Their findings point to promising opportunities for advancing sustainable water treatment solutions and open new perspectives for scaling up nature-based approaches.

Interested to discover more about the results? Read the full article here:

Webinar: Market Uptake for New Technologies – Lessons from Practice
11 November | Online

This lunchtime session invites experts and stakeholders to explore the pathways, challenges and enabling conditions for bringing innovative technologies to the market. The event draws on the collaborative work within the ZeroPollution4Water Cluster, sharing practical insights and policy-relevant recommendations.

Today in the spotlight: Andrea Reuvers, Communication Manager at Future City Foundation, the UPWATER project partner located in The Netherlands.

"In UPWATER, I work as Communication Manager, where I am responsible for developing newsletters, managing the website and social media channels, organizing webinars, and creating communication materials. I am also co-leader of the Communication Working Group within the ZeroPollution4Water Cluster."

With an academic background in Philosophy and professional experience in marketing and communication, Andrea brings a critical and curious mindset to her work, asking questions, exploring new perspectives, and fostering meaningful collaborations and networking opportunities.

"Through communication and dissemination activities, my goal is to engage stakeholders across the water sector, share insights and results, and contribute to advancing a zero-pollution future for water."

Andrea and Evgeny Bulatov at the Smart
City World Congress in Barcelona, 2024.

Andrea at AquaTech Amsterdam, 2025.

The ZeroPollution4Water Cluster is welcoming 5 new projects, bringing the total to 12! The new projects span a variety of water-related challenges, reflecting the cluster’s broad zero-pollution mandate. The cluster will fully incorporate the new projects into its regular activities. New members are assigned to relevant working groups focused on specific water management themes, enriching the cluster's collaborative effort to achieve clean and safe water across Europe. 

About the ZP4W Cluster:
The ZP4W Cluster is an initiative that origi-nated from the coalition of seven different water projects, all funded from two Horizon Europe 2022 calls. The cluster aims at crea-ting further collaboration and synergy between the sister projects, developing co-operation actions with other projects running and future projects and other initiatives, such as co-funded and co-programmed partnerships.

🔹LIFE ELEKTRA
Coordinated by Global Omnium (Spain), this project focuses on electrochemical nitrate removal from groundwater and surface water using renewable energy, with hydrogen recovery as a co-benefit.

🔹 NIAGARA
A Horizon Europe project led by ITENE (Spain), NIAGARA targets complex contaminants in drinking water through biosensors, enzymatic filtration, and hydraulic modelling.

🔹 LIFE PRISTINE
Coordinated by ACCIONA, this project tackles emerging pollutants across the full water cycle using nanofiltration, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), and digital control tools—boosting water quality and reuse.

🔹 LIFE CASCADE
Led by De Nora Water Technologies (Italy), this project addresses PFAS and microplastics in textile industrial wastewater with modular treatment systems and real-time monitoring technologies.

🔹 D4RUNOFF
Based in Denmark and coordinated by VandCenter Syd, this initiative develops AI-powered sensors and nature-based solutions to tackle pollution from urban stormwater runoff.

Interested to read the full article on the cluster expansion and the 5 new projects? You find it on the website of the ZeroPollution4Water Cluster.

Interested to stay informed about the ZP4W Cluster? We keep you updated about the cluster activities via the ZeroPollution4Water website and the LinkedIn page of the cluster!

UPwater is an EU Horizon project. It focusses on Understanding groundwater Pollution to protect
and enhance WATERquality. Read more about the project and our project partners on our website.