ES1202 - Conceiving Wastewater Treatment in 2020 - Energetic, environmental and economic challenges (Water_2020)

This Action brings together leading professionals working on complementary areas of wastewater treatment (WWT) at Research Institutions, Industries and Water Agencies from 17 European countries. The Action will tackle current challenges of WWT, which apart from generating high quality water and sludge, must incorporate issues as resource recovery, energy, odours, greenhouse gases, emerging contaminants, economical efficiency and social acceptance. Thus, the conception of sustainable wastewater treatment plants by 2020 (Water_2020) has to be based on a holistic approach, in which a plant-wide (i.e. including all the inputs and outputs), multi-disciplinary (i.e. with technical, environmental, social and economical considerations) and flexible (i.e. depending on the geographical and socio-economic situation) perspective is included.

Research in the water sector is quite fragmented, with scientist working on specific disciplines, and innovation in many countries is hindered due to lack of initiative or confidence. COST Action offers the perfect framework to overcome these barriers by creating a network in which excellent water professionals from different stakeholders and disciplines will cooperate and exchange knowledge.

Annual workshops, semi-annual meetings, training schools, a discussion platform and short-term scientific missions will be used as instruments for reaching this effective network. The main deliverables that will be obtained include a book produced by reputable publishers with clear guidance for Water_2020, as well as a Decision Support System for the selection of the best alternatives for each specific economic, legal and social requirement.