JPI Water - A novel FRamework to Assess and Manage Emerging contaminants in freshwater supplies

FRAME is a project funded under the Joint Programming Initiative 'Water challenges for a changing world' (JPI Water) call for projects addressing Emerging water contaminants-anthropogenic pollutants and pathogens and is a collaboration between the German Federal Insitiute of Hydrology, Technical University of Munich, The French Geological Survey, National Research Council of Italy - Water Research Institute, Italian National Institute of Health, Geo-hyd and NIVA. Emerging contaminants and pathogens are known to be incompletely removed by current wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and are continuously discharged into surface waters. The consequences of these releases are impacts on aquatic communities in European rivers and streams and on the drinking water supply. Furthermore, the increasing demand for freshwater poses two major challenges: Safeguarding of water resources in both sufficient water quantity and water quality. The aim of this project is to develop an overall evaluation strategy including a set of evaluation parameters and criteria to enable a profound evaluation of the efficiency of treatment processes to minimize the risks associated to emerging contaminants and pathogens. The evaluation criteria will be based on i) the degradation of selected chemical target contaminants of concern and the elucidation of transformation processes thereof, ii) the reduction and disappearance of ecotoxicological endpoints, iii) the minimization of viruses and microbial contaminants and iv) the removal of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Elucidation of elimination and transformation processes together with the development of sound transport models fed by analytical results provide a better understanding of the behaviour of contaminants and help to improve both technical and advisory concepts. The developed concept for evaluation will be tested and exemplified by means of different advanced post-treatments at WWTPs including ozonation, AOPs, activated carbon filtration with and without combined ultrafiltration as well as soil-aquifer treatment. Results obtained from the treatment processes will in turn be used to improve the evaluation criteria. This iterative process enables statements and predictions regarding treatment options independent of the model region. The combined results will be integrated in practical implementation advice and will be made publicly available.

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Emerging contaminants and pathogens are known to be incompletely removed by current wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Thus, both are continuously discharged into surface waters. Hence, the consequences are impacts for aquatic communities in European ri vers and streams and for the drinking water supply. Furthermore, the increasing demand for freshwater poses two major challenges: Safeguarding of water resources in both sufficient water quantity and water quality. The aim of this project is to develop an overall evaluation strategy including a set of evaluation parameters and criteria to enable a profound evaluation of the efficiency of treatment processes to minimize the risks associated to emerging contaminants and pathogens. The evaluation criteria wi ll be based on i) the degradation of selected chemical target contaminants of concern and the elucidation of transformation processes thereof, ii) the reduction and disappearance of ecotoxicological endpoints, iii) the minimization of viruses and microbia l contaminants and iv) the removal of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Elucidation of elimination and transformation processes together with the development of sound transport models fed by analytical results provide a better understanding of the behaviour of contaminants and help to improve both technical and advisory concepts. The developed concept for evaluation will be tested and exemplified by means of different advanced post-treatments at WWTPs including ozonation, AOPs, activated carbon filtration wi th and without a combined ultrafiltration as well as soil-aquifer treatment. Obtained results from the treatment processes will in turn be used for improvement of the evaluation criteria. This iterative process enables statements and predictions regarding treatment options independent of the model region. The combined results will be integrated in practical implementation advices and will be made publicly available.