ZeroPollution4Water

What is the cluster?

The ZeroPollution4Water Cluster is a new-born initiative that originated from the coalition of seven different projects funded from the calls for proposals HORIZON-CL6-2022-ZEROPOLLUTION-01-01 and 01-04, that revolve around two main themes: Preventing groundwater contamination and protecting its quality against harmful impacts of global and climate change and securing drinking water quality by protecting water sources against pollution, providing innovative monitoring and treatment solutions, and ensuring safe distribution.

Objectives

The main purpose of the cluster of projects from these two topics (drinking and groundwater) is to develop, demonstrate (and possibly to deploy):

enhanced knowledge base to assess pollution sources, pathways and combined effects on drinking water systems and groundwater bodies, including forward looking approaches to prepare for emerging challenges;
advanced preventive and mitigating strategies and measures to protect drinking water sources, treatment and supply and to protect groundwater against harmful effects of global and climate change;
effective risk assessment and risk management strategies enabling early warning systems and delivering ready-made outputs for decision-making for drinking and for groundwater;
advanced, integrated and cost-effective water quality sensors and analytical methods for drinking water;
innovative and robust monitoring systems and real-time information on drinking water quality, from sources to supply;
use a robust knowledge on the occurrence, persistence and degradability of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in drinking water;
advanced and cost-effective drinking water treatment and disinfection processes and technologies;
enhanced scientific and technological base and guidance on measures to manage drinking water quality and groundwater quality and providing evidence, guidance and recommendations for policymaking, safety planning and implementation;
relevant case studies as the evidence-based implementation of the European Green Deal.

Therefore, the cluster aims at creating further collaboration and synergy between the sister project, developing co-operation actions with other projects running and future projects – not necessarily funded by the EU R&I FP – and other initiatives, such as co-funded and co-programmed partnerships – e.g. Water4All, Biodiversa+, DUT, Process4Planet.

Expected Impacts

This effort, with the continued support of the EC services such as project advisers and policy officers of the EC REA and DGs, intends to build a critical mass of knowledge and expertise to effectively contribute with the concrete evidence-based examples from case studies and to propose recommendations on water effective management from the perspective of a wider drinking water cycle(from source to tap including drinking water networks), as well as from the zero-pollution strategy viewpoint. In this way the cluster is aiming to contribute to: (a) policy shaping and implementation, (b) identification of new R&I’s challenges, and (c) exploitation of results to achieve a Water-Smart Society.