Project:
WATERPATH – Understanding and improving water-driven ecosystem services for the production of drinking water and treated wastewater for agricultural reuse, COFUND-ERA-NET-Water4All-Waterpath, ctr. 103/2025. https://waterpath.eu/
Period: 2024-2027
Organizații finanțatoare: UEFISCDI (Romania), MUR (Italy), AEI (Spain)
Coordinator: Università degli studi di Firenze – Italy
Partners:
- University of Turin, Italy
- University of Las Palmas De Gran Canaria, Spain
- Babeș-Bolyai University: one research group affiliated with DSIB lead by Prof. Dr. Anca Butiuc and one research group from the Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Engineering lead by Conf. Dr. Simion Mihail Beldean-Galea
- G.I.D.A. Spa – Italy
- Agenzia regionale per la protezione ambientale della Toscana, Italy
The project aims to strengthen the scientific basis needed to protect and improve ecosystem services related to drinking water and the reuse of treated wastewater in agriculture, in the context of new European regulations. The initiative comes as response to the increasingly stringent requirements set out in Directive (EU) 2020/2184 on drinking water, Regulation (EU) 2020/741 on water reuse, and Directive (EU) 2024/3019 on urban wastewater treatment. These legislative acts focus on the integrated management of water resources and the monitoring of emerging contaminants and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Problem addressed
Currently, available data on emerging contaminants (CECs), their transformation products (CEC-TPs), and antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes encoding resistance (ARBs/ARGs) are fragmentary and limited to isolated studies. This lack of comprehensive information makes it difficult to assess risks and adopt effective public policies for the protection of aquatic ecosystems and human health.
Strategic objective
The strategic objective of the project is to provide regulatory authorities with comprehensive and up-to-date information on the level of contamination with CEC/CEC-TP and ARB/ARG in three model geographical areas (continental, peninsular, and insular) to support the updating of European environmental policies. At the same time, the project aims to identify effective strategies for reducing chemical contamination to improve the chemical and biological status of water bodies.