Water Pollution on the Rise

Contaminated water being dumped

The number of people affected by pollution in drinking water is expected to double, reaching 2.5 billion by 2050. This increase is powered by rapid industrialization, urbanization, and the growing global population. In fact, a recent European Water Report revealed that 60% of European rivers, lakes, and coastal waters are not in good ecological or chemical condition. Shockingly, over 13,000 water bodies in Europe contain harmful substances like mercury, lead, nickel, or plastic derivatives. Considering that more than 80% of the EU's freshwater comes from rivers and groundwater, this pollution directly will expose humans to these contaminants.

A project overview

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About NIAGARA

Discover more about NIAGARA’s research, key objectives and expected impacts.

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Downloads

Access NIAGARA's press releases and communication materials for in-depth information.

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Public Deliverables

Read and download all public reports generated by NIAGARA.

Drinking water treatment plant.

Challenges Faced by DWTPs

Drinking Water Treatment Plants (DWTPs) play a crucial role in ensuring the safety of our water supply as they act as the final barrier against harmful contaminants present in water. Nowadays, these plants are encountering several challenges, including emerging pollutants, dealing with nano/microplastics, using potentially harmful disinfection methods, facing bacterial issues, lacking adequate analytical tools, and having insufficient management actions in place.

Worker

NIAGARA’s Holistic approach

NIAGARA project aims to address challenges faced by DWTPs by developing tailored solutions and integrating them into a comprehensive pilot demonstrator allowing DWTPs to effectively monitor and remove chemical and biological pollution in European drinking water while managing and minimizing associated risks.

Are you interested in collaborating?

NIAGARA welcomes any enquiries related to innovative solutions for water pollutants detection, removal and spread prediction as well as drinking water treatment plants risk management. We invite collaboration from the water sector industry, academia, government and public authorities, policymakers, and the general public.
If you’re interested in learning more about the project and feel that our expertise can contribute value to your work and research, please feel free to reach out to us. We welcome the opportunity to connect with you.

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Meet the Partners

Centro tecnológico del Embalaje, Transporte y Logística
Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
Cyprus Research & Innovation Centre
ÆGIR
Faculty of Polymer Technology
Logo Kneia
Euro-Mediterranean Information System on know-how in the Water sector
Agricultural Research, Ltd. Troubsko
General de Análisis, Materiales y Servicios, S.L.
Empresa Mixta Valenciana de Aguas, S.A.
Aguas de Valencia, S.A.