ReCircWater

Tytuł: ReCircWater: Innovating Stormwater Management and Reuse

Program:

Interreg South Baltic Programme 2021-2027 / Interreg Południowy Bałtyk 2021-2027

Instytucje:

CLEAN - Environmental Cluster Denmark; University of Gdańsk; Klaipeda University; Gdansk Water Foundation; Sweden Water Research AB; Zakład Wodociągów i Kanalizacji (ZWiK) Szczecin; Novafos Birkerød

Category of intervention:

065: Developing innovative methods to treat and reuse stormwater runoff to reduce pollution and enhance water management in the South Baltic area.

Numer projektu

STHB.02.02-IP.01-0001/25

Data:

01.08.2025 – 31.07.2028

Wydatki ogółem (EUR)

2 010 243,60

Opis projektu:

Region Południowego Bałtyku i Morze Bałtyckie stoją w obliczu poważnych wyzwań środowiskowych. Jedna z głównych przyczyn tego stanu to wysoki poziom zanieczyszczenia tworzywami sztucznymi i chemikaliami. W dużej mierze pochodzą one z obszarów miejskich i przemysłowych. Co więcej, długotrwałe susze i obfite opady deszczu sprawiają, że trudniej zarządzać wodą deszczową. Aby sprostać rosnącym zagrożeniom, potrzebujemy skoordynowanej, regionalnej współpracy, z pożytkiem dla wszystkich korzystających z zasobów Bałtyku. Partnerzy projektu ReCircWater opracują nowe, opłacalne technologie oczyszczania i ponownego wykorzystania wód opadowych w regionie Południowego Bałtyku. Odbędą się warsztaty i szkolenia dla kluczowych interesariuszy, w szczególności dla przedsiębiorstw użyteczności publicznej i gmin. Dzięki nim uczestnicy zdobędą wiedzę, jak zarządzać wodami opadowymi. Informacje o prototypach i pilotażowych rozwiązaniach partnerzy projektowi będą rozpowszechniać wśród regionalnych grup roboczych i podczas konferencji. Planowane rezultaty projektu ReCircWater to m.in.: przewodnik po nowej metodzie analizy zrzutu wód burzowych, przegląd innowacyjnych technologii oczyszczania wód burzowych, wytyczne dotyczące zarządzania wodami opadowymi, pilotażowe rozwiązanie dotyczące identyfikacji i oczyszczania zanieczyszczeń i składników odżywczych w wodach opadowych.

Abstract:

The South Baltic Region and the Baltic Sea are facing significant environmental challenges, primarily due to high levels of pollution from plastics, chemicals, nutrients and eutrophication. Urban stormwater runoff, often laden with pollutants and nutrients from urban and industrial areas, exacerbates these issues. Furthermore, the combination of prolonged droughts and heavy rainfall is making rainwater management a significant societal challenge. With the growing concern of water scarcity in Europe, there is an urgent need to utilise  non-traditional water resources. Effective stormwater management, including storage and innovative reuse by water utilities, is crucial for reducing the pollutant load entering water bodies and for making use of water that would otherwise be wasted. Water does not adhere to national boundaries, meaning pollutants and nutrients in stormwater from one country can directly impact another when they flow into the Baltic Sea. To address the growing pollution challenges in the Baltic Sea, a coordinated and collaborative regional approach is essential for the benefit of all who utilise its resources. This requires a comprehensive understanding, effective treatment, and innovative management of stormwater practices throughout the South Baltic Region. By separating combined sewers into wastewater and stormwater sewers, we address climate adaptation issues and reduce nutrient loads from untreated wastewater bypasses. However, the majority of stormwater management in the South Baltic Region is dealt through combined sewer overflows which introduces new, diffuse, and continuous pollution with nutrients, heavy metals (copper, zinc, lead, chrome, nickel, cadmium), road salt, oil, microplastics, PAHs, PFAS, and other organic contaminants such as alkylphenols, phthalates, and pesticides. Urban stormwater runoff often contains a complex mixture of contaminants from diffuse sources, hindering the achievement of good ecological and chemical status for inland and marine waters. Therefore, stormwater discharge in urban areas often requires advanced, multi-step treatment to meet environmental quality standards. There is a need for new, cost-effective, and compact methods for treating stormwater runoff in urban areas where there is limited space. Enhanced treatment of stormwater also expands the possibilities for reusing treated stormwater, which needs further investigation. This project aims to investigate and develop new holistic, cost-effective, and compact methods for treating and reusing urban stormwater runoff. This project aims to develop a common understanding of legislation, current stormwater management practices, and methods for addressing stormwater discharge in the South Baltic Region. There will be capacity building and training workshops for key stakeholders, particularly utilities and municipalities, across region to support embedding of knowledge on stormwater management and the upscaling of the solutions developed. Prototypes and pilots will be developed using known technologies sourced from the South Baltic Region through co-creation activities. Successful outcomes will be shared via regional working groups and conferences. The project’s goal is to demonstrate the effectiveness of combined multi-treatment technologies in managing pollutants and nutrients, and to test novel methods for analysing stormwater. If successful, these technologies and methods will be scaled up across the South Baltic Region as proven solutions for stormwater management.  

ReCircWater will deliver the following outputs:

1)  A guidebook on the new method of stormwater discharge analysis

2)  An innovative technology overview for stormwater treatment

3)  A stormwater management guideline

4)  A pilot on identification and treatment of pollutant and nutrients in stormwater

5) Pilots of non-targeted analysis conducted by the partners in DK, SE and PL