Collaborative Research and Projects

GRIPP – Groundwater Solutions Initiative for Policy & Practice

Coordinator – Karen Villholth (IWMI Southern Africa)

This major initiative with multiple partners picks up from the global Groundwater Governance Program to see implementation of policies and policy reform in managing systems with incipient or unsustainable groundwater use, particularly for agriculture. IGRAC and IAH have agreed to partner with GRIPP.  The MAR Commission has fostered IAH’s partnership within this initiative as MAR is an essential element within GRIPP.  For more information on objectives, activities and participation, see the GRIPP web site.

 

EU Projects

MARSOL Project

Demonstrating Managed Aquifer Recharge as a Solution to Water Scarcity and Drought –  Dec 2013 – Nov 2016

Coordinator: Christoph Schüeth, Darmstadt Technical University, Germany  schueth@geo.tu-darmstadt.de

The main objective of MARSOL, a European project co-financed by the EU FP7 programme, is to demonstrate that MAR is a sound, safe and sustainable strategy that can be applied with great confidence. The project is evaluating and demonstrating – at eight field sites in Greece, Portugal, Spain (2), Malta, Italy (2) and Israel – the different specific ways that water of varying origins and qualities (such as desalinated sea water, river water, and treated wastewater) can be stored in the ground with different techniques, including aspects of operation, maintenance and monitoring procedures as well as regulatory and economic considerations. MARSOL’s main output will be a broad knowledge base on MAR technologies for addressing different societal challenges related to water availability.

DEMOWARE Project

Innovation Demonstration for a Competitive and Innovative European Water Reuse Sector –   Jan 2014 – Dec 2016.

Coordinator: Xavier Martinez Lladó,Fundacio CTM Centre Tecnologic, Spain  xavier.martinez@ctm.com.es

The DEMOWARE initiative is an FP7 EU research project which aims to rectify the barriers that hamper the implementation of water reuse schemes by executing a highly collaborative programme of demonstration and exploitation, using nine existing and one greenfield site to stimulate innovation and improve cohesion within the evolving European water reuse sector.The project is guided by SME & industry priorities and has two central ambitions; to enhance the availability and reliability of innovative water reuse solutions, and to create a unified professional identity for the European Water Reuse sector. MAR is an element of most demonstration sites.

 

DESSIN Project 

Demonstrate Ecosystem Services Enabling Innovation in the Water Sector   –  Jan 2014 – Dec 2017.

Coordinator: David Schwesig, IWW Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wasser, Germany d.schwesig@iww-online.de

The EC-funded DESSIN project demonstrates innovative solutions for water scarcity and water quality issues, and shows the value of those solutions by also demonstrating a methodology for the valuation of ecosystem services. DESSIN aims to demonstrate how innovative solutions in the water cycle can increase the value of the services provided by freshwater ecosystems, enabling a more informed selection of the most promising solutions with regard to their impact on the water body and their economic implications. Two of the five DESSIN case studies (Llobregat in Spain and Westland in the Netherlands) are focused on aquifer storage and recovery.”

Llobregat (Spain): https://dessin-project.eu/?page_id=44

Westland (NL): https://dessin-project.eu/?page_id=46