EARLYWATER - An integrated early warning system to control emerging pollutants and pathogens in reclaimed water

The accurate identification of threats, the estimation of risks and deployment-prioritization of countermeasures to mitigate against water pollutants pose major challenges for researchers and practitioners. The first step in addressing these challenges is to create the methods and technologies to collect enough data to build a better picture of the current state of affair. At present, pollutants monitoring is conducted on freshwater. The presence of emerging contaminants (ECs) and pathogens in treated effluents, aquatic environment and reclaimed water is increasing environmental and public health concerns. Therefore, there is a need for rapid detection of contamination in real-time to ensure appropriate and timely response. The aim of EARLYWATER is to design and apply modern monitoring and analytical methods for detection and prediction of pollutants occurrence in wastewater and reclaimed water in near real-time. EARLYWATER will deliver an early warning system for ECs and pathogen threats detection and associated risks in near real-time. It will become an effective look-ahead decision support solution for responding to events, facilitating evidence-based decision making. Under the MSCA programme, the Fellow will enhance her knowledge by joining specialists in advanced data acquisition technologies, data analytics, systems modelling, simulation and applied control in Process and Water Engineering at the host (Brunel University London), with further and complementary training in two other EU academic institutes (The Marche Polytechnic University and the Delft University of Technology) and collaboration with industry (Jacobs UK). The training program will broaden the Fellow's skills and her career prospects in these promising and rapidly growing fields. The project's findings will contribute to the smartification of water, and wastewater sectors. The results will also make educational and social impact through engagement with educational institutions and the public.