Life Celsius, one of the projects participating in the Water Works Meeting in Manchester

Related Articles

Life Celsius presents Layman’s report of the project

Science, technology and journalistic dissemination: the three legs of Life Celsius

Life Celsius faces its final line with all the processes “working online”

7^th September, 2016.- The European Project Life Celsius took part in the Water Works Meeting, held last 24^th and 25^th May in Manchester (United Kingdom). It was a working meeting, organized by the UE Life program, which called on the different projects related with the water cycle.

The meeting focused primarily on issues related to water management and in water as a natural resource, as well as works aimed at improving water quality in urban areas, to meet the aims of the European Union Framework. There was also participation of other projects that, like Life Celsius, led by Acciona Agua, were more focused on water treatment technologies.

Communication between projects

Mª del Mar Micó, Project Manager, has explained that the goal of attending such events is to get in contact with other Life projects and exchange information that may be useful for the development of different aspects of Celsius.

 “The Project Manager also states that “it is not only a question of gathering technical information, it is also intended to obtain information on management and more attractive and effective communication tools,” since “it is possible to learn very much of other more mature projects, even though they are quite different.”

The Project Manager continues saying that: “This type of meetings also serves as a showcase for the dissemination of the progress achieved in the project and to transmit the experience to other participants”.

Mª del Mar Micó participated in the meeting with a poster about the project and formed part of a working group on pollution of water bodies, given that Celsius “is focused on reducing the discharge of pollutants to the environment in the form of nutrients and organic matter”.

For Hervé Martin, Chief of the Life program, this encounter has offered “an opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences between countries and town halls” since from these different projects “can be obtained solutions and achieve the aspirations of the EU’s water objectives.

The state of the water

During two days were held conferences, seminars and discussions aimed at identifying barriers to achieve a good ecological status of water in the European Union, as well as propose solutions before future requirements.

Attendees tried to highlight the benefits of the projects on their costs and reinforced that a collaborative spirit can help to reduce expenses and to generate new financing sources.

Some of the issues discussed were: The use of farmland against floods, the need to reduce carbon footprint, chemical pollution of rivers, integration into the water purification system, the need to ensure water flows to sustain ecology, investment in new technologies or the lack of an environmental authority.

It was also emphasized that the “barrier” that lack of communication generates, in particular between the European authorities and the Member States, as well as the need to be more efficient with resources, with larger and more integrated projects which take into account the social dimension in the water management.

The meeting took place in the Science and Industry Museum of Manchester, organized by the United Kingdom Agency of Environment, responsible for the project Life “Our Water, Our Future”, whose objective is to improve the performance of the basin hydrological plan in the northwest of England.

Traducción: Carmen Gilson