LIFE 4EVER to facilitate the adaptation of wastewater treatment plants to the new Wastewater Treatment Directive

– This project will implement an innovative quaternary treatment to ensure the highest water quality, compactly and efficiently removing contaminants of emerging concern

– The reclaimed water obtained will be of sufficient quality to be used for aquifer recharge

The new European Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive establishes that, by 2045, all wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) must be equipped with quaternary treatments to ensure the highest water quality. The LIFE 4EVER project has been launched to facilitate the widespread adoption of this type of treatment.

LIFE 4EVER, which recently kicked off in Cornellà de Llobregat, will work on developing an innovative, sustainable, and efficient quaternary treatment that ensures the highest water quality for its subsequent reuse in aquifer recharge.

Smart wastewater treatment to boost water resilience

The LIFE 4EVER solution, which will be developed at the Murcia Este WWTP (Aguas de Murcia), will combine a novel ozonation – or ozone injection – system with an advanced Biological Activated Carbon (BAC) adsorption system to remove contaminants of emerging concern in a compact, sustainable, and efficient manner, ensuring the highest water quality.

This solution will be complemented by the demonstration of a digital tool based on sensors and monitoring systems to detect the presence of pollutants in near real-time, combined with a Decision Support System (DSS). Thanks to this tool, not only will operational efficiency be ensured, but the quality of the produced water will also be guaranteed.

Throughout the project, more than 44,800 m³/year of reclaimed water will be produced with sufficient quality for aquifer recharge. This will improve the region’s water resilience and promote water reuse, which is another of the Directive’s objectives.

Innovation and collaboration among water utilities to transform wastewater treatment in Spain

LIFE 4EVER brings together major Spanish water utilities: Cetaqua-Water Technology Centre as the project coordinator, Aguas de Murcia (EMUASA), Aigües de Barcelona, Consorcio de Aguas Bilbao Bizkaia (CABB), Canal de Isabel ll and Navarra de Infraestructuras Locales (NILSA). Furthermore, Labaqua, a laboratory focused on environmental solutions, is also part of the consortium. During the project, the participating utilities will replicate the solution developed in Murcia in plants of different sizes and geographical characteristics to demonstrate its high replicability potential.

In this regard, David Burrueco, Project Coordinator and Project Manager and Researcher at Cetaqua-Water Technology Centre, explains that “the implementation of a quaternary treatment poses a challenge for WWTPs because it is costly, requires a lot of space, and entails high energy consumption and an environmental impact. LIFE 4EVER will offer a compact, efficient, and environmentally sustainable solution that can be easily adapted to different contexts”.

The LIFE 4EVER project is co-funded by the European Commission’s LIFE programme and has an estimated duration of four years. Find out more: https://www.cetaqua.com/en/proyectos-destacados/life-4ever-2/ 

Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.