Related EU Projects

The main expected results of this project are as follows:

•Development of the UrbanProof toolkit, a web-based platform and decision-support tool for urban adaptation planning and community-based participation;

•Production of a toolkit administrator guide and tutorial video;

•Evaluation of the technical and economic viability of the toolkit;

•Identification and assessment of the likely impacts of climate change on the partner municipalities in Cyprus, Greece and Italy and development of local adaptation strategies for these municipalities;

•Endorsement by the municipalities of these strategies (local council approval);

•Implementation of green infrastructure projects in partner municipalities in Cyprus and Italy. These include green spaces, green roofs and permeable pavements in Strovolos, Lakatamia and Emilia. The expected impact of these measures is quantified as follows: Green roofs: runoff reduction of 38%; reduction of annual energy demand for heating/cooling by 7.9kW/m2/yr, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 4.3kg CO2 equivalent, reduction of ambient air temperature by 1°C; permeable pavements: runoff reduction of 20-30%, reduction of ambient air temperature by 1.5°C; greening areas: runoff reduction of 23-34%; urban agricultural gardens: runoff reduction of 10-50%; and

•Dissemination activities throughout the project’s lifespan to raise awareness of the project and its potential for replicability, including events, training seminars, a scientific conference and technical and scientific publications.

LIFE DrainRain is to mitigate the environmental impact of runoff in water bodies (coastal, surface and ground waters). Currently, SUDS only drain runoff water and care needs to be exercised, as infiltration-type SUDS technology may pose a high pollution risk for groundwater bodies. The project takes this approach a step further, by coupling SUDS to treatment systems for diffuse pollution, especially making use of photocatalysts in pavements.

The pilot runoff sustainable drainage and treatment system will consist of several components:

•A pervious concrete photocatalytic pavement with organic pollutants first treated on the concrete’s surface by the photocatalyst Titanium Dioxide;

•A drainage and distribution system in which water is collected by pipes made from anti-microbial materials;

•A hydrodynamic separator that utilises centrifugal energy generated by the water flowing inside to separate suspended solids and oils (SS);

•A filter that comes after the complete retention of SS by a pre-filter to avoid clogging, heavy metals will be removed by adsorption on support materials, such as activated carbon and lignite; and

•An anti-biofouling storage tank, which has been constructed using anti-biofouling high-density polyethylene (HDPE), for storing the regenerated water in a way that ensures microbiological quality.

The project will demonstrate the system in two pilot plants in Spain with different climates (Oceanic and Mediterranean) to promote its wider replication. One area is 900 m2 of pervious concrete surface area in the seaport of Ferrol (Galicia) and the other in Calasparra (Murcia) covers 150 m2 of road hard shoulder.

LIFE CERSUDS is a demonstration project that puts into practice, evaluates and publicises Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) in a context in which these systems are new or little known. In addition, it innovates by using ceramic material with a low commercial value in the development of permeable paving, being easily replicated in similar geo-economic areas.

The project’s main aim is improving cities’ abilities to adapt to climate change and promoting the use of green infrastructures in their urban planning through the development and implementation of a demonstrator consisting of a SuDS with low carbon emissions for the refurbishing of urban areas. The demonstrator’s permeable skin will be made up of an innovative system, which has a low environmental impact, based on the use of ceramic tiles with a low commercial value. This demonstrator will be sufficiently large in order to validate its technical and economic viability.

The project was approved in October 2016 by the European Commission in the LIFE programme and is expected to end in 2019. Currently, work is being done on developing the system and the implementation project, so that this presentation will present the project plan and the laboratory results of the ceramic system. This project is financed by the European Union Programme for the Environment and Climate Action LIFE 2014-2020 with reference LIFE15 CCA/ES/000091.

http://lifecersuds.eu/en/descarga-suscripcion/LIFE%20

CERSUDS.%20CERAMIC%20SUSTAINABLE%20URBAN%20DRAINAGE%20SYSTEM.pdf

The European Commission has identified labelling as a means of encouraging consumers to opt for water efficient products. A common water label at the European level would help countries achieve water efficiency in a cohesive way. This paper examines some of the water labelling schemes currently implemented in countries around the world in order to draw together a knowledge-base of water labelling best practice. Mandatory labels are shown to be most effective at encouraging consumer uptake, while additional supportive information (such as product performance data and potential financial savings) would help inform consumer purchase decisions. Consideration of national implications, economic impact, regulation and enforcement and establishing impact indicators, are all shown to be vital components of an effective water labelling scheme.

Practical application:

A Europe-wide water label would help promote the uptake of water-efficient products by providing consumers with information about the water consumption characteristics of products at the point of sale. It is intended that the water labelling best practice presented here is used by policy makers and regulators to help inform future initiatives in introducing a Europe-wide water label. Incorporating lessons from best practice will help ensure that such an initiative will achieve its full water saving potential by encouraging consumer purchasing, and pushing market development, towards highly water-efficient products and, ultimately, reducing household water consumption.

Kelly, D. (2015). Labelling and water conservation: A European perspective on a global challenge. Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, [online] 36(6), pp.643-657. Available at:

Link

[Accessed 29 Jan. 2018].

The aims of this project were:

• To obtain practical experience from the establishment and operation of a low temperature heat storage system in a limestone aquifer, in connection with a district heating system; and
• To demonstrate the possibilities of commercial use of this type of aquifer in heating systems in combination with heat pumps.

The waste heat from a nuclear research reactor was used as a heat source for a 2.2 MW heat pump that was connected to a district heating system. The temperature of this waste heat was between 40°C and 45°C. However during normal operation, approximately three times as much waste heat was available as it could have been utilised by the heat pump. The nuclear reactor used to close down for 5 days every 4 weeks and during this period heat was being supplied by the combustion of oil. The idea was to store surplus heat from the reactor in a limestone aquifer and extract this heat during periods of reactor shutdown. Two main wells 100 metres apart were used, one for injection of the heated water, and the other one for extraction. The extracted water was expected to be at a temperature of around 30 °C. Two further wells were drilled for measurement purposes and equipped with temperature and pressure transducers that were connected to a computer system.