Related EU Projects

EcoWater addressed the development of meso-level eco-efficiency indicators for technology assessment through a systems' approach. The effort focussed on enhancing the understanding of the interrelations of innovative technology uptake in water use systems, and their economic and environmental impacts. Research addressed a selection of indicators appropriate for the assessment of system-wide eco-efficiency improvements, the integration of existing tools and assessment methods in a coherent modelling environment, and the analysis and characterisation of existing structures and policies. The foreseen development of an analytical framework was to support:

1. Systemic environmental impact assessments,

2.  Economic assessments,

3.  Analysis of value chains and actor interactions,

4. Technology implementation and uptake scenarios.

Four Case Studies assessed meso-level eco-efficiency improvements from innovative technologies in water systems for the textile industry, for energy production, for dairy production and the automotive industry. The main outputs included a validated and tested methodological framework that supports the four points mentioned above, an integrated toolbox for systems' eco-efficiency analysis, and policy recommendations for technology uptake and implementation. To ensure wide dissemination and applicability, the project organised activities to address different target audiences and to develop operational science-industry-policy links at the level of Case Studies and at wider EU and international scale.

Deliverables:

Deliverable 1.1: Review and selection of eco-efficiency indicators to be used in the EcoWater Case Studies – Report

Deliverable 1.2: Technology inventory design and specifications – Report and Technology Inventory

Deliverable 1.3: Populated Technology Inventory – Report and Populated Technology Inventory

Deliverable 1.4: Review of existing frameworks and tools for developing eco-efficiency indicators - Report

Deliverable 1.5: Finalized Systemic Environmental Analysis Tool (SEAT) – Report

Deliverable 1.6: Finalized Economic Value chain Analysis Tool (EVAT) – Report

Deliverable 2.1: Value Chain Mapping of the Agricultural Water Systems – Report

Deliverable 2.2: Baseline eco-efficiency assessment for the analysed agricultural water systems - Report

Deliverable 2.3: Innovative Technologies for Eco-Efficiency Improvement in Agricultural Water Use - Report

Deliverable 2.4: Technology assessment and scenario analysis – Report

Deliverable 3.1: Value Chain Description of the Analysed Urban Water Systems - Report

Deliverable 3.2: Baseline eco-efficiency assessment in urban water systems – Report

Deliverable 3.3: Innovative technologies for eco-efficiency improvement - Report

Deliverable 3.4: Technology assessment and scenario analysis - Report

Deliverable 4.1: Description of value chains for industrial water use - Report

Deliverable 4.2: Description of value chains for industrial water use – Report

Deliverable 4.3: Innovative technologies for enhancing the eco-efficiency of water use in industries – Report

Deliverable 4.4: Technology assessment and scenario analysis - Report

Deliverable 5.1: Step-wise consolidated guidelines for the development of meso-scale eco-efficiency indicators - Report

Deliverable 5.2: Cross-comparison of Case-study Outcomes - Report

Deliverable 5.3: Functional design of the meso-scale eco-efficiency toolbox - Report

Deliverable 5.10: Finalized guidelines for the use of the EcoWater Toolbox - Report

Deliverable 5.11: Finalized guidelines for the use of the EcoWater Toolbox - Report

Deliverable 6.1: Synthesis report from the 1st Round of Case Study Events - Report

Deliverable 6.2: Synthesis report from the 2nd Round of Case Study Events – Report

Deliverable 6.3: Proceedings of the 1st targeted event Research links – Report

Deliverable 6.4: Report from the 2nd targeted event (Policy links) - Report

Deliverable 6.5: Report from the 3rd targeted event (Policy links) - Report

Deliverable 6.6: Conference Proceedings

Deliverable 6.7: Project Web Site - Report

Deliverable 6.8: Project Factsheet – Report

Dissemination:

Deliverable 6.10: 1st EcoWater Newsletter

Deliverable 6.11: 2nd EcoWater Newsletter

Deliverable 6.12: 3rd EcoWater Newsletter

Deliverable 6.13:  4th EcoWater Newsletter

Deliverable 6.14: EcoWater Science-Policy Briefs

Deliverable 6.15: Ecowater Product Fliers

This paper discusses numerical modelling approaches for three different types of measures commonly used in the Netherlands: green roofs, swale filter drainage systems (swales), and infiltration-transport drainage systems (IT-drains). A combination of physically based and empirical formulae as well as urban hydrologic and hydraulic modelling software was used to assess the effectiveness of the measures.

The analysis has shown that these systems are promising, especially at the scale of the individual measures (a single IT-drain pipe, swale or green roof). Due to non-linearity issues, the up-scaling of such measures to city and neighbourhood levels remained a challenge, thus further research is required. The modelling concepts for green roofs and swales were applied in a synthetic case study to illustrate the possible effects of SUDS on the reduction of inundation volumes in urban areas. The case study consisted of an imaginary urban area with properties resembling average urban areas in the Netherlands.

These storm water infiltration systems have been developed to reduce flooding risk or to increase groundwater recharge. As a consequence, software modelling for urban drainage systems enabled water authorities and municipalities to assess the impact of sustainable urban drainage measures ‘SUDS’ on local flood hazards.  

Vergroesen, T., Verschelling, E. and Becker, B. (2014). MODELLING OF SUSTAINABLE URBAN DRAINAGE MEASURES. Revista de Ingeniería Innova, [online] 8, pp.pp. 1 - 16. Available at:

Link

[Accessed 12 Feb. 2018].

‘Permanent Ecological Moorings’ was designed as a guide for managers of coastal or marine areas and for all the administrative and associative structures who face the recurrent problems of moorings. This guide summarizes key issues and shows the various choices available as well as being a technical guide. It wants to answer the main questions that one faces while managing the diverse activities involved in mooring and anchorage.

Anchorage or mooring? The authors of this guide have voluntarily considered that the two terms are synonymous. Two categories of anchorage (or mooring) can be defined : temporary mooring and permanent mooring. A permanent mooring cannot be moved quickly or easily. A temporary mooring is (usually) an anchor stored onboard a boat (or a floating structure that needs to be clamped down) and is re-hauled onboard when the boat starts to move again.

The act of mooring with an anchor means, dropping an anchor overboard to enable the immobilization of a boat because the anchor falls and is wedged onto the bottom. When removed , this anchor will be pulled up forcibly in order to be freed from the seabed. Depending on the fragility of the seabed or of the sea life (animals or plants) that are developing there, the impact can be significant. The areas most adapted to moorings are dependent on hydrological factors (currents, wave exposure) and meteorological factors (wind exposure). Along a stretch of coast these areas are not especially numerous and the pressure of moorings on the seabed can be frequent and significant.

Every manager or organization in charge of managing a coastal marine area will be facing this choice: preserve as good as possible the seabed or allow unregulated moorings with all the potential negative results that can ensue. In addition to general boat use, the managers themselves may need to moor: their own boats, permanent floating structures ( pontoon, barge, buoy) or immersed structures (canalization , sign for diving trail). How does one choose in cases like these an ecological solution that has minimal negative impact for the environment?

This guide will help in the choice of the most adapted ecological solution depending on the environment in question. It is divided into two main parts: the description of the major environments and the technical description of various permanent ecological moorings recommended.

Five main categories of environments have been selected: sand and mud, Pebbles and cobbles, Boulders and bedrock, Coralligenous formations, and Posidonia meadows. Each environment is briefly described and its ecological importance is detailed. The sensitivity and vulnerability of each of these environments are then evaluated depending on their particular characteristics: speed of regeneration, structural complexity (its architecture), ecological role, etc. These elements should enable us to understand why one environment is more or less fragile and why it is necessary to look for alternative solutions to moor with an anchor.

The technical solutions include a description of the immersed parts (the ones laid on or pushed into the sea bed) and the parts at the surface without forgetting the connecting elements between the surface and the bottom. Advice on the installation is also given. When many solutions are possible for a given environment they are presented in a comparative table in a synthetical manner that will help the manager to choose the optimum solution taking into account the usage, the quality of the substrate, and the estimated effort involved.

Please note: if this guide shows the various choices between the different technical solutions, in no way does it pretend to be nor replace a technical manual necessary to calibrate the mooring. Further more it does not address the juridical issues attached to problems of authorization or management of moorings.

If the place for a mooring does not need to be at a precise location, a manager might then have the choice between different substrates. In order to help this choice a table summarizes the vulnerability of each environment, from the least to the most sensitive and vulnerable.

At the end of this guide three appendixes give additional information: a list of bibliographic references, a glossary and a list of contact addresses. The glossary defines the terminology used in both the descriptive environment and the technical part. This terminology is written in blue in the text. The contact appendix contains a non exhaustive list of addresses or Internet sites in the assessment, installation, sale or calibration of ecological solutions for permanent moorings.

Publication:

Link

Link

Recreational boating is a globally significant nature-based industry, which can degrade sensitive benthic habitats through physical damage from anchors. Mooring buoys can eliminate this impact and lead to additional benefits such as more efficient use of space, increasing the well-being and safety of boaters, and generating revenue through user fees. Evidence that buoys positively influence the well-being of users, especially if this is reflected in a willingness to pay, may provide motivation to decision-makers to invest in this management measure yet, to the best of our knowledge, relatively little is known about what motivates boaters to use buoys. Based on the theory of reasoned action, this study uses the classification tree method to model the influence of behavioral and normative beliefs on two dependent variables; boaters’ perceived likelihood to use buoys and willingness to pay (WTP) in a Marine Protected Area (MPA) located in a heavily

used Bay on the island of Mallorca in the Balearic Islands of Spain. This MPA was designated to protect Posidonia oceanica, an endemic seagrass in the Mediterranean, which has been significantly degraded by structural damage from anchors. Data were collected using a survey instrument administered to recreational boaters in the summer of 2011. The data showed overall user support for buoys, and a positive relationship between attitudes (associated with perceptions of safety, space, and minimizing impacts on P. oceanica) and WTP and behavioral intent. The data also indicated a positive influence of awareness of the potential negative impacts of anchoring on P. oceanica and the role of buoys in minimizing these effects on both dependent variables. Attitudes towards crowding in the study site had a very minor influence and normative beliefs did not feature as predictors in our models. The study is part of a larger research initiative to assess the physical, social, and environmental dimensions of recreational boating on the island of Mallorca. The theoretical framework, data collection and statistical assessment methods are broadly applicable to interdisciplinary research on use of coastal and marine space.

Academic paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0964569113000707