No. 3

Dear Reader,

As DEMEAU is nearing completion, it is a good time to reflect and look back on our achievements and the way we got there.

First, our achievements. At the start of DEMEAU, we promised to push emerging pollutant related treatment and monitoring technologies from previous FP projects further to the application phase for water utilities and policy makers.

In 2014, the Dutch water supply company PWN opened their innovative ceramic membrane-based water production plant in Andijk. Zweckverband ARA Neugut in Switzerland has been successfully running their new ozone based waste water treatment plant in Dübendorf since March 2014, including a control system for ozone dosage. Bioassays for water quality assessment have been adopted by water utilities in the Netherlands, France, Switzerland and Germany. Actions such as the incorporation of bioassays in legislative frameworks, among others, go a step further due to the development of trigger values for various assays.

These are all examples of innovative technologies that have reached the end user. Though this was not only the result of DEMEAU efforts, the the project did play a supportive and catalysing role.

For other technologies and practices, DEMEAU developed supportive instruments for their implementation, such as a decision support tool for water authorities and utilities which consider including Managed Aquifer Recharge in their water production schemes (see also the news article on the MAR toolbox in this edition of the newsletter). For all technologies addressed in DEMEAU, Unique Selling Propositions are available to support their further application (see also the article on “From sustainability analyses to recommendations for market impact”).

Overall I think we can be proud of our performance. But this could only take place through the commitment and cooperation of the water utilities which acted as launching customers in the project. I’m grateful for their valuable contributions to the project.

I want to also thank the consortium partners for their great spirit and contributions. I very much enjoyed working with all of them.  

Further thanks are due to the members of the Project Advisory Committee for their advice and comments as well as to the EC officer for her support and trust.

Theo van den Hoven

Project manager

 

Contents

  1. Editorial
  2. About DEMEAU
  3. Interview with Ton van Remmen, Director of van Remmen UV Techniek
  4. Progress and Achievements of the Work Areas
  5. DEMEAU final outcomes