Area 3: Environmental Technologies ( incl. technologies related to water and soil)

TEG 3.2: Integrated and cost-effective system technologies, including ecohydrology based technologies, for evaluation, improvement and reclamation of water and soil quality

CALL LINE 1
Risk assessments based upon the methods and models for evaluating soil, ground- and surface water degradation and contamination at appropriate scales

Justification

The WFD provides methodologies and comparable methods for water (IWRM), but not specifically for soil (so far there is only a soil framework directive draft available). Thus, more research has to be carried out to gain information on the interrelation between soils, ground- and surface water and contaminations.

Specific objectives from perspective of the New Member States

• Data acquisition : cost-effective methodologies and technologies (remote sensing and field measurement, real-time, for soil, ground- and surface water)
• Data processing and results: indicators, models, reference databases
• Risk assessment: real-time, synergistic processes linking water transfers to soil erosion and contamination

Background / state-of-the-art

The final report of the EU Soil Thematic Strategy Working Group on Research, Task Group Contamination from May 2004 clearly shows that although considerable work has already been performed, there are large research gaps and substantial research needs with respect to e.g.

• The impact of contamination on the soil/water/sediment system (the subsurface)
• Production, validation, optimization and harmonization in view of normalization exhaustive, reliable and economical measurement methods for all steps of the characterization of soil contamination
• Definition of criteria and harmonization of methodologies to allow the identification of chemicals, which may pose potential danger in the future
• Improving and harmonizing the conceptualization and the modeling of transfers of contaminats from and within the soil and the subsequent risks
• Construction of a “fit-for-use” tool box for risk modeling for use in (parts of) Europe
• Developing a method for the comparison of alternative management options (evaluation of risk based approaches in decision support systems).

The report also states that in Europe there are about € 30 million/year available for contaminated land and groundwater research, whereas the costs for contaminated land remediation in Europe are estimated to be at least about € 90 billion. The annual investment in RTD for sustainable land management is only about 0.03 % of the total cost of the problem.
As especially NMS/ACC lack financial resources for remediation of contaminated soil, ground- and surface water, and as they show specific conditions with respect to contaminants, climate and types of soil, there is a strong need for research in order to be able to tackle the problems in the most efficient way. Existing projects, such as NoMiracle but also CARACAS and CLARNET are oriented mainly on the study of the effects of chemicals, bioavailability of elements and compounds and their toxicology. Estimation of soil/sediment properties and their influence on the drainage of pollution into the water aquifers, is little covered. The integrated analysis of soil processes and soil threats (erosion, contamination, loss of organic matter, sealing, compaction, salinisation, floods and land slides) in connection with water availability, the implementation of water quality policies and the development of operational sustainable management procedures, require further investigation.

Ongoing and completed projects on issues raised

One single FP5 project has been identified on such a topic: EVK1-CT-1999-00002 "Development of improved detection systems for monitoring of toxic heavy metals in contaminated groundwaters and soils".

Priorities of FP7 and WSSTP SRA addressed by objectives

The call line refers to WSSTP pilot priority: Reclamation of degraded water zones, and regarding FP7 to theme Environment, Activity II – Sustainable Management of Resources, priority 1 - Conservation and sustainable management of natural and man-made resources and Activity III – Environmental technologies, priority 1 - Environmental technologies for the sustainable management and conservation of the natural and man-made environment.

Suggestion for most appropriate type of project

Collaborative research project

Specific research highlights

• Development of new technologies for data acquisition/generation including more efficient field techniques to monitor water movement
• Definition of common indicators for specific, comparable environments (physical, chemical, biological, integrated indices)
• Development of predictive mapping techniques (new applications of GIS technologies)
• Definition of criteria for risk assessment based on indicators
• Identification and analysis of interrelations between different threats / causality links and feedback systems
• Specific systems custom tailored to specific climatic regimes (dry, sub-humid etc.)

Existing expertise

The important scientific components of a suitable consortium were represented in the group:

• Soil and water science
• Ecology and ecohydrology
• Physics and chemistry
• Phytoremediation
• River restoration

Required expertise

• The social scientists needed to be an integral part of projects addressing the synergistic effects of individual contaminations at basin scale.

Gaps in knowledge

• Technologies for mitigation of soil erosion in the full range of geomorphological conditions of the enlarged EU
• Understanding and modeling of groundwater contamination and spread at fine detail of individual sites
• Methods for remediation of contaminated land & ground/surface water seepage (including natural radiation)
• Mitigation of movements of contaminated sediments
• Basin-scale flood control eco-technologies
• Date availability and transferability; Decision Support Systems (DSS) for risk evaluation
• Methods for addressing the physical gap between water supply and demand (including ground water recharge)
• Methods for assessing and models for predicting the scale of water pollution at lowest scales (individual households)

Societal, economic and European relevance

To clean up contaminated soil, ground- and surface waters is of significant importance with respect to health and quality of life or European citizens. In order to spend available financial resources as efficiently as possible, decisions on remediation of contaminated land, water and sediments have to be made based on reliable and comparable risk assessments. Thus, it is most important to harmonize methods of risk assessment and national policies and to define environmental quality criteria.
In order to ensure greatest possible positive effects on society and economy, the group felt that it was most important to include not only scientists and researchers, but also other (actual and potential) stakeholders such as non-specialist water users, planners and developers; and to take into consideration scales of impact in one stakeholder group; relative power and empowerment, and representativeness.