DESSIN uses synergies with MARSOL

A meeting took place to analyse potential links between the European research projects DESSIN and MARSOL to find out how both projects can benefit from possible modes of interaction and therefore creating real added value and synergies.

Managed Aquifer Recharged Solutions, short MARSOL, is another European WATER-INNO-DEMO research project that aims to demonstrate Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) as a sound, safe and sustainable solution to water scarcity and drought. The basic idea is simple: Collect water when there is too much of it and store it for dry times in aquifers.

Four modes of possible interactions between DESSIN and MARSOL were identified:

1. DESSIN methodology for valuation of Ecosystem Services can also be applied in MARSOL to evaluate the impact of MAR technologies on the value of ecosystem services. Benefit: This can provide additional arguments in favour of MAR techniques and therefore foster their acceptability and market penetration.

2. DESSIN decentralised treatment technologies for sewer mining can be applied at MARSOL demo site (Lavrion) as an alternative source of water to use for recharge. The system could then switch between different water sources, depending e.g. on temporal availability. Benefit: The flexibility of the system will significantly increase. Also, the small footprint treatment approach used within DESSIN can result in an energy-saving solution when coupled with the MAR approach.

3. MARSOL advanced subsurface surveys that investigate the water capacity of underground structures can be used within the urban context of DESSIN Athens case study. Benefit: The MARSOL approach of underground storage if applied in the urban aquifer (e.g. directly underneath the urban green areas to be irrigated) may prove a solution as to where and how to store the treated water generated from the sewer mining schemes.

4. DESSIN case studies Llobregat and Westland that involve MAR applications not yet covered by MARSOL (coastal aquifer with seawater intrusion, injection of water of nearly drinking water quality) can contribute to the evaluation of MAR solutions under MARSOL. Benefit: MARSOL evaluation approach will be based on a broader range of sites. DESSIN through MARSOL will investigate the transferability of the Llobregat and Westland demos: specifically whether injecting higher quality water (from sewer mining) into a polluted aquifer (as is the case in Athens) could increase the value of sewer mining technology. MARSOL could also offer state-of-the-art prototype sensor technologies for continuous monitoring of MAR performance in DESSIN pilot sites.