DESSIN stakeholder workshop
A workshop with stakeholders within the Emscher region was held at the headquarters of Emschergenossenschaft in Essen on November 20th. The event was titled “Which ecosystem services are being provided or reinforced by the Emscher conversion?”. The term ecosystem services (ESS) was explained with the example of pollination by bees in a kick-off presentation, followed by a presentation on the Emscher conversion process and how it changes the streams and the region.
4th DESSIN newsletter is available now
DESSIN launched the fourth newsletter, which features an interview with Marta Hernandez about the demo site in Llobregat in Spain. Furthermore, there is a report about a large DESSIN meeting in Germany, the Emscher mature site is being introduced and the high rate filtration (HRF) system of Inrigo Water is featured.
Download the fourth newsletter here. If you want to receive the newsletter via email, make sure to subscribe for it.
Amsterdam International Water Week
At the beginning of November, adelphi travelled to the Netherlands to visit the Aquatech Amsterdam and the affiliated Amsterdam International Water Week on behalf of the DESSIN-consortium. The purpose of the visit was to get information about state-of-the-art innovations and research that matters to the DESSIN project. At the same time, adelphi engaged with important stakeholders, potential clients and partners/competitors of the DESSIN SMEs.
DESSIN at Open Days in Brussels
On 14th October, 2015, adelphi visited the Brussels Open Days conference on behalf of the DESSIN project. Founded in 2003, this is an annual four-day event where cities and regions showcase their capacity to create employment and growth, and demonstrate the importance of the local and regional level for good European governance and the implementation of its cohesion policy. This year, about two out of three participants came from local, regional, national or EU administrations.
DESSIN Policy Briefs available – Interview
The European water research project DESSIN, which stands for Demonstrating Ecosystem Services enabling Innovation in the Water Sector, demonstrates and promotes innovative solutions for water scarcity and water quality related challenges. It also demonstrates a methodology for the valuation of ecosystem services (ESS). The project is centred around five demonstration sites with special focus on urban areas across Europe, where solutions are being tested and validated.
DESSIN workshop in Oslo
At the beginning of September, a three day DESSIN meeting was held in Oslo, Norway to update the project participants including SMEs and Oslo VAV on the status for the demo activities at Hoffselva. Status for the on-going activities on monitoring water quality and flow in Hoffselva was presented by Peggy Zinke, SINTEF. Status for the on-going activities on monitoring stakeholder perceptions was presented by Sigrid Damman, SINTEF. Status for the on-going activities on data monitoring and communication was presented by Per Kølner, Leif Kølner Ingeniørfirma AS (SME).
Update on DESSIN showcases
Athens / Greece: The Athens showcase acts as demo facility for water innovations. Aim is to have an information board as well as dissemination material including an animated movie showing the concept to potential target groups (authorities, tourist industry and general public).
Emscher / Germany: Proposed is to turn the Emscher case into a virtual showcase, with a website explaining challenges and solutions. Also planned are a few short movies including interviews and animations of the technologies applied in order to provide information for the general public as well as for experts.
New results and downloads available
Two DESSIN policy briefs (Brief 1: Designing governance and financing regimes to encourage innovation uptake – a guide for water managers and policy makers & Brief 2: Increasing chances of innovation uptake through governance – a guide for technology companies and water utilities) and Deliverable 12.1 “Governance regime factors conducive to innovation uptake in urban water management” are now available in our Results & Downloads section. Please make sure to regularly check out this section in order not to miss any new items available.
Cross-flow lamella settler successfully tested
This week, the demo case Emscher in Germany had a first and successful test run of the cross-flow lamella settler. The container solution, developed by the company UFT, has been installed at a CSO in the Emscher area in May/June. The University of Duisburg-Essen equipped the container with two automated samplers and scan probes for real time-measurements of suspended solids, COD and BOD at the in- and outflow, allowing to determine the container’s sedimentation efficiency. The first test operation with sewage water worked out very well and the next rain events are anticipated!
Injection of pre-potable water starts in Barcelona
On the 2nd of July, the injection of sand filtered water in the drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) in Sant Joan Despí started. The injection system is totally autonomous and has been installed for the demonstration phase of the DESSIN project. The maximum capacity of injection is 50L/s and during the last three weeks 30 L/s have been injected. The pre-potable water is injected in a depth of 30 metres in a well located in the facilities of the DWTP. This well is reversible. Water can be injected if there is surplus water produced in the potabilisation process, or groundwater can be recovered, if needed.