We are FCC Nº26

water The NINFA project develops ways to monitor and prevent water pollution using predictive methodologies and treatment and mitigation solutions. The initiative, funded by the EU’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, involves nine partners from six countries. The replicability of the solutions to be validated in Los Alcázares will be studied in other countries such as the Netherlands, France, Mexico, Colombia and Egypt A platform will be developed for the real-time management of water quality at different points and will enable the detection and early warning of incidents The Mayor of Los Alcázares, Ma- rio Ginés Pérez, and the director of Aqualia’s Levante delegation, Higi- nio Martínez, presented the NINFA project, which seeks to monitor and treat pollutants present in ground- water and subsurface water with the aim of protecting the aquatic environment, including the Mar Me- nor. The initiative develops tools to monitor and preserve water, inclu- ding monitoring through advanced analytical techniques, modelling and treatment of various pollutants of di- ffuse origin. Víctor Monsalvo, head of Aqua- lia’s Eco-efficiency Area, and Yeray Asensio, project manager of the Innovation Department, explained that the results will be integrated and managed through a platform that will be developed for real-time mana- gement of water quality at different points, and will make it possible to detect and provide early warning of incidents. The main demonstration site of the project is the municipality of Los Al- cázares (Murcia), on the shores of the Mar Menor. Different streams and water reservoirs will be moni- tored, including aquifer, wadi, other watercourses and the Mar Menor where unwanted concentrations of nitrate, phosphorus, pesticides and other compounds have been de- tected. Sensors and analytical me- thodologies will be developed on site to monitor the compounds of interest, assess risks and validate innovative treatment technologies including woodchip bioreactors, advanced wetlands and advan- ced physico-chemical processes, among others. The results obtained will be integrated into the NINFA pla- tform, which incorporates a decision support system that will serve as a knowledge observatory on diffuse pollution and a tool for optimising water resource management. The project is coordinated by the Technological Centre Leitat and brings together 9 other partners from 6 countries, including univer- sities and relevant research centres in Europe. Actions are also planned in France, with the participation of Aqualia and the Institut Mines-Télé- com Atlantique in Brittany (Brest, Rennes, Nantes). Water exposed to multiple pollu- tants of diffuse origin The NINFA project aims to mitiga- te, among other aspects, the eutro- phication of the Mar Menor, which is the phenomenon responsible for the proliferation of phytoplankto- nic algae in this area. The famous ‘green soup’ appears as a conse- Víctor Monsalvo, head of the Eco-efficiency Area at Aqualia, during his presentation. B U S I N E S S B U S I N E S S 15