Proposed

Advanced Research Workshop aim is to exchange knowledge and provide challenges for an integrated water resource management as one of the main component of the sustainable water management practices. The objective is to bring together scientists from NATO and partner countries and focus the communication on challenges in safety and security of Water supply and Sanitation. Nowadays there is a lack of European standards and regulations covering water quality, wastewater treatment and reuse as a complex what has an unfavourable impact for the protection of water resources and has to be discussed.

Background

The topics will focus also for evaluation of impact of xenobiotics in the whole Urban Water Cycle what is an interdisciplinary task which has a rising concern these days. Xenobiotics includes both inorganic elements like heavy metals, metalloids and man-made organic compounds such as pesticides, surfactants, solvents, fragrances, flavours, and pharmaceuticals as well as endocrine disrupters. It has been estimated that 70,000 xenobiotics may potentially be hazardous for humans and/or ecosystems. Water supply, urban drainage and wastewater treatment systems were originally designed to solve just conventional problems such as supply of potable water, flooding prevention and sanitation. The main problem within the conventional urban water cycle approaches is absence of design to deal with xenobiotics. Nowadays can be seen increased focus on rainwater use, wastewater reclamation and reuse in industrial and as well in  domestic sector what increase the exposure to xenobiotics. Innovative approaches are therefore needed to prevent xenobiotics from being discharged into surface waters where they may give rise to impacts on the chemical water quality and ecological status of receiving waters as it is already recognized by the EU-Water Framework Directive. Under such circumstances it is needed to assess knowledge gaps within the integrated water management with a particular emphasis on xenobiotics.
Leaking sewer pipes, land application of treatment residues and increased focus on soil-infiltration of stormwater and wastewater further put the urban and peri-urban soil and groundwater resources at a potential risk that only rudimentary is accessed now. The integrated nature of the urban water systems and the ability of xenobiotics to spread across structural boundaries and into the environment where ecological systems and humans are exposed calls for an intersectorial and multidisciplinary approach to problem awareness and solution. Pollutants of interest have mainly been the conventional parameters (BOD, COD, N, P, SS and micro-organisms). Thus, there is a need to understand the sources, flow paths, fate (transport, treatment, natural attenuation) and impact of xenobiotics on both humans and environment in this technical system.
To assess challenges in the Water Resource Management and to set up strategies for maximizing of safety and security for humans and ecosystems via integrated Water supply and Sanitation is the main objective of the NATO Advance Research Workshop. To reach those tasks the knowledge about source control, xenobiotics, methods of treatment, impact to the environment etc. have to be discussed. The proposed ARW workshop is an excellent opportunity to exchange knowledge, information and expertise of specialists from different disciplines. The workshop topics will focus mainly to multitude methodologies on interrelated aspects of the biological process, including microbiological, physiological, biochemical and engineering aspects concentrating on the xenobiotics biodegradation. Therefore transfer of knowledge between NATO and Partners countries involved in ARW about xenobiotics especially methods of water and wastewater treatment and impact assessment to receiving water will reinforce a research potential in this new area of competence.
As the overall topic of this ARW proposal is targeting top priority aspects of current research. It is expected within the upcoming 7th EU research framework that there will be a specific call on Xenobiotics. So this ARW is intended to intensify and strengthen collaboration on a scientific and personal level for a common approach to exchange information on the removal of Xenobiotics from wastewater. These upcoming challenges will serve to researchers for future aspects of environmental and water protection.