MULTISOURCE Deliverable 1.2 - Monitoring Final Report

This Deliverable 1.2 “Monitoring Final Report” aims to provide an overview of the main results achieved

by the different monitoring activities carried by the MULTISOURCE WP1–ENTS pilots. This report is a brief

summary of the main findings and highlights of each pilot. It also provides a reflection on common

achievements and challenges encountered during the monitoring work of the ENTS Pilots. This report is

not intended to provide the full description of all the results obtained by each pilot. Extensive description

of each pilot and respective results are published separately, or in preparation to be published in the

coming months, in international peer-reviewed journals. Major scientific outputs are listed per pilot.

In brief, all pilots were monitored for at least 1 full year, the majority (5 out of the 7 pilots) for at least 2

full years covering different seasons and/or relevant local operation conditions. Results show overall

good performance for pollutants abatement or rainwater or stormwater control, and systems that meet

local regulation for their primary design criteria. MULTISOURCE enabled exploring their capacity to

provide water for reuse, enhancement of treatment capacity or monitoring of co-benefits.

In detail,

Pilot 1: France - INRAE - Rhizosph’air pilot treating raw domestic wastewater met discharge regulations,

explored the impact of aeration on the hydraulic behaviour of the system, different aeration strategies

to reach high total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiencies as well as different aeration control strategies to

optimize TN removal. Co-benefits monitored include educational and energetic indicators.

Pilot 2: USA - MSU – Vertical flow wetland, treating high-strength wastewater, tested operational

parameters for optimization of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and TN removal, including denitrification

and nitrification in the different stages of the system. Besides demonstrating the compliance with

treatment performance, the system was used to monitor greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions.

Pilot 3: Belgium - Rietland - Phytoparking treating pre-treated wastewater was demonstrated to perform

well as a decentralized system, meeting the discharge requirements of the Flemish legislation. The pilot

was tested for automation of the aeration via online sensors. Co-benefits monitored include energetic

indicators, other pollutants removal such as vehicle fluids and water reuse potential.

Pilot 4: Italy - IRIDRA – Hybrid treatment wetland treating combined sewage overflow (CSO)

demonstrated the feasibility of the technology for the targeted design pollutants total suspended solids

(TSS), COD, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) and ammonium (N-NH4). Optimization of the supply of

air was explored, but there is still space to further push the system. Co-benefits monitored include

educational and cost indicators, as well as biodiversity.

Pilot 5: Spain - ICRA - Greenwall treating greywater was effectively demonstrated to supply treated water

for toilet flushing complying with European and Spanish regulations. During the monitoring period, the

pilot was tested for the maintenance of planted surface area. The monitored co-benefits include

stakeholder engagement, increment of green area, biodiversity and carbon sequestration.

Pilot 6: NIVA/Oslo Municipality - Raingarden treating road runoff demonstrated that the pilot could retain

tire wear particles and organic micropollutants. Online sensors were deployed with success. Co-benefits

monitored included environmental and socio-economic indicators as well as disservices.

Pilot 7: Germany - UFZ - Green roof rainwater was never thought as a treatment system contrary to all

other MULTISOURCE pilots. Nevertheless, it was important to assess the water quality of the overflows

due to their potential for reuse. By focusing on stormwater and irrigation water, demand data and models

were provided to assist dimensioning and modelling of green roof systems. Co-benefit monitoring

included a large array of indicators covering building management and protection, health and social

impacts, air quality and pollutant reduction, climate adaptation and mitigation, water resources

management, and ecosystem services.

MULTISOURCE datasets include a broad range of pollutants and indicators for each system. These

datasets are being prepared to be made available in Zenodo’s via the project community page, together

with the different published outputs of the project.

Challenges during the project for Pilot 1: France - INRAE - Rhizosph’air pilot included down periods due

to the adaptation of the research infrastructure to accommodate new pilots for new projects. Pilot 2:

USA - MSU – Vertical flow wetland pilot challenge is the short window of operation of the ski resort that

feeds it, together with the adverse operating conditions that imply snow removal every sampling event.

Pilot 3: Belgium - Rietland – Phytoparking showcases how a technical system needs to be adapted to

meet local constrains due to archaeological heritage and adaptation of existing infrastructure. Pilot 4:

Italy - IRIDRA – Hybrid treatment wetland denotes the importance of the compromise of the local

stakeholders to support sampling efforts, as well the installation and maintenance of online sensors.

Pilot 5: Spain - ICRA - Greenwall had large delays due to the IPR attempt on the WetWall design, meaning

that the pilot monitored was another type of green wall originally built for the finished HOUSEFUL project,

and MULTISOURCE ensured continuity of the monitoring activities. Pilot 6: NIVA/Oslo Municipality –

Raingarden monitored was a mitigation pilot, due to the bankruptcy of the entrepreneur responsible for

the original pilot. The project revealed that, besides the raingarden itself, the integrated hydraulic design

of the road and watershed is critical for the successful function of the raingarden. Moreover, the system

was not ideal for calculating removal efficiencies, as outlet samples were not representative due to the

infiltration nature of the raingarden. Pilot 7: Germany - UFZ - Green roof largest challenge was its design

to favour biodiversity and retain stormwater, not being primarily focused on water harvesting, which

limited the number of samples available.

Overall challenges for the future implementation of nature-based solutions were also identified and

discussed with the different local stakeholders. Main general concerns relate to operation strategies

tailored for urban areas, need for disinfection of effluents to meet European regulations for water reuse,

invasive species and biodiversity control, existing regulations and general practice for urban areas which

may hinder implementation of nature-based solutions as decentralised treatment options, and the fact

that NBS can be land-intensive. A highly relevant barrier noted was ownership of the projects and/or of

the technical systems and ensuring continuous and reliable operation on a client ground.

All in all, the monitoring work of MULTISOURCE was achieved according to the expectations raised at the

beginning of the project and according to the monitoring plans laid down. No case study was comparable,

results are pilot and case specific. However, this enabled very detailed assessments of their performance

and providing remarkable examples of tailored optimization and local stakeholder assessment.