The ITG technology centre, Aqualia and VCS Denmark, the three entities that form part of the LIFE RESEAU consortium, have just held one of their regular virtual meetings. The main objective was to review the progress of actions carried out over the past six months and to outline the tasks to be completed during the final stretch of the initiative, which will conclude in February 2026.
Status of the two pilots
The meeting began with a focus on validating the solutions developed for the two LIFE RESEAU pilots, located in Moaña and Søndersø respectively.
At the Galician WWTP, the AGS reactor is showing promising performance results, with positive changes in the control strategy that make it more adaptive and therefore flexible to the characteristics of the incoming wastewater. In the network, joint work between ITG and Aqualia continues, which, in addition to performance analysis and model building, has enabled the identification of deviations whose detection contributes to the maintenance and calibration of the equipment. Finally, the hydraulic model developed has been calibrated with the most recent rainfall data to increase its replicability and accuracy.
The Danish pilot, meanwhile, has focused efforts on the measurement of micro-contaminants and additional tests on the MABR system during this latest period. This included a stress test and monitoring of energy consumption, the reduction of which exceeds the initially forecast KPI of 66%.
Operation and validation of the SiiMS platform
Progress on the platform in recent months has centred on the adaptation and validation of hydraulic and data-based models developed for each pilot.
At the same time, advances continue in the algorithms developed and applied for flow decomposition, which aim to help identify the different components of wastewater flow (total, sanitary, groundwater, marine intrusion and rainfall). Its use seeks to improve the ability to distinguish the origins of flow and its behaviour during rainfall and tidal events.
Updates were also addressed regarding the development of new hydraulic models and their integration into the platform—an advance for real-time decision-making thanks to having models updated with the latest data measured by the sensors. In addition, data-based models were summarised, among which those aimed at overflow prediction stand out, key to anticipating potential system discharges during heavy rainfall events.
Replicability, business and impact
The replicability of the LIFE RESEAU project was the focus of the final part of the meeting, as well as the development of the business plan for the adoption of the solutions tested during the project. In this regard, potential interest is foreseen in the retrofitting solution in the coming years, due to expected legislative changes. On the other hand, the SiiMS platform is expected to reach a state close to market readiness by the end of the project.
Finally, the project members discussed the environmental and socio-economic impact of LIFE RESEAU, including the benefits of the treatment solutions implemented and their effect on emerging pollutants and microplastics.