boDEREC-CE – Board for Detection and Assessment of Pharmaceutical Drug Residues in Drinking Water – Capacity Building for Water Management in Central Europe
Emerging substances have recently gained increasing attention because of the concerns about their potential impacts on human health and the ecosystem as a whole. They reach natural water resources by a wide range of routes and sources, the majority of which are anthropogenic. There are still a lot of open questions concerning them, including which compounds belong to this group,
their classification, properties, effects on human health and the environment, possibilities of natural attenuation and technical removal, and their proper monitoring, regulation and control. Given their widespread use and frequent detection throughout the water environment, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are in the focus of the boDEREC-CE project.
The main boDEREC-CE objective was to develop and test appropriate monitoring and modelling activities, in different hydrological systems under environmental pressures of emerging contaminants, based on an innovative approach applied in pilot areas across CE countries. This provides the basis for an integrated waterworks’ management of emerging substances, which facilitates preserving and/or increasing drinking water quality, in line with the objectives of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) and Drinking Water Directive (2020/2184), aimed at securing drinking water quality
The project activities started with a broad overview of emerging contaminants (ECs), including definitions, classifications, regulations, and current knowledge at national levels. Other activities focused on a single type of ECs, such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). The monitoring was established in 8 pilot sites, where the water was systematically sampled over the
period of two years, in order to assess the frequency and concentrations of PPCPs in different water resources (surface water, groundwater, and karst aquifers). The analyses’ results were used to develop PPCPs transport models and to determine their behaviour in different environments, as well as to develop a PPCPs decisionmaking tool (modePROCON) which would assist water managers in planning measures to control and protect drinking water resources.
The developed decision – making support tool for selecting treatment option/method for mitigating PPCP concentrations and the Transnational Strategy for PPCP Mitigation in Drinking Water – provides a concrete step towards the new and improved legislation by offering specific solutions even after the project’s lifetime
Basic information
Start date: 01-04-2019
End date: 31-03-2022
Budget in Euro: Overall: 2.597.483,94
ERDF Contribution: 1.938.208
Priority Axis 3 : Cooperating on natural and cultural resources for sustainable growth in CENTRAL EUROPE
Specific objective 3.1: To improve integrated environmental management capacities for the protection and sustainable use of natural heritage and resources.
More information is available via the following website: Interreg Central Europe – boDEREC-CE
