Reliability and effectiveness of integrated alternative water resources management for regional climate change adaptation

Project Information

RECREATE

Grant agreement ID: 101136598

DOI

10.3030/101136598

EC signature date 6 December 2023

Start date 1 January 2024

End date 31 December 2027

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 3 437 782,52

EU contribution

€ 3 392 557,50

Coordinated by

FUNDACIO EURECAT
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - RECREATE (Reliability and effectiveness of integrated alternative water resources management for regional climate change adaptation)

Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Water scarcity and climate change are increasingly threatening the sustainability of water resources and the socio-economic development across Europe. Traditional water management strategies are no longer sufficient to secure reliable access to clean water for households, industry, and agriculture. The RECREATE project responds to this challenge by focusing on the safe and sustainable use of Alternative Water Resources (AWR) such as reclaimed water, desalinated water, rainwater harvesting, and aquifer storage for regional climate change adaptation.
The project aims to enhance the resilience of European regions by providing science-based knowledge, tools, and strategies that enable water managers, policymakers, and communities to integrate AWR into their long-term planning. At its core, RECREATE develops a digital Decision Support Framework (named RECREATE_WT) to guide decision-making under climate stress. The platform combines climate modelling, risk assessment, governance analysis, and socio-economic considerations, supporting pathways that balance water security, public health, and environmental sustainability.
Through four case studies located in diverse European biogeographical regions (Mediterranean, Continental, and Atlantic), RECREATE co-creates adaptive water management strategies with local and regional stakeholders. By doing so, the project contributes directly to EU objectives under the European Green Deal, Water Framework Directive, Water Reuse Regulation, and Climate Adaptation Strategy.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the first reporting period (M1–M18), RECREATE advanced scientific, technical, and stakeholder aspects of alternative water resource (AWR) management:

• Climate and water supply modelling: Europe-wide projections of surface and groundwater under RCP and SSP scenarios were produced using CORDEX data for surface water and a data-driven model for groundwater. These analyses identified regions at hydric risk and provided the baseline to assess climate resilience against demand scenarios.
• Stakeholder mapping and barriers analysis: A detailed stakeholder mapping was completed in each of the CS. Regulatory, institutional, and socio-economic barriers were mapped across case studies, highlighting gaps, legal inconsistencies, and socio-cultural challenges limiting AWR adoption.
• Stakeholder engagement: Communities of Practice (CoPs) were set up in North Holland, Kalundborg, Syros, and Costa Brava, engaging utilities, municipalities, regulators, and in Syros also farmers. CoPs now act as key platforms for co-designing adaptive strategies and sharing governance insights across Europe.
• RECREATE_WT platform architecture: The backbone of the RECREATE_WT was defined, including a FIWARE-based data lake integrating case study datasets with harmonised data and FAIR-compliant AI models. Designed for interoperability with JRC tools, it will support transparent decision-making.
• Resilience-based planning tools: An interim multi-hazard stress-testing framework was produced to assess robustness under climate and operational uncertainties, with new metrics to quantify resilience gains from AWR solutions.
• Progress in the four case studies:
– North Holland (NL): Documented experiences from pilots on brackish water, ASR, reuse, and rainwater harvesting. Built a system dynamics model (SDM) of the regional system, started climate and demand scenarios, aligned stress-testing narratives, and co-designed a Serious Game (Aqua Ludens) with stakeholders.
– Kalundborg (DK): Advanced a digital twin of the regional system with UWOT, linking existing and future supplies. Held a first CoP meeting, mapped barriers and drivers, and defined KPIs. Explored rainwater harvesting potential and prepared LCA paired with UWOT to evaluate cost efficiency.
– Syros (GR): Defined boundaries, organised two CoPs, and developed a conceptual model combining SDM/UWOT/ABM. Achieved UWOT baseline calibration. Groundwater wells at MAR sites were mapped for injection strategies. Installed water quality sensors in the MAR network and digitalised the desalination process to improve efficiency.
– Costa Brava (ES): Defined boundaries and launched a CoP. Developed a UWOT model, expanded to groundwater and future scenarios. Identified barriers and drivers. Installed and commissioned a pilot desalination plant (AIGUANEIX project) with sensors and experimental plan. Added extra sensors for virtual sensor development. Decided to focus UWOT modelling on the Muga aquifer, supported by the SUGGEREIX tool to evaluate reuse treatment chains.
• Risk assessment innovation: Microbial and chemical risk tools (QMRA/QCRA) were upgraded to cover emerging contaminants, mixtures, and failure events, supporting compliance with the EU Water Reuse Regulation.

Alongside technical progress, RECREATE reinforced its European impact by co-founding the AWR4Climate cluster with sister projects, joining the ICT4Water cluster, and starting replication beyond the four case studies, notably in Rostock (Germany).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

RECREATE is delivering results that go well beyond the state of the art in European water management, as outlined below:

• Integrated digital platform: The RECREATE_WT introduces an interoperable FIWARE-based architecture combining climate projections, hydrological models, stakeholder mapping, and risk assessments to support adaptive pathways.
• Advanced modelling approaches: Case-study models (UWOT and SDM) explicitly integrate AWR and test configurations under climate and demand uncertainty, linking supply with demand narratives.
• Data-driven groundwater modelling: Hybrid 1D CNN–LSTM models, trained on CORDEX and ERA5/GLDAS data, simulate groundwater availability (seasonal and long-term) in Denmark, Greece, and Spain. These results highlight hydrological deficits and inform subsequent tool chains and decision-making.
• Resilience assessment: A stress-testing framework delivers indicators for multi-hazard, uncertain futures, guiding pathway design at regional level.
• Health and environmental safeguards: Quantitative chemical and microbial risk assessment tools are extended to evaluate AWR treatment trains and operational risks across case studies.
• Stakeholder engagement: CoPs bring together utilities, regulators, municipalities, and users, building acceptance and uptake of AWR.
• Open climate data access: A web interface for climate data will provide streamlined case-study access, improving transparency and reproducibility.