EU project develops decentralized water treatment technologies
KIT and RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau are leading the European DECIRE-WATER project to develop decentralized water treatment systems for sustainable water reuse. After one year of development, the researchers have established six demonstration sites across Europe and South Africa to test nature-based solutions such as constructed wetlands, which use sand, gravel, and plants to break down pollutants, alongside supplementary technical processes like membrane bioreactors and UV systems. The three-year project, funded with EUR 5 million under EU Horizon Europe, involves 15 partner institutions and aims to refine technologies over the next two years to enable reliable water reuse and provide clean irrigation water in locations with fluctuating water availability.
