The objective of the delegation is to know good practices and technologies used in the management of water resources, specifically those related to wastewater treatment and water quality control for irrigation. During the visit to the IMDEA Water facilities, the delegation have been able to know the pilots of the Land Application System and membrane technology, in addition to the water laboratory and the research on cyanobacteria in water bodies.

A Land Application System is a plot area, sized according to the influent to be treated, which has forests installed and is irrigated with wastewater. The residual water partially evaporates and the rest is taken up by the roots of trees and filtered through the soil. These systems, unlike other traditional technologies, have several advantages. They scan be managed without external energy input. They are a reliable, robust and low maintenance technology, producing high quality biomass, the capture of CO₂and reusable water ideal for urban wastewater treatment of small communities.

Researchers of the membrane group showed the use of this technology during desalination and wastewater treatment for water reuse processes. Also, it was showed how the group is testing, under the umbrella of LIFE+2013 TRANSFOMEM project, an innovative and environmentally-friendly recycling process for waste reverse-osmosis desalination membranes, currently landfilled, in order to produce membranes for other uses.

The visit continued in the water laboratory where physical-chemical, microbiological and chromatographic analyses are performed, associated with quality control of water bodies and soils.

The visit continued in the water laboratory where physical-chemical, microbiological and chromatographic analyses are performed, associated with quality control of water bodies and soils.

Finally, the biology laboratory was visited to know how researchers monitor cyanobacterial blooms and their toxins in surface water.