From left to right, Iame Alves Guedes (Head of the Biological Analysis Service), Laura Cherta Cucala (Head of the Chemical Analysis Service and the Soil Analysis Service), Iñaki Urrutia, Patricia Gómez Martínez, David García Valenzuela, Álvaro Macías de la Rosa, and María Ángeles Lezcano Vega.

IMDEA Water received yesterday a delegation from Canal de Isabel II within the framework of the Industrial PhD —funded by the Community of Madrid—carried out by predoctoral researcher Álvaro Macías de la Rosa. The doctoral thesis aims to advance knowledge on the origins and causes of the generation of unpleasant odours produced by geosmin and 2‑methylisoborneol in reservoir waters in the Madrid region.

During the visit, the Canal de Isabel II delegation—comprising Iñaki Urrutia Gutiérrez, Head of the Environmental Analysis Area at Canal de Isabel II; David García Valenzuela, Laboratory Manager within the same area; Patricia Gómez Martínez, Project Manager at the R&D&I Subdirectorate; and Álvaro Macías de la Rosa—had the opportunity to learn first-hand about IMDEA Water’s facilities, analytical capabilities, and potential synergies for collaboration with its different research groups. The visit was guided by IMDEA Water’s research staff and laboratory technicians.

At present, there is no specific scientific knowledge that clearly defines the exact natural and physicochemical conditions that trigger the production of geosmin and 2‑methylisoborneol, two of the main metabolites responsible for off odours in freshwater systems. In this context, the doctoral thesis—supervised by María Ángeles Lezcano Vega, researcher in the Aquatic Ecology and Biotechnology Group at IMDEA Water, and co-supervised by Iñaki Urrutia Gutiérrez—will generate key information for the development of early warning systems in urban water management, with results that can be extrapolated to other regions.

Antonio Berná Galiano and Sara Mozo Pacheco, researchers from the Bioe group, explaining METland® technologies for wastewater treatment to the delegation.