Soil and Water Quality in the Environment (SWQ)
The Soil and Water Quality in the Environment group addresses the assessment of environmental contamination in the soil and water compartments, and the adaptation of nature-based solutions to treat contaminated water:
- Adaptation and improvement of unconventional treatment technologies based on natural attenuation processes.
- Transfer and interaction between chemicals in multiple scenarios by developing specifically designed experiments and reactive transport models.
- Bioavailability of contaminants in soils through the use of bioindicators and the study of their transfer to the food chain through the consumption of crops
- Quantity and quality of water resources through hydrogeological studies based on the application of multiple tools (numerical, hydrochemical and hydrogeochemical models).
Research team

Dra. Irene de Bustamante Gutiérrez
Director

Dra. Raffaella Meffe
Deputy director

Dra. Ana de Santiago Martín
Researcher

Dr. Lucila Candela Lledó
Expert researcher in hydrogeology

Raúl Jerónimo Pradana Yuste
Predoctoral researcher. Grupo EULEN

Lucía Barbero Morales
Research Assistant

Sara Martínez Pérez
Predoctoral researcher

Gloria Teijón Ávila
Research Assistant

Cynthia Rieckhof Rivas
Predoctoral researcher

Lesly Ayala Cabana
Predoctoral researcher

Ana García Arcos
Research Assistant
Dra. Irene de Bustamante Gutiérrez
Director
Ph.D. in Geology from the UCM, Professor of the Department of Geology, Geography and Environment of the University of Alcalá and Director of IMDEA Water. Among its lines of research, hydrogeology, quality and water reuse should be highlighted. She has participated in more than 80 projects and research contracts, being in 57 of them principal investigator, and she has carried out 32 projects for companies.
- irene.bustamante@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID

Dra. Raffaella Meffe
Deputy director
Deputy director of IMDEA Water. PhD in hydrogeology at the Freie Universität of Berlin (2011), MSc in Geological Science at the Sapienza University of Rome (2007).
- raffaella.meffe@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID

Dra. María de las Virtudes Martínez Hernández
Researcher
PhD in Hydrology and Water Resources Management at University of Alcala (2015), MSc in the same programme (2008) and BSc in Environmental Sciences at University of Alcala (2007).
- virtudes.martinez@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID

Dra. Ana de Santiago Martín
Researcher
PhD in Pharmacy (2013) with European Mention and Folch award at Complutense University of Madrid (UCM). She worked for 5 years (2008- 013) as Assistant in the Pedology Department (UCM) where she specialized on the study of the distribution and availability of metals in agricultural soils, the assessment of bioindicators, and the risk of metals entering the food chain.
- ana.desantiago@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID

Dr. Lucila Candela Lledó
Expert researcher in hydrogeology
Dr. Lucila Candela Lledó, Ph.D. in Groundwater hydrology. She worked as Professor at the Technical University of Catalonia. Specialist in water resources, groundwater and vadose zone. She has participated in more than 50 research projects at national and international level funded by different institutions (MICIN, EU, UNESCO, OIEA, WB, Kuwait).
- Lucila.Candela@upc.edu
- -

Raúl Jerónimo Pradana Yuste
Predoctoral researcher. Grupo EULEN
Graduated in Geological Sciences from the Complutense University of Madrid (2017) and Master’s Degree in Geology and Environmental Management of Mineral Resources from the University of Huelva (2018).
See full profile- jpradana@eulen.com
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID

Lucía Barbero Morales
Research Assistant
Graduated in Geological Sciences from the Complutense University of Madrid (2016) and a fellowship with the Department of Petrology and Geochemistry (2016) in a Project to investigate the pyroxenes of Campo de Calatrava volcanic field (Ciudad Real).
- lucia.barbero@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID

Sara Martínez Pérez
Predoctoral researcher
Graduated in Environmental Sciences at Rey Juan Carlos University (2017) with a Master in Ecology at Autonomous University of Madrid (2019).
- sara.martinez@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID

Gloria Teijón Ávila
Research Assistant
Graduated in 2006 in Geological Sciences at the University of Salamanca. She has a degree in hydrogeology from “Fundación Centro Internacional de Hidrología Subterránea” (2007), a Master’s degree in Hydrogeology from FCIHS-Technical University of Cataluña (2007-2009) and degree in Hydrogeological aspects in mining by “Fundación Centro Internacional de Hidrología Subterránea” (2013-2014).
- gloria.teijon@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID

Cynthia Rieckhof Rivas
Predoctoral researcher
She graduated in Geological Sciences from the Complutense University of Madrid (2017). She received her Master's Degree in Geology and Environmental Management of Mineral Resources from the University of Huelva (2018).
- cynthia.rieckhof@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID

Lesly Ayala Cabana
Predoctoral researcher
She graduated in Chemistry from the University Complutense of Madrid (2018). She got her master's degree in Ecosystem Restoration from the same university (2019).
- lesly.ayala@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID

Ana García Arcos
Research Assistant
She graduated in Environmental Sciences from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (2017), and she got a master’s degree in Ecology from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (2019).
- ana.garcia@imdea.org
- IMDEA Water. Avenida Punto Com, 2. Parque Científico Tecnológico de la Universidad de Alcalá. Alcalá de Henares. 28805 MADRID

Projects
Nat4Health
2021 - 2025
Antibiotics, hormones, persistent and mobile organic contaminants and pathogens, the complex mixture in agriculture and livestock scenario. Risk to health or natural attenuation?
PAPILLONS
2021 - 2025
Plastic in Agricultural Production: Impacts, Lifecycles and LONg-term Sustainability
CLEAN-CM
2021 - 2022
Control and elimination of biological and chemical risks in the water cycle
µNanoCare
2020 - 2023
Quantification of micronanoplastics in reclaimed water and agricultural ecosystems. Environmental risk assessment
BIOARBIO
2020 - 2023
Generating biomass with reclaimed water: opportunity for the circular bioeconomy
FatePharM
2018 - 2021
Irrigation of crops with surface water contaminated with pharmaceuticals and trace metals: natural attenuation or health risk?
FILVER+
2016 - 2020
Water reclamation by using a new concept of land application systems
TALE
2015 - 2018
Towards multifunctional agricultural landscapes in Europe: Assessing and governing synergies between food production, biodiversity and ecosystem services
SMART-HYDRO
2014 - 2017
Intelligent system to optimize the use of water in agriculture
2011 - 2012
Installation of the first laboratory attached to the National System of Protected Areas (SNAP) managed by the Center for Environmental Research and Services (Ecovida)
REAGUAM
2010 - 2012
Reuse of treated urban wastewaters for environmental uses: aquifer recharge through permeable reactive beds and forestry for power production
2009 - 2010
Regeneration of purified water by means of passive techniques in situ: Reuse for irrigation and recharge
CONSOLIDER TRAGUA
2006 - 2012
Treatment and Reuse of Waste water for Sustainable Management
Contracts
Sustainable Desert Ecosystem Management with Use of Treated Waste Water for Forage Irrigation in Kuwait
2019 - 2022
Water regeneration study through vegetation filters: removal of nutrients and emerging contaminants
2018 - 2019
Evaluation of the hydric resources of the Campus of the University of Alcalá and study of solutions for its integral use
2016
Development of innovative tertiary wastewater treatment technology based on vegetation filters
2014 - 2017
Research project for the development of innovative solutions in the management of brine discharges from desalination plants
2010