MAURICE: When rainwater gets a second chance
Water from the clouds doesn’t have to end up in the sewer. Last week in Ljubljana, partners of the MAURICE (Managing Urban Water Resources in Central Europe) project gathered to share the latest insights on how to make European cities more resilient to drought and climate change.
Representing the Technical University of Liberec, Tomáš Lederer from the Centre for Nanomaterials, Advanced Technologies and Innovation (CXI TUL) took the stage. He presented the Guideline for the Selection of Rainwater Treatment Technologies for Further Use – an overview of modern methods for collecting, treating, and reusing rainwater.
Tomáš Lederer (center) presented the methodology for selecting technologies for rainwater treatment at a meeting of MAURICE project partners in Ljubljana.
How to manage rainwater wisely
Rainwater can serve as a cheap and sustainable source for irrigation, flushing, or technical purposes. The key is the „fit-for-purpose“ principle: that is, treating water only to the quality required for its further use. Water for the garden has different requirements than water intended to supplement the municipal supply.
Tomáš Lederer demonstrated various approaches to treatment and disinfection: from chlorination, ozonation, and UV radiation to plasma technologies that can remove microorganisms and micropollutants. The research thus combines ecology, engineering, and cutting-edge material technologies.
“Rainwater is a resource that literally falls from the sky. It’s up to us whether we let it drain away or turn it into a useful part of urban water management.”
Tomáš Lederer, CXI TUL
Pilot projects and European experiences
The presentation summarized experiences from the Czech Republic and other countries – from the wastewater treatment plant in Liberec to the project at Liberec Zoo to large-capacity applications in Paris, Berlin, and Switzerland. All of these examples show that even ordinary rainwater can be a secondary source for cities of the future.
On the Czech side, combinations of membrane filtration, UV radiation, and advanced oxidation processes are being tested, which can remove bacteria and organic micropollutants from water. The results show that the treated water meets strict European standards for reuse.
Smart cities start with water
MAURICE connects partners from across Central Europe – universities, research institutions, and municipal partners – with the aim of creating a European methodology for rainwater management. The project is funded by the Interreg Central Europe program, and its results are intended to help cities reduce drinking water consumption, mitigate flood risk, and contribute to climate change adaptation.
Want to know more?
Check out the MAURICE project website:
https://www.interreg-central.eu/projects/maurice/
