LIFE & WaterThe EU LIFE Programme

Environment

Title: WIZ - WaterIZe spatial planning: encompass future drinkwater management conditions to adapt to climate change

Project number: LIFE09 ENV/IT/000056

Contact: Oberdan CEI

Email: o.cei@ingegnerietoscane.net

Website: www.wiz-life.eu/

Title: RESTORE - Rivers: Engaging, Supporting and Transferring knOwledge for Restoration in Europe

Project number: LIFE09 INF/UK/000032

Contact: Environment Agency for England Antonia Scar

Email: antonia.scarr@environment-agency.gov.uk

Website: www.ecrr.org/

MANAGING

DRINKING

WATER

WIZ The ‘WIZ’ project addresses the pressures on drinking water resources in southern Europe caused by urbanisation and climate change. The project has developed an approach that permits integrating urban planning and climate change in the management of water resources at local level. This approach is made up of two components:

• A decision process that integrates a model for predicting the effects of climate change on the availability of water resources with spatial data provided by municipalities. This model gives water authorities harmonised data and a clearer picture of the water demands in an area, thus improving the validity of investment plans.

• Two online platforms: - WIZ4All: Where citizens can find information about current and future

water availability for specific locations, and also contribute by reporting the perceived quality of the water in their area, or any malfunctions or disservices.

- WIZ4Planners: a decision-support service for local authorities and other stakeholders concerned with territorial and urban planning. It provides information related to estimates of the needs and availability of clean water, with comparisons between settlement scenarios and climatic scenarios, and also gives cost estimates for water supply infrastruc-ture. The open-source code of the WIZ platform engine enables constant improvements to be made to the system.

The project succeeded in developing a model with high potential replicabil-ity that effectively engages all local actors in the management of water resources.

RESTORE River ecosystems throughout Europe have been affected by engineering projects for flood protection, navigation, water supply and hydroelectricity. Sustainable river restoration, which re-establishes ecosystems and their functions, serves to implement both the Habitats Directive and the Water Framework Directive.

The RESTORE project addressed a shortcoming in knowledge transfer in Europe on river restoration activities. The project aimed to develop a knowl-edge-exchange network linking policy-makers, river basin planners, practi-tioners and experts.

The project’s main outputs were the development of the European river restoration website (www.restorerivers.eu), which is the main source of in-formation on river restoration in Europe, and the RiverWiki, which contains information on over 500 river restoration case studies from 31 countries. These tools provide information and explanations of policy opportunities and constraints, the effectiveness of different restoration methods, design issues, and project costs and benefits.

Although several river restoration networks already existed, the project es-tablished a wider European forum to support these and emerging networks. This helped identify the needs of networks and the barriers to effective operation and cooperation.

A good practice guide ‘Rivers by Design’ was published for planners, devel-opers and architects, to raise awareness of the potential to include river restoration in urban regeneration schemes.

The project’s outcomes have raised the profile of river restoration work amongst policy-makers in Europe.

The LIFE Programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment. Since 1992 it has co-financed innovative pilot and demonstration projects - with European added value - to improve the implementation and ongoing development of EU environment policy and legislation.

There have been over 900 LIFE projects - with some 662 million euros allocated - exclusively on water. These projects have provided integrated approaches that have helped water authorities to adopt good water management solutions aimed at meeting the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive.

LIFE projects have contributed with new solutions for optimising water use in different sectors; ensuring water quality; developing cost analysis methodologies and water pricing services; and up-scaling methods of monitoring and planning

water resources. LIFE has also helped link water management to other policy sectors, such as agriculture and energy.

LIFE has helped conserve freshwater habitats and has contributed significantly to the management of river basins and water levels, restora-tion of floodplains and river ecosystems, habitat connectivity, the involvement of stakeholders and improving public awareness.

LIFE has also supported the fight against climate change, especially regarding water scarcity and issues around natural water hazards.

Two good practice LIFE projects are profiled below, followed by a list of 14 other notable projects. Further details about all the LIFE water projects can be found in the LIFE project database: ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/.

RIVER

RESTORATION

NETWORKING

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© European Union, 2015Visit the LIFE website: ec.europa.eu/life

Lippe-Aue Restoration of the natural river and floodplain dynamics

Beneficiary: Stadt Hamm, Umweltamt

WATER Cyprus Strengthening the scientific foundation of water quality programs

Beneficiary: Environment Service, Ministry of Agricul-ture, Natural Resources and the Environment

Life Grote Nete Restoration of the lowland river system ‘Grote Nete’

Beneficiary: Natuurpunt Beheer v.z.w.

www.life-grotenete.be/ LIFE05 NAT/B/000090

AQUAVAL Sustainable Urban Water Management Plans, promo-ting SUDS and considering Climate Change, in the Pro-vince of Valencia

Beneficiary: Ayuntamiento de Xàtiva

www.aquavalproject.eu LIFE08 ENV/E/000099

STREAM Improvement of the status of urban and rural river environments and floodplains

Beneficiary: English Nature, national authority

LIFE05 NAT/UK/000143

PALM Pump And Leakage Management

Beneficiary: SGI Studio Galli Ingegneria SpA

LIFE Obere Drau II Demonstration of successfully meeting water enginee-ring, flood protection and nature conservation objectives

Beneficiary: Bundeswasserbauverwaltung vertreten durch das Amt der Kärnter Landesregierung

www.life-drau.at/ LIFE06 NAT/A/000127

A.S.A.P. Actions for systemic aquifer protection: implementation and demonstration of a Protocol to scale down ground-water vulnerability to pollution due to overexploitation

Beneficiary: ACQUE S.p.A.

www.klink.it/gate/asap LIFE06 ENV/IT/000255

Raised Bogs Development of good practice in active raised bog habi-tat restoration in Latvia

Beneficiary: University of Latvia

www.purvi.lv/

WATER CHANGE Medium and long term water resources modelling as a tool for planning and global change adaptation. Appli-cation to the Llobregat Basin

Beneficiary: CETAQUA, Centro Tecnológico del Agua

Riparia-Ter Recovery of riparian habitats of the Ter river in Catalonia

Beneficiary: CONSORCI ALBA-TER, local authority

www.liferipariater.com/ LIFE08 NAT/E/000072

WALPHY Design of a decision tool for hydromorphological resto-ration of water bodies in Walloon Region

Beneficiary: Service Public de Wallonie

www.walphy.be/ LIFE07 ENV/B/000038

Kokemäenjoki-LIFE Improved wetland habitat with indirect benefits in redu-cing flood risks

Beneficiary: Centre of Economic Development, Trans-port and the Environment for South-western Finland

ArtWet Mitigation of agricultural nonpoint-source pesticide pollution and phytoremediation in artificial wetland ecosystems

Beneficiary: ENGEES (Ecole Nationale de Genie de l’Eau et de l’Environnement de Strasbourg)

LIFE06 ENV/F/000133

LIFE08 NAT/LV/000449

www.life-water.eu/ LIFE08 ENV/CY/000460

LIFE06 NAT/FIN/000129

LIFE05 NAT/D/000057www.hamm.de/lifeplus-projekt.html

www.life-waterchange.eu/ LIFE07 ENV/E/000845

www.leakagemanagement.eu/ LIFE09 ENV/IT/000136

www.ymparisto.fi /kokemaenjokiLIFE

SELECTIVE LIST – PROJECTS ON WATER

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