boDEREC-CE ends
TAKING COOPERATION FORWARD
Water is one of the most valuable resources for today’s civilization determining the quality of our lives. An array of questions regarding the occurrence and fate of anthropogenic substances referred to as emerging contaminants (ECs) that occur globally in the water environment, has been brought to light. Interreg Central Europe project boDEREC-CE “Board for Detection and Assessment of Pharmaceutical Drug Residues in Drinking Water – Capacity Building for Water Management in Central Europe” recognized this issue that should be tackled by strong transnational cooperation of renowned experts and relevant stakeholders through the common course of action and policy on EU level. Throughout its 3-year implementation period, boDEREC-CE offered opportunities for integrated management of waterworks, and recommendations for the enhancement of current legislation on drinking water standards for the vast EC group of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs). boDEREC-CE used an innovative approach in implementing eight pilot areas across Central Europe where the behavior of PPCPs, their natural attenuation, and removal efficacy of different treatment techniques was thoroughly studied via jointly developed monitoring methodology and common project’s PPCPs database. The involvement of both public and private stakeholders (at different spatial scales from local to national) from the early stages of the project through workshops, conferences, training courses, and meetings ensured the creation of useful and sustainable tools. The large array of stakeholder groups can directly benefit from the Transnational strategy for mitigation of PPCPs - TRAST-PPCP as well as the decision-making support tools wwDEMAST and modePROCON which can also be applied to regions beyond CE.
As a Lead Partner of the boDEREC-CE project, Croatian Geological Survey wants to express gratitude to all Project Partners and the whole project consortium for fostering fruitful transnational cooperation and focusing efforts on accomplishing all project goals. The experience and knowledge gained in the CE region contribute to the future prioritization of contaminants of concern and their regulative management in the drinking water environment. The Board of Experts constituted within boDEREC-CE has prepared a sound ground for further cooperation and joint activities beyond the project’s lifetime by forming a network of institutions and researchers with different backgrounds and expertise.
Those looking to sustainably manage and preserve the good quality of drinking water resources might find our outputs as well as Project Monograph very useful.
Should any questions arise feel free to contact Lead Partner, we will be pleased to share the know-how with you!
