Antibiotic resistance has become a global public health concern. Although this phenomenon has been widely studied in clinical settings, its impact has not been extensively explored in environmental settings. The environment is continually exposed to a wide variety of antimicrobials and their metabolites through wastewater treatment plant discharges, agricultural runoff, and animal feeding operations which may contribute to the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance. Moreover, the large-scale mixing of environmental bacteria with exogenous bacteria from anthropogenic sources provides the ideal selective and ecological conditions for the emergence of resistant bacteria. As a consequence, aquatic environments may provide ideal settings for the horizontal exchange of antibiotic resistance genes. Our working hypothesis is that bacteriophages (phages) play an important (and overlooked) role in the acquisition, maintenance and spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in environmental settings, particularly under anthropogenic disturbances. The specific aims of the ENVIROSTOME project are (i) to determine the contribution of phages to the horizontal transfer of ARGs in aquatic environments, and (ii) to investigate the impact of conventional and novel disinfection approaches in wastewater treatment on the prevalence of ARG-carrying phages in aquatic environments. Dr. Balcazár’s group have demonstrated that environmental phages contain a large diversity of ARGs, which warrants further research to clarify their contribution to the emergence of antibiotic resistance among environmental bacteria, as well as to investigate their control through disinfection. The results of this research are expected to deliver critical insights for tackling the global crisis of antibiotic resistance. The project is also supported by an intersectoral secondment with the world-class water intelligence company BlueTech Research and by its founder and CEO, Paul O'Callaghan.

Wastewater treatment and management in Europe has a large potential for growth; however needs to be supported by education of a new generation of interdisciplinarily trained wastewater professionals able to face future challenges and implement wastewater-related directives in practice. TreatRec, with the participationof two academic partners (ICRA-Catalan Institute for Water Research and University of Girona) and two non-academic (ATKINS and AQUAFIN) identifies several pertinent technological gaps and knowledge needs around which we have built a research programme. TreatRec involves equally academia and industry with a clear aim of producing a group of young researchers capable of conducting high quality research, but also able to address industrial and societal needs and implement wastewater-related directives in practice. The five researchers will conduct their scientific projects in an environment that combines industrial excellence in the development, design, construction and management of wastewater treatment systems, with complementary academic excellence in a) hypothesis-driven research involving the improvement/upgrading of state-of-the art technologies and the deepening the understanding of fate and removal of emerging contaminants in wastewater treatment systems and in b) applied research involving the development of decision support systems which allow for the encapsulation of knowledge for further use in decision-making processes. As a general goal, academic and non-academic partners of TreatRec, including WWTP operators, engineers responsible for the design and a water authority which has experience in water policy implementation, a set of recommendations will be generated to provide guidance for decision-makers on upgrading wastewater treatment plants for future challenges such as microcontaminants removal and nutrient recovery from a sustainable perspective.

River networks are among Earth’s most threatened hot-spots of biodiversity and provide key ecosystem services (e.g. supply drinking water and food, climate regulation) essential to sustaining human well-being. Climate change and increased human water use are causing more rivers and streams to dry, with devastating impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Currently, over half the global river network consist of drying channels and these are expanding dramatically. However, drying river networks (DRNs) have received little attention from scientists and policy makers, and the public is unaware of their importance. Consequently, there is no effective integrated biodiversity conservation or ecosystem management strategy of DRNs facing climate change. A multidisciplinary team of 25 experts from 11 countries in Europe, South America, China and the USA will build on EU efforts to investigate how climate change, through changes in flow regimes and water use, has cascading impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem functions and ecosystem services of DRNs. DRYvER (DRYing riVER networks) will gather and upscale empirical and modelling data from nine focal DRNs (case studies) in the EU and CELAC to develop a meta-system framework applicable to Europe and worldwide. It will also generate crucial knowledge-based strategies, tools and guidelines for cost-effective adaptive management of DRNs. Working closely with stakeholders and end-users, DRYvER will co-develop strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change effects in DRNs, integrating hydrological, ecological (including nature-based solutions), socio-economic and policy perspectives. The end results of DRYvER will contribute to reaching the objectives of the Paris Agreement and place Europe at the forefront of research on climate change.