Il prossimo appuntamento con la serie di incontri PhDTalks si terrà Martedì 14 novembre nell’aula Fassò (Edificio 4A), dalle 17:15 alle 18:30 CET.

PhDTalks è una serie di seminari e discussioni tra dottorandi. Gli eventi hanno lo scopo di fornire un luogo dove creare un network tra dottorandi ed entrare in contatto con i molti progetti sviluppati nel nostro dipartimento.

Lo speaker Luca Penserini condurrà un seminario dal titolo “Innovative methodologies to support the implementation of sustainable wastewater reuse in agriculture: risk and impacts assessment”. 

Al termine dell’evento sarà disponibile un piccolo rinfresco finanziato dal dipartimento.

Sarà possibile seguire la conferenza anche online al seguente link.

Abstract 

Water pollution and scarcity of clean freshwater, exacerbated by climate change and population growth, are posing a global risk not only limited to the environment, but also involving human health and related socio-economical aspects, raising a need for sustainable water management practices. The reuse of reclaimed wastewater (RWW), especially for agriculture, i.e., the most water demanding sector, has been recognized as a reliable alternative source to conventional freshwater. Either direct and indirect reuse of RWW inherently connects water in numerous environmental compartments (i.e., raw water, soil, crop). This interconnection leads to a series of impacts, either positive, as the water stress alleviation or the enhancement of agricultural productivity through the supply of nutrients, or negative, as the cross-contamination of different environmental compartments with contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARBs). All these impacts need to be evaluated through specific models to avoid, or at least, mitigate, potential long-term risks.

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) assume a crucial role in determining the quality of RWW intended for irrigation, especially considering the compliance requisites delineated in the regulation on minimum requirements for water reuse adopted in June 2023 by the European Parliament (Regulation 2020/741). Moreover, in this regulation it is stressed the need for a shift from the common practice of establishing minimum quality requirements towards preventive risk analysis aimed at minimizing risks and maximizing positive impacts throughout all the steps of the RWW reuse chain.

In this context, the present project is aimed at developing a holistic risk-based framework for the integrated assessment of RWW reuse practices’ impacts, to support decision-makers and water utilities in planning, design and comparing the different alternatives and determine the optimum solutions to minimize risks and social costs.

Speaker’s bio

Luca is a PhD student in Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering (37^th cycle) at Politecnico of Milan. He has a Master of Science in Environmental and Land Planning Engineering obtained in 2020 at Politecnico of Milan.

Luca works in the safeWATER research group and his research activities focus on the impacts modelling of wastewater reuse in agriculture practices, emphasizing risk assessment procedures as a key focal point.

In his free time, Luca loves playing sports and travelling.