Il prossimo appuntamento con la serie di incontri PhDTalks si terrà Martedì 20 febbraio 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 Jessica Ianes condurrà un seminario dal titolo “Managing (micro-)pollutants contamination in integrated urban wastewater systems: risk assessment and mitigation strategies”. 

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

Sarà possibile seguire la conferenza anche online al seguente link.

Abstract

Over the past few decades, rapid growth of population, economy, and urbanization, have posed significant challenges for the environment, such as the deterioration of surface water and groundwater quality. Concurrently, diverse user demands have determined the competition for clean water resources, exacerbated by severe droughts caused by climate change.

In highly urbanized areas, water can be used for different purposes, discharging very different types of (micro-)pollutants into the sewer system or directly to surface water. In fact, these systems are often combined and when rain events hit the city, they can reach their capacity, discharging untreated wastewater and stormwater directly into water bodies, causing pollutants overload. Moreover, wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are currently designed to remove only conventional pollutants, spreading micropollutants in the environment also in dry-weather. In this way, different type of contaminants can reach surface water and move across different water sources and compartments. They can accumulate in groundwater and surface water, where they can also be transferred due to crop irrigation. The complexity in contamination sources, pathways, and receptors make urban water management intricate. Correct and well-planned water management is crucial to avoid conflicts among different stakeholders and to limit the risk for the environment and human health.

To address these issues, the present project aims at developing a comprehensive framework for assessing and managing (micro-)pollutants risks in urban water, modeling their fate and transport across various water sources and compartments, while also exploring suitable treatment technologies for wet-weather discharges and WWTP effluent.

Speaker’s bio

Jessica is a PhD student in Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering (37th cycle) at Politecnico di Milano. She has a Master of Science in Environmental and Land Planning Engineering obtained in 2021 at Politecnico di Milano.

Jessica works in the safeWATER research group and her research activity focuses on modelling fate and transport of micropollutants in urban water, assessing the environmental risk and evaluating proper mitigation strategies.

In her free time she loves enjoying nature, playing the piano, and travelling.