How RESURGENCE supports more resilient industrial water supplies
Water resources across Europe are facing increased pressure due to prolonged drought, high temperatures and changing rainfall patterns. Recent assessments show how reduced rainfall and extreme heat are affecting rivers, water supplies, agriculture and energy production. These conditions demonstrate the importance of reducing dependence on conventional freshwater sources and preparing water systems for increasingly uncertain conditions.
RESURGENCE is developing technologies and approaches that enable industries to reduce their reliance on conventional freshwater supplies. Its work focuses on treating and reusing industrial and municipal wastewater and improving water management through integrated treatment systems and digital tools. These solutions aim to make water supplies more resilient while reducing pressure on the freshwater resources needed by communities, agriculture and ecosystems.
These approaches can operate at different levels. Within industrial facilities, treated wastewater can be recirculated through production processes, reducing the need for additional freshwater. At a wider scale, treated municipal wastewater can provide an alternative supply for nearby industries. RESURGENCE is exploring this second approach through its urban–industrial symbiosis case study in Campo de Gibraltar and Algeciras Bay, Spain. Researchers examine how treated water from municipal wastewater-treatment plants could help meet local industrial demand.
The project is also assessing how different treatment and recovery processes can be combined. Digital twins, sensors, water- and energy-management models and decision-support tools can help researchers examine these interactions and explore possible operational scenarios before changes are introduced at a physical facility.
This approach recognises that developing alternative water supplies is only one part of building resilience. By examining how recovered water can circulate between urban and industrial systems, RESURGENCE is contributing to the development of more flexible industrial water supplies in regions facing increasing scarcity.
