Within the AQUAREHAB project, different innovative rehabilitation technologies for soil, groundwater and surface water will be developed to cope with a number of hazardous (nitrates, pesticides, chlorinated and aromatic compounds, mixed pollutions, ) within heavily degraded water systems. The technologies are activated riparian zones/wetlands; smart biomass containing carriers for treatment of water in open trenches; in-situ technologies to restore degraded surface water by inhibiting influx of pollutants from groundwater to surface water; multifunctional permeable barriers and injectable Fe-based particles for rehabilitation of groundwater. Methods will be developed to determine the (long-term) impact of the innovative rehabilitation technologies on the reduction of the influx of these priority pollutants towards the receptor.

A connection between the innovative technologies and river basin management will be worked out. In a first stage of the project, the technologies and integration of their impact in river basin management will be developed in three different river basins (Denmark, Israel, Belgium). In a second stage, the generic approaches will be extrapolated to one or two more river basins. One of the major outcomes of the project will be a generic river basin management tool that integrates multiple measures with ecological and economic impact assessments of the whole water system. The research in the project is focused on innovative rehabilitation strategies to reduce priority pollutants in the water system whereas the generic management tool will include other measures related to flood protection, water scarcity and ecosystem health.

The project will aid in underpinning river basin management plans being developed in EU Member States, and will demonstrate cost effective technologies that can provide technical options for national and local water managers, planners and other stakeholders (drinking water companies, industry, agriculture.