Water supplies across the EU are becoming increasingly contaminated by hazardous chemicals including heavy metals, drugs and pesticides. Most worryingly of all, a group of highly toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) — more commonly known as ‘forever chemicals’ — are known to pose threats to human and environmental health. Agricultural run-off, leaking landfill sites and industrial discharge all add to the challenge.
Increasing public awareness is adding to the pressure to clean up. Recent findings from the European Commission suggest that 69% of Europeans consider pollution to be the main threat linked to water, and that only 37% of Europe’s surface waters are in a healthy ecological state. The cost of cleaning up nutrient pollution alone is put at a staggering €75 billion a year.
With an estimated 100 000 PFAS-contaminated sites across Europe, the race is on to find sustainable solutions. Step forward LIFE SOuRCE, a €2.8 million, 5-year project due to conclude in 2026. With a focus on new, cost-efficient and easily replicable technology, LIFE SOuRCE set up demonstration sites in Spain and Sweden to test different remediation methods. ‘The new EU drinking water directive includes limits on the concentration of PFAS, and in order to comply new technologies will be required,’ says Laura del Val, a researcher with project coordinator Eurecat. ‘Most importantly, when the project finishes the technology will be ready for commercial use.’
Another project aiming to clean up European water supplies is LIFE REMEMBRANCE, which is not only decontaminating drinking water polluted by PFAS and other emerging contaminants but to recover and reuse valuable hollow fibre membranes (HFMs) — widely used in biomedical and water filters — which are currently thrown away and incinerated. ‘The project merges industrial expertise with environmental innovation to deliver a circular water purification model,’ explains Letizia Bocchi of project partner Medica. ‘A key innovation lies in the reuse of high-quality production scraps — portions of hollow fibre membranes generated during manufacturing — which are repurposed as functional components in water filters. This approach reduces industrial waste while enabling the removal of emerging pollutants from water, contributing to both environmental protection and resource efficiency.’
The €2.2 million project, which also finishes next year, has established a Living Water Lab in Ferrara, Italy, where the team are piloting ways to extract micropollutants from water drawn from the River Po before it is used for drinking. ‘It’s a privilege for us researchers to watch this new technology, which was developed in our laboratories, being scaled up into a real plant,’ says researcher Manuela Melucci from project partner CNR-ISOF. ‘We are also able to contribute to its validation for the benefit of all citizens.’
‘This project works to improve the quality of our water from a chemical point of view,’ adds Irene Priolo, Vice President of Italy’s Emilia Romagna Region where the pilot project is based. ‘It’s important because it has succeeded in combining circular economy and the reuse of a high value waste product.’
Both LIFE SOuRCE and LIFE REMEMBRANCE support the new 2025 Water Resilience Strategy as well as the EU Water Framework Directive, Drinking Water Directive, REACH Regulation, Priority Substances Directive, Groundwater Directive, Urban Waste Water Directive, EU Soil Strategy for 2030 and the EU POPs Regulation, and the wider goals of the European Green Deal.