CWMA _ Circular Water Management in Agriculture

The CWMA initiative addresses the urgent need for sustainable, circular water management in agriculture by leveraging advanced decentralized wastewater treatment technologies.

Climate change, water scarcity, and the persistent presence of pharmaceutical residues and emerging contaminants in water systems pose significant threats to agriculture, public health, and ecosystems.

In line with the European Green Deal and the Water Reuse Regulation 741/2020, our proposal aims to demonstrate and scale innovative circular approaches using alternative water sources for irrigation, particularly reclaimed water from hospitals, livestock farms and small municipalities.

The secondary objective is to explore the integration between centralized and local, decentralized and/or semi-decentralized solutions, through the involvement of utilities that treat wastewater from the decentralized system and at centralized plants. 

This proposal will also test the long-term viability and safety of using reclaimed wastewater in agriculture under different climatic, soil, and socio-economic conditions in 2/3 EU countries/regions. It also evaluates business models, cost-efficiency, and farmer perception.

Through strong stakeholder involvement (farmers, utilities, hospitals, technology providers, and policymakers), we apply a co-creation approach to boost adoption, awareness, and policy uptake of safe water reuse.

The result will be a validated, scalable solution that reduces environmental footprint, enhances water resilience in farming, and supports sustainable food systems.