Assessing the progress in depolluting the Mediterranean Sea.

The depollution of the Mediterranean Sea by 2020 is the overarching goal of Horizon 2020 Initiative (H2020). The first phase (2007-2013) tackled the main land-based pollution sources; municipal waste, urban wastewater and industrial emissions. As part of the H2020 roadmap implementation, the ENPI-SEIS project focused on the first H2020 review mechanism that included a) establishing a process for regular environmental reporting in the European Neighbourhood Policy South countries, and b) generating the knowledge necessary to assess the progress in depolluting the Mediterranean Sea.

Modelling the geochemical fate and transport of wastewater-derived phosphorus in contrasting groundwater systems.

A 1D reactive transport model (RTM) is used to obtain a mechanistic understanding of the fate of phosphorus (P) in the saturated zone of two contrasting aquifer systems. We use the field data from two oxic, electron donor-poor, wastewater-impacted, sandy Canadian aquifers, (Cambridge and Muskoka sites) as an example of a calcareous and non-calcareous groundwater system, respectively, to validate our reaction network. After approximately 10 years of wastewater infiltration, P is effectively attenuated within the first 10 m down-gradient of the source mainly through fast sorption onto calcite and Fe oxides.