Water resource management and solutions based on natural processes: the Crop Science Research Center of the Sant'Anna School accompanies representatives of the EU H2020 project PRIMA NEXUS-NESS on a visit to the NEXUS Ecosystem Lab
Representatives from the consortium of the EU H2020 project PRIMA NEXUS-NESS, formed by Università degli Stranieri di Perugia, Politecnico di Milano, Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (Spain), Institute Agro-Sol (France), Institute Regions Aride de Medenin (Tunisia) and University of Florence, led by a team of researchers from the Crop Science Research Center of Sant'Anna School, visited the NEXUS Ecosystem Lab in Val di Cornia.
The tour, which began at the Guardamare purifier in San Vincenzo, thanks to the support of ASA spa, provided an in-depth look at the tertiary treatment processes, energy consumption and maintenance costs involved in using urban wastewater for irrigation purposes. The light lunch was attended by the mayor of the Comune di Suvereto, Jessica Pasquini, and the president of the Consorzio di Bonifica 5 Toscana Costa, Giancarlo Vallesi, who presented their project on the need to integrate at the planning level the management of water resources with the management of energy production and consumption, with particular regard to agricultural production.
Rudy Rossetto, a researcher at the Crop Science Research Center at the Sant'Anna School, then accompanied the consortium to visit the Suvereto groundwater recharge scheme implemented as part of the EU LIFE REWAT project. Participants learned about the benefits of this nature-based solution to provide water at low cost and with minimal environmental impact. The tour ended at the Otello Poeta company, where rainwater harvesting schemes are in place to recover water and control the high Boron content in groundwater for irrigation, potentially causing damage to greenhouse crops.
