Project’s structure

Project’s structure

Our Project Storyline:
A Four-Phase Journey

A Four-Phase Journey

To achieve our ambitious goals, URBAN M2O is structured as a logical journey. We start by listening, then we build our innovative tools, integrate them to create powerful solutions, and finally, we work with our partners to ensure these solutions create a lasting impact.

Phase 1

Understanding the Needs

Understanding the needs
WP1

WP1: Mapping the Users’ Needs

Our journey begins with one crucial activity: listening. Before we build anything, we engage directly with our end-users—cities, water utilities, and environmental regulators. In this initial phase, we will:

  • Map the current and future challenges these stakeholders face in managing urban water quality.
  • Define the precise data and functionalities they require from our new monitoring and modelling tools.
  • Establish the technical requirements that will guide the development of the entire URBAN M2O solution, ensuring our innovations are built to solve real-world problems.
Phase 2

Developing the Tools

With a clear understanding of the needs, we move into the development phase. Here, our expert partners build the core technological components of the URBAN M2O solution.

Phase2
WP2

WP2: Development of AI-Enhanced Monitoring Technologies

We will create the “eyes and ears” of our system by developing a new generation of smart sensors. By combining existing sensor technology with advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI), we will create “virtual sensors” capable of providing real-time, cost-effective data on a wide range of pollutants.

WP3

WP3: Development of the Digital Urban Water Twin (DUWT)

We will build a “virtual city” for each case study. This Digital Twin is an advanced computer model of the entire urban water system, capable of tracking how pollutants move through rivers, drainage networks, and groundwater. It will allow us to simulate different scenarios and test the effectiveness of pollution control strategies.

WP4

WP3: Development of Data Sharing Tools

To connect our sensors and models, we will create a “data highway.” This involves developing a harmonized Data Management System (DMS) that allows monitoring data and model results to be shared seamlessly and openly between all partners and stakeholders, following FAIR data principles.

Phase 3

Bringing It All Together

Bringing It All Together
WP1

WP5: Integration of Monitoring and Modelling Solutions

This is where the true innovation happens. In this phase, we connect the tools developed in Phase 2 to create a powerful, integrated system. We will:

  • Feed the real-time data from our AI-enhanced sensors directly into the Digital Urban Water Twins.

  • Cross-validate the model’s predictions against real-world measurements to improve its accuracy.
  • Demonstrate how this integrated system can precisely identify pollution hotspots and assess risks, providing a robust foundation for data-driven decision-making.
Phase 4

Creating Lasting Impact

Phase2
WP1

WP6: Co-Creation of Tailored Guidance and Capacity Building

In the final phase, we come full circle, bringing our proven solutions back to the stakeholders we started with. We will:

  • Synthesise all the lessons learned from the project’s development and demonstration phases.

  • Co-create practical guidance materials, handbooks, and training courses in close collaboration with our end-users.

  • Build capacity to ensure that cities and utilities across Europe have the knowledge and confidence to adopt and implement the URBAN M2O solutions, facilitating a real transition towards smarter water management.