URBANM2O at a glance
The challenge
- Meeting the EU’s ambitious Zero Pollution goals requires a massive amount of data to effectively manage urban water quality.
- Cities face growing threats from a wide range of contaminants (like chemicals and microplastics), multiple pollution sources, climate change, and ageing infrastructure.
- Current water quality monitoring methods are often too costly, slow, and lack the detail needed to support effective, city-wide management.
- Critical water data is often fragmented across different systems and organizations, preventing a holistic and integrated approach to pollution control.
Our goals
- To empower urban water managers with all the necessary information to develop and implement integrated, data-driven water quality management plans.
- To address current and future threats to urban water systems, regardless of a city’s geography or its specific pollution sources.
- To support the transition towards climate-resilient cities by protecting and restoring water bodies for safe human and ecological use.
How We’ll Achieve Our Vision
Develop AI-Enhanced Monitoring:
We will create and benchmark innovative, AI-powered “virtual sensors” that provide real-time, cost-effective, and accurate water quality data.
Build Integrated Digital Tools:
We will construct Digital Urban Water Twins (DUWT) to model and track pollutants across the entire city, supported by a central Data Management System (DMS) to ensure seamless data sharing among all stakeholders.
Integrate Data for Smarter Decisions:
By feeding live data from our sensors directly into the Digital Twins, we will accurately identify pollution hotspots, assess risks, and empower authorities to create targeted, evidence-based management plans.
Co-Create and Share Knowledge:
We will work in close collaboration with cities, utilities, and regulators to produce practical guidance and training materials, ensuring our solutions are tailored to real-world needs and can be widely adopted across the EU.
