To effectively address the wastewater treatment needs of diverse urban settings—not only in the most developed countries, but also in rapidly growing developing cities and rural areas—it's crucial to build capacities for decentralised NbS. This is why NICE is back with its latest three tailored thematic units, bringing together in each technical aspects associated to the Step 5 (Implement) of the UrbanByNature integrated approach, the thematic units will assess challenges and opportunities in managing sewage, greywater and CSO in a more cost-efficient, environmentally friendly, and socially inclusive way by deploying Constructed Wetlands (CWs) and Green Walls (GWs). 

As in earlier editions, the NICE Capacity-Building webinars will have its main focus on water treatment Nature-based Solutions (NBS), this time with a detailed vision on design, implementation and operation & maintenance of two of these technologies: CWs and GWs. The webinars will be providing an overview of most developed NBS technologies to remove pollutants from the three most polluted kinds of wastewater: I. sewage, II. greywater, and III. combined sewer overflow (CSO). These should ensure a more circular water cycle approach, including potential on-site treatment and reuse, along with the co-benefits these technologies bring for social well-being and biodiversity, among others.

The series will feature contributions from leading researchers in the field of water quality and NbS, Stephane Troesch, Fabio Massi, Pascal Molle, Fulvio Boano and Elisa Costamagna. The content is structured into these three units with the ambition of each targeting a different type of the three most polluted wastewater effluents, utilising these two primary NbS typologies.

Webinar 1 (27th March, 14.00-15.00 CET): sewage - with vertical flow wetlands
Webinar 2 (24th April, 15.00-16.00 CET): greywater - with green walls
Webinar 3 (information coming soon): Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) - with sub-surface flow wetlands

The first thematic unit on 27th March, Wednesday, at 14:00 CET, started with a brief introduction, provided by Biodiversity and NbS expert Carme Machi Castaner, and the presentations from NICE researchers, Pascal Molle and Stephane Troesch, who shared their insights on how to optimally design, build and operate French vertical flow CWs for efficient removal of the main pollutants found in sewage.

The second webinar on 24th April, Wednesday, at 15:00 CET, will focus on how to use green and living walls and facades for greywater management. The speakers will be Dr. Elisa Costamagna and Dr. Fulvio Boano (Politecnico di Torino) and Dr. Fabio Masi (R&D head at IRIDRA).

Join the second webinar here.