WIN Water unveiled new technologies to meet extreme weather
WIN-VATTEN has a long history of exploring new technologies in the field of water. In October, WIN hosted the digital meeting “Applications of Sponge City Concepts in Europe” to demonstrate various innovative ways of using stormwater resources in European cities and landscapes.
The “Sponge city concept” is a way of planning cities so that there is a built-in ability to deal with flooding. Olof Blomqvist from Lund University and Win Water told about various measures that could be worked on, both to care for rainwater and to create an attractive environment.
“We can work with open water mirrors, lakes, canals and dams, to restore streams and bring flowing water to ground level, to construct wetlands, to build green roofs or to use permeable materials on the ground — all to retain or use water, while at the same time working to improve water quality, infiltrate groundwater and promote biodiversity. In an urban environment, we need to work in a really systematic way to make the environments more attractive,” says Olof Blomqvist.
During the meeting, six gave presentations with different perspectives on the topic, both on the experiences of projects and of entrepreneurs with new applications or products.
Martin Vysoký is a landscape architect and told about how the company The Edge is working on a multifunctional solution to the challenge of retaining large amounts of rainwater in cities, where part of the problem is many hardened surfaces where the water quickly gushes past. Their solution is made to collect, purify and delay the water through — “Blue Green Grey Systems”. In this system, urban streets are created that have permeable bearing and surface layers and have room for both plant roots and rainwater. The street environment also includes green space on the street where the water can be filtered down through various layers of soil as well as watercourses that bring the water down to levels where it can be retained for irrigation, or if there is too much, flushed out into the regular stormwater system.
Hanna Nordlander and John Hegg on VA SOUTH told how those within the Rewaise project worked, among other things, with weather forecasts to get to grips with some surfaces that are often flooded in Lund. In the stormwater network that has been flown around LTHarea has occasionally been flooded in case of heavy rains. At the same time, there are two dams in the area but they have not previously been used to delay storm water. In the project, the storm water has been connected to the upper pond (Pölen puddle) and then made an open connection to the lower one (Sjön sjön). Finally, everything has been hooked up with sensors and to that a controlling hub with access to weather forecasts so that it can control a hatch and release the water from the upper to the lower pond when needed. In addition to being a good solution for reducing flooding problems, it has also created a more attractive environment around the dams, which previously had concerns with eutrophication.
- I like that the water challenge was solved and that at the same time something has been developed that makes the environment better and more interesting for people moving in the area. This is a good result of a good cooperation between the landowner Akadeiska hus and VA SYD, says Ola Hansson, WIN Water.
Summer Chen represented the start-up Guerilla from London and made a presentation of a solution that easily addresses the challenge of the water flowing off city streets containing pollutants. Guerilla has therefore designed a special device suitable for putting in ordinary street wells and that divides the water into contaminated and clean water through a gravity-based mechanical process that uses the special internal geometry of the design to carry out the separation. The company has currently designed a prototype that they say can separate particles with 90% efficiency. To install the device, no infrastructure changes are needed and the cost is relatively low. The contaminated sludge can be taken care of by a truck with sludge suction equipment.
Dr. Sonja Ostojin from EMS told me about how their intelligent system CENTAUR® can reduce flood risk in a community's stormwater sewer system. The system reads off the current situation in the sewage system and uses AI to determine whether the water should be held back or released on. The system can be controlled locally to optimize capacity. CENTAUR® is used in the existing infrastructure but adds, for example, level sensors, monitors and control stations but also latches that provide the ability to shut off flows.
Ruben Wentink from Fieldfacteur talked about the major challenges urban water systems face in managing rainwater during periods of heavy rain. The Blueblocks system prevents flooding, but also captures and stores rainwater for use during droughts or heat waves. The system works by first filtering the rainwater through a Blue Biofilter, which purifies the water before it is allowed to infiltrate into the ground. BlueBlocks is an environmentally friendly and sustainable solution suitable for cities, industrial areas and sports facilities. The basic idea behind BlueBlocks is to collect rainwater where it falls, instead of flushing it away into sewer systems. The process begins with rainwater from roofs and hardened surfaces being collected and temporarily stored. After collection, the water is purified through biofilters to remove contaminants. After that, it is infiltrated into the ground through an infiltration well and stored underground in a natural system. The stored water can be used, for example, for irrigation of green spaces, to fill fountains or to regulate groundwater levels.
Finally, Nicolas Morales spoke from Aqualia (album) on “Nature-based solutions in Santander in the HE D4runoff project”. The goal of their work is to take care of the water and to prevent water pollution in the city. Santander aims to have a resilient and circular water system that promotes sustainable development, social inclusion, protection of natural resources and a natural environment. The city worked to find several solutions that can promote the purification of water runoff before it reaches the sewer network. Examples of such solutions include permeable areas in parking lots, but also an urban park with a large naturalized artificial wetland where runoff can be received, which has also become a place where 150 species of birds thrive and a natural recreation area for the residents. The water eventually passes through the city's sewage treatment plant. The official website of the project.
Win Water's representatives were pleased with the meeting.
- These meetings create an awareness of development in different geographical areas, says Ola Hansson. The meeting showed several European initiatives, which I think is exciting. Our mission to disseminate technology solutions for owners in need and to inspire innovative thinking is important. Today's theme focuses especially on the interaction between different actors, a way of working that should be completely natural in order to confirm the path of water in its cycle and thus seem sustainable.
WIN WATER Facts
WIN is an innovation platform with 220 members from 15 countries, mainly in Europe but also from other parts of the world. 175 of its members are innovation companies. WIN has three branches — WIN Water, WIN Guard and WIN Energy.
WIN's vision is to bring ideas to market in the fastest possible time and works to provide its partners with the perfect conditions to exchange ideas and launch innovative and disruptive solutions in WIN's specific areas. WIN Water Meeting is one of their tools, and a meeting includes not only presentations but also opportunities to create new contacts through a digitally oriented mingle in connection with the presentations.