Scaling up rainwater reuse in European cities
LIFE GreenLED will develop a unique water solution to replace the potable supply with locally collected rainwater in urban areas.
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It is no longer feasible to waste potable water
GreenLED will help accelerate Europe’s climate resilience and water neutrality in urban areas by reusing rainwater.
Context
Europe is facing increasingly frequent droughts. In addition, growing water demand tied to urbanisation is exacerbating water shortages and increasing pressure on urban water supplies.
Problem
Drought reduces the availability of drinking water for human consumption. This scarcity is intensified by the fact that potable water is often used for non-drinking purposes.
Solution
We need sustainable alternative sources for non-drinking purposes, so that cities preserve potable water and adapt to climate change.
Safe rainwater reuse for close-contact urban applications
The LIFE GreenLED project aims to develop a scalable innovation combining natural water filtration, underground storage and energy-efficient UV-C LED disinfection technologies.
Through a circular water management solution, it will provide safe rainwater reuse for close-contact urban applications. All in a chemical-free, natural and environmentally-friendly way.
Integrating BlueBloqs + UV-C LED technologies
GreenLED collects, treats and stores rainwater underground for later reuse.
Filtration, storage and disinfection
system all-in-one
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The water is supplied by BlueBloqs, a modular and nature-based system to make cities water-neutral and climate-proof.
A nature-based biofiltration and aquifer storage technology that has the capacity to deliver high yields for irrigation of urban areas (parks and sports pitches).
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With an UV-C LED unit by APRIA, the recovered water is further purified to supply disinfected water for local reuse.
This chemical-free technology meets the stringent safety requirements for close contact applications. It provides pathogen-free water, e.g. 0 cfu/L E. coli.
Urban GreenLED applications
Discover the complete potential of GreenLED. Take a moment to dig into all the details by downloading our Press release.
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Irrigation of green roofs and green facades
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Supply of urban ponds and fountains
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Supply for non-potable use in buildings
GreenLED demonstration sites
Over 4 years, GreenLED will maximise BlueBloqs and UV-C LED synergies, testing this innovation in two real-world demonstration projects.
Alphen aan den Rijn will use rainwater to make the city greener
The municipality addresses heat stress and flooding vulnerabilities in the city center by installing 50.000 m2 of green facades and roofs. To boost sustainability, 31.000 m2 of city center roof surface will be disconnected from the sewer system, supplying 15 million liters of rainwater for reuse annually.
The BlueBloqs technology filters and stores rainwater underground, and a UVC-LED post-treatment device ensures its quality for supplying water to buildings for irrigation of green features. This initiative aims to mitigate the urban heat island effect and enhance environmental resilience in Alphen aan den Rijn.
Madrid will fill city ponds with rainwater
In Madrid, an innovative solution will be implemented in Los Ahijones urban development to utilise rainwater, filtered by the BlueBloqs system and UVC-LED disinfection, for a city park pond. As the collected rainwater may be insufficient during dry periods, the initiative incorporates reclaimed water from the municipal treatment plant to ensure a sustainable water source.
The GreenLED solution, which will be operated by the City of Madrid and the public-private partnership Junta de Compensación Urbanización del Este Los Ahijones, aims to provide a year-round water supply for high-quality applications, enhancing water sustainability in the region.
GreenLED quality assurance
The demonstration sites will be monitored by the Technical University of Delft and the Polytechnic University of Madrid to evaluate the effectiveness of the GreenLED integrated solution.
GreenLED aim
GreenLED aims to demonstrate that, while complying with health and water quality regulations, rainwater can be used as an alternative water supply to meet the urban water demand.
GreenLED goal
Our goal is to share the results of these pilot projects towards solutions that can be scaled up and out.
Project timeline
GreenLED is a 4-year demonstrative LIFE project
Starting in July 2023, the final results are expected to come in June 2027.
GreenLED featured news
GreenLED consortia partners
GreenLED is an innovative project implemented by a Dutch-Spanish consortium to scale up rainwater reuse in European cities.
The project is funded by the EU funding instrument for the environment and climate action, LIFE.
Nature and LED based rainwater treatment for reuse in green cities.
LIFE GreenLED (LIFE22-CCA-NL-101114560) is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
