The AQUA project, aimed at enhancing resilience to climate change in the Adriatic-Ionian region, has the goal of reaching significant strides in addressing the common challenge of water management in the face of a changing climate.
Rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events have led to significant shifts in water availability, quality, and distribution. These challenges transcend borders and require collaborative efforts to ensure effective solutions.
The AQUA project has set its sights on the overall objective of enhancing resilience to climate change of water utility companies in the Adriatic-Ionian area. By developing an joint action plan and strategy and user-tailored tools, the project aims to improve water resource management, increase capacities for climate change adaptation, and mitigate the impact of natural and man-made disasters.
By adopting an integrated approach that considers both droughts and floods and the interconnections between water quantity and quality, the project aims to provide holistic solutions. The project also prioritizes data-driven solutions, co-design, and co-development, ensuring that the outputs are tailored to the specific needs of the participating regions.
36 months from 01/09/2024 to 31/08/2027
- INTERREG ADRION
Coordinating organization
- Apulian Public Aqueduct (AQP)
CMCC Scientific Leader
CMCC Project manager
CMCC Institutes
CMCC Divisions
- Global Coastal Ocean Division
- Regional Models and geo-Hydrological Impacts Division
- Soil and Water Systems Division
General aims
The aim of the project is to support water utilities in developing tools for water resource management in the context of climate change. In this sense, the framework that allows the needs of the different Pilot cases to be considered can be that of Digital Twins, in which the three fundamental elements—monitoring, modeling, and decision support—are adapted across various areas, taking into account specificities, needs, the current state of knowledge, and available resources. Having taken note of the current state of knowledge and development (both within the scientific community and at the national level), the primary target will be to try to support the development of one of the three fundamental aspects or the links between them. Finally, the project aims to ensure that these aspects are scalable beyond the specific domains of application.
CMCC role
The CMCC Foundation will support the review of the state-of-the-art so that the developed tools are in line with current knowledge; at the same time, it will support the collection and analysis of requirements and needs in the various Pilot cases, enabling the achievement of a consolidated working plan. CMCC will also support the development of the modules (monitoring, modeling, decision support tools) that form the basis of a potential Digital Twin or the potential links between them. Moreover, it will assist capacity-building activities at the national and supranational level, ensuring that the activities carried out are scalable and replicable.
Activities
Supporting the literature review to gain a clear understanding of the state-of-the-art on the development and implementation of Digital Twins for water resource management.
Supporting the definition of requirements and needs from the pilot cases in order to identify a work plan; contribute to the development and improvement of the key aspects of a Digital Twin (modeling, monitoring, decision support tools) or the links between these aspects.
Enabling the full implementation of such improvements in the operational and strategic management of the identified Pilot cases.
Supporting the amplification of these activities so that they are replicable in different contexts with similar needs or scalable to the entire ADRION domain.
Expected results
The project will lay the foundation for the development of a digital twin to support water resource management in the context of climate change. It will enhance modeling, monitoring, and Decision Support Tools across different contexts, increasing knowledge of resource management dynamics under particularly severe conditions, such as droughts or floods. Moreover, by prioritizing the development and adoption of data-driven approaches, it will also enable significant advancements in water balance characterization through innovative methods.
Partners
PUBLIC COMPANY VODOVOD KANALIZACIJA SNAGA (Slovenija)
Municipal Water Supply and Sewerage Company of Arta (Ellada)
TIRANA WATER AND SEWERAGE UTILITY (Shqipëria)
LLC “Regional waterworks for Montenegrin Coast” (Crna Gora)
City Administration of the city of Belgrade, Secretariat for environmental protection (Serbia)