DURATION: 01.01.2024 to 31.12.2028

BUDGET: 405 412.50€/ 3 392 557.50€ 

FUNDING: HORIZON-CL6-2023-CLIMATE-01, Land, ocean and water for climate action, IA

ABOUT RECREATE

RECREATE aims to improve the resilience of water supplies and protect the status of natural water resources by facilitating the assessment and inclusion of Alternative Water Resources (AWR) in water management planning for water-scarce regions and to increase awareness and acceptance of and trust in the fundamental role of AWR in climate change adaptation. RECREATE will produce an open-access repository compiling knowledge and data on the cost-efficiency, environmental, and health impact of different technological and water management alternatives. This repository will be encoded as an independent module into a Digital Decision Support Framework (RECREATE_WT) that, together with 3 additional modules covering climate change impact predictions, adaptation strategies to local context, and a decision matrix will be used for co-creating adaptative pathways for water management. RECREATE_WT will compile and assess information on water availability and demand for a given region and organise knowledge on the performance of innovative treatment technologies. It will explicitly consider human health risks associated to potable use, local context (regulatory, cultural, spatial, and socio-economical aspects), and water management strategies under different stress scenarios. The tool will provide a decision matrix for pathways creation, thus RECREATE_WT will act as a knowledge orchestrator and a decision theatre environment for co-designing water resource planning pathways RECREATE_WT will be demonstrated in 4 regional case studies (CS) covering different bio-regions (Mediterranean, Continental and Atlantic), and water contexts. CS will focus on the digitalization of the water cycle for integrated water management while demonstrating the cost-effectiveness reliability and safety of the use of new AWR. Full-scale or already available pilots from previous or already on-going projects will be used for RECREATE, optimizing the efforts and maximizing the impact reached.

Primary Goals

• Enhance water supply resilience and protect natural resources.
• Facilitate the inclusion of Alternative Water Resources (AWR) in water management for arid regions.
• Boost awareness, acceptance, and trust in AWR's crucial role in climate adaptation.

Innovative Tools and Strategies

• Development of an open-access repository for knowledge and data on cost-efficiency, environmental, and health impacts of water management alternatives.
• Creation of RECREATE_WT (Digital Decision Support Framework) consisting of modules for climate impact predictions, adaptation strategies, and a decision matrix. This tool will be pivotal in co-creating adaptive pathways for water management.

Project Scope:
RECREATE will conduct demonstrations in four regional case studies across Mediterranean, Continental, and Atlantic biogeographical regions, focusing on:

• The digitalization of the water cycle for integrated water management.
• Demonstrating the cost-effectiveness, reliability, and safety of new AWR technologies.
• Utilizing full-scale pilots and existing projects to optimize efforts and maximize impact.

RECREATE_WT: A Central Pillar. 
This innovative framework will:

• Compile and assess information on water availability and demand.
• Organize knowledge on innovative treatment technologies.
• Consider human health risks, local contexts, and water management strategies under various scenarios.
• Serve as a knowledge orchestrator and decision theatre for co-designing water resource planning pathways.