About AQUICIRC
AQUICIRC is a three-year research project (2026–2028) funded through the Water4All partnership. It aims to make managed aquifer recharge with treated wastewater, industrial effluent and harvested rainwater safe and efficient: storing more water, removing more contaminants of emerging concern, and turning what is learned at six sites into guidance for the people who run and regulate them.
What we set out to do
Follow the contaminants
Track how pharmaceuticals, pesticides, PFAS and other contaminants of emerging concern move and break down in aquifers recharged with treated wastewater and other unconventional water.
Model recharge before changing it
Build flow and reactive transport models that predict water quality and guard coastal aquifers against seawater intrusion.
Test better designs
Measure what permeable reactive materials and natural attenuation add to recharge systems in very different climates and geologies.
How the work is organised
Evaluation and monitoring feed the models; the models guide the changes tested at the sites. Management and knowledge transfer run the whole length of the project.
WP1 Project management and coordination Lead: WUR
Wageningen University & Research coordinates the project: day-to-day management, the data management plan and the consortium agreement. It also runs the plenary meetings and the reporting to the funders.
WP2 Performance evaluation of existing MAR sites Lead: SU, UWC
Before changing anything, we measure how well each site works today: how much water it stores and gives back, and how much of each contaminant it removes. The result is a profile of every site and a comparison across all six.
WP3 Monitoring and installation of additional equipment Lead: IoT, VUB
Many recharge sites cannot yet see what happens to contaminants underground. We install monitoring wells where they are needed, sample for emerging contaminants and microbes, and test low-cost sensors against conventional measurements.
WP4 Predictive models for MAR systems Lead: UNIPD
Computer models of water flow and contaminant transport show how much recharged water each site recovers and what happens to pollutants on the way. The models then let us test management options and designs, including how sites cope with drought.
WP5 Optimising MAR systems for storage and treatment Lead: UPC
Promising changes to how sites are built and run are tested in the lab and at pilot scale, such as permeable reactive materials or a different timing of infiltration. What works at one site is turned into guidelines for the others.
WP6 Knowledge use, stakeholder engagement and policy Lead: INAT
Results go to the people who run and regulate recharge sites, through workshops in every country, open-access publications and this website. The aim is practical guidance and evidence that can shape policy.