Last April, AIMEN presented the progress of the WATERUN project at the Urban Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) Conference held in Spain. The presentation highlighted the advancements made in monitoring water runoff and implementing a wetland treatment system in the A Sionlla industrial park, located in Santiago de Compostela. Recently, data and information from WATERUN’s project are now available on redSUS.
The characterization provided information about the different pollutants found in the catchment; whereas the wetland treatment operation and validation study the use of NBS and SuDs to abate polluted water runoff. As a result, cleaner water is generated and returned to the natural environment, reducing environmental and health risks.
How the characterisation been done?
The characterization was conducted by collecting samples during various rainfall events, and it was determined the presence of organic matter, nutrients and salts, heavy metals, hydrocarbons and pathogens and the main pollutants. The wetland treatment system has been in operation since March 2025 and is expected to remove between 70% and 90% of the pollutants present in the water.
What is redSUDS?
redSUDS is a collaborative network that was established in 2008 as part of a dissemination project carried out by the Construction Technology Research Group (GITECO) at the University of Cantabria, with support from the Regional R&D&I Society of Cantabria. In collaboration with Green Blue Management, it was decided to reactivate the redSUDS with the aim of driving a paradigm shift in Spain: from the conventional approach to urban drainage towards one that incorporates SuDS as a standard solution. The goal is to consolidate a group of urban drainage professionals committed to overcoming the institutional barriers that exist in Spain.
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Putting forward WATERUN’s works
The wetland Treatment Pilot, one of the pilots developed in the WATERUN project in Santiago CS, has been included in the Spanish SuDS Map. This map gathers information about all the SuDS and NBS which are currently under operation in Spain. Discpver the map on https://redsuds.es/mapa/ !
Want to see the project's information? Just type "WATERUN" in the search bar on the right!