ICRA took part on 26 September in the European Researchers’ Night in Girona, a day dedicated to bringing science and research closer to citizens. Three interactive workshops were presented that allowed the public to explore different aspects of water science.

The first was a water tasting, where participants had to identify whether the water came from a spring, tap, filtered tap, or bottled water, and indicate which they liked best. The most popular was spring water (39%), followed by tap water (25%), bottled water (25%), and filtered tap water (11%). The activity highlighted the difficulty of distinguishing waters based on taste alone, even though the differences in environmental and energy impacts are much more evident.

A second workshop introduced participants to river biofilms and macroinvertebrates, organisms little known to the general public, and demonstrated how contaminants accumulate along the food web, particularly affecting organisms at higher levels, in a process known as bioaccumulation or biomagnification.

Finally, the third workshop invited participants to pedal on a stationary bike for one minute and then compare the energy generated with that required to treat small amounts of water, making the energy cost of water treatment processes visible.

Through these activities, ICRA brought its research closer to the public and encouraged reflection on the value and sustainable management of water.