ICRA researchers Josep Pueyo-Ros and Joaquim Comas took part in the twelfth edition of the conference, which brought together more than 600 researchers, public officials, water managers and professionals to share knowledge and experiences on integrated and sustainable urban water management.

ICRA researchers Josep Pueyo-Ros and Joaquim Comas participated in the twelfth edition of the international conference Novatech, held in Lyon from 29 June to 3 July 2026. The conference brought together more than 600 researchers, public officials, water managers and professionals to exchange knowledge and experiences in the field of integrated and sustainable urban water management.

During the conference, they presented two contributions. The first focused on Nat4Wat, a digital decision-support tool designed to help select and compare nature-based solutions for water management. The second presented results from the GiroNat project on the identification and prioritisation of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) in the city of Girona.

ICRA also co-organised a workshop within the European project OPRA, funded by the Spanish State Research Agency, the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and the European Union (PCI2025-167186-2; MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/UE). During the session, water utilities and water management organisations from several European countries discussed the monitoring and prevention of overflows in combined sewer systems.

The workshop provided an opportunity to compare practices, needs and challenges across different regions, particularly in light of the new requirements of the European Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, which strengthens the management of heavy rainfall events and the reduction of untreated wastewater discharges.

As part of this activity, Silvia Busquets, an industrial PhD researcher at ICRA and TRARGISA, delivered the presentation “The situation on CSOs and their treatment in Spain”, providing an overview of the challenges posed by CSOs (Combined Sewer Overflows) and the treatment strategies currently applied in Spain.