The Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), together with the University of Girona (UdG), the public companies Trargisa and Catsa, and the Girona City Council, is participating in two industrial PhD projects aimed at generating scientific knowledge to improve water management in the city. Both initiatives focus on strategic areas such as drought and wastewater analysis, with the goal of providing scientific evidence that can support future decisions and actions.

During the presentation of the projects’ progress, Oriol Gutiérrez, Head of ICRA’s Knowledge Transfer and Technology Unit, highlighted that both PhD projects “are closely related” and stressed the importance of having “scientific evidence” to address any challenge linked to the water cycle. He also described industrial PhD programmes as a “valuable and crucial tool” for fostering knowledge transfer between research institutions and public administrations.

One of the projects, carried out by PhD candidate Sílvia Busquets, studies the condition of the city’s wastewater through the analysis of substances present in it. The aim is to obtain a comprehensive picture of the population’s exposure to different compounds and to assess whether there are differences according to socioeconomic status.

The second PhD project, led by Mohamed Assabri, focuses on improving water supply systems. The project examines various measures to optimise the distribution network, such as installing piezometers to monitor aquifers and conducting pumping tests in the wells of El Sitjar.

The results of both PhD projects could provide valuable information to guide future actions in water management.