Denmark at the forefront of major EU project: New measurement methods and digital infrastructure to ensure cleaner urban water in Europe

How do we deal with rainwater, overflow and pollution in the cities of the future? This is the focal point of the research project UrbanM2O, in which Denmark has a central role with DKK 44 million in support from the EU's Horizon Europe programme.

The partners in Denmark are DTU, Danmarks Miljøportal, the City of Copenhagen and the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, as well as several actors from the water sector.

"Water quality problems in cities require many actors to work together and to share data effectively. UrbanM2O will demonstrate how smart data management systems can form the basis for digital water management in the cities of the future. We must show the way and gather the best experiences that can be used by cities throughout Europe," says Henrik Dissing, Senior Consultant at Danmarks Miljøportal.

The role of Danmarks Miljøportal is to establish a test environment that can handle data from new sensors and measurement systems, and show how this data can be made available and usable across utilities and authorities. Danmarks Miljøportal draws on experiences from the existing water data platform, VanDa, which already makes it possible to share IoT data from sensors in the water sector.

Copenhagen is a test area - experience can be spread to Europe

In Copenhagen, Utterslev Mose and the Port of Copenhagen have been chosen as test areas for new measurement technologies and digital tools. The City of Copenhagen sees great perspectives in the project, which according to them can improve the opportunities for monitoring, data collection and create smarter planning and analysis tools.

"Together with the project's partners, we will develop and test measurement methods and data management systems that take into account both data generation, environmental case processing and subsequent data analysis and environmental assessments. Here, Danmarks Miljøportal plays a crucial role, because they have experience from similar solutions we already use in the municipalities. If successful, the work can help to increase and streamline environmental case processing throughout Europe," says Andreas Libonati Brock, Environmental Case Officer in the Technical and Environmental Administration of the City of Copenhagen.

DTU: Central to Europe's goal of reducing water pollution

As a project manager, DTU sees this as an obvious opportunity to improve future monitoring and management of water quality in European cities.

"UrbanM2O addresses a core challenge in European environmental management: we lack reliable, coherent and accessible data on water pollution. The European Commission has established that better data sharing will be a key area to ensure a good condition in the urban aquatic environment. Our goal is to create the sensors of the future and the digital infrastructure that Europe needs to achieve its ambitious plans to reduce water pollution," says Luca Vezzaro, Associate Professor at DTU and project manager for UrbanM2O.

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency: Strengthens the basis for wastewater regulation

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency is also a partner in the project, and contributes with professional knowledge, among other things, in relation to the upcoming EU Urban Wastewater Directive, which sets stricter requirements for monitoring and documentation in the cities' water systems.

"UrbanM2O gives the Danish Environmental Protection Agency an opportunity to strengthen the basis for future wastewater regulation in cities. And a focus on data quality and common digital solutions is completely in line with your work to implement the upcoming EU directive on urban wastewater, where nutrients and environmentally hazardous pollutants must be addressed," says Maria Benavent, chief consultant at the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.

BIOFOS: Need for cooperation as water crosses municipal boundaries

BIOFOS, which is Denmark's largest wastewater company and in the follow-up group for the project, also points to the need for better collaboration and sharing of data between utility companies across municipal borders.

"If we are to work smarter, we need one unified digital tool that covers the entire water system in Greater Copenhagen. UrbanM2O is an important step towards just that, where data from overflows, rainwater and wastewater treatment plants are linked together in one unified system," says Dines Tornberg, Environment and Development Manager at BIOFOS.

UrbanM2O runs until 2029 and will be presented in a separate session at the Danish Water Conference on 2-3 December. The project has completed its start-up period and is now entering the phase where the technical solutions will be developed and tested. The results are expected to form best practice for the European Commission's further work.

For further information

Danmarks Miljøportal: Henrik Dissing, Senior Consultant | hendi@miljoeportal.dk

City of Copenhagen: Andreas Libonati Brock, Environmental Case Officer in the Technical and Environmental Administration | WD0Y@kk.dk

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency: Maria Benavent, Special Consultant, Water Supply | maibb@mst.dk

DTU: Luca Vezzaro, Associate Professor, luve@dtu.dk

BIOFOS: Dines Erik Thornberg, Head of Environment and Development | dt@biofos.dk