Technical Visits

TV1

Visit to Milano Nosedo wastewater treatment plant and Chiaravalle Cistercian Abbey

A view on Chiaravalle Abbey, the agricultural area, the wetland, Nosedo WWTP and the city of Milan (© MM S.p.A.)

Nosedo wastewater treatment plant (1,250,000 PE) treats half of the city of Milan’s sewage and is located in an agricultural area close to Chiaravalle Cistercian Abbey, founded in 1135. Here as elsewhere in the Po valley, the Cistercians were known to put in place up-to-date agriculture practices based on a system of large farming establishments. The historical irrigation practice developed in this area, which allowed high crops yield even during the winter period, is called “water-meadow” irrigation (the traditional name of this technique is marcita): grass and crops were kept continuously damp and covered by a slight layer of water ensuring the correct supply and, at the same time, taking frost off the ground.

Another advantage of this particular irrigation system was related to the possibility for the ground to absorb nutrients, in fact, a large part of the water was supplied by means of canals coming out from Milan and conveying also the sewage of the city, thus providing a source of organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous for the crops.

Nowadays, this tradition goes on, being the effluent of Nosedo wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) reclaimed for agricultural irrigation. Moreover, Nosedo WWTP represents an aggregation point for the Chiaravalle community, hosting numerous cultural and environmental events, where artists belonging to a cultural association can realize their “en plein air” artworks. Besides, there are also numerous and tight relationships with local associations for cultural and social projects.

The visit at Nosedo WWTP will include:
– seminar illustrating the plant and the ongoing projects on it, the history of agricultural practices and the strong relationship between wastewater and social development of the area
– visit to the WWTP, which is one of the largest examples of agricultural reuse of reclaimed wastewater in Europe, enjoying also the open-air art gallery (DepurArt Lab Gallery)
– lunch
– visit to the park surrounding the plant
– visit to the Chiaravalle Cistercian Abbey

A view on Nosedo WWTP and the wetland (© MM S.p.A.)

TV2

PerFORM WATER 2030 project facilities

PerFORM WATER 2030 is a living lab, public-funded project, supported by Lombardy Region within the EU ROP ERDF 2014-2020 funding framework. The consortium is composed by several water sector stakeholders, including 1 water utility, 3 research centers and 8 private companies (http://www.performwater2030.it/). PerFORM WATER 2030 is a long-term experimental platform for research, development and validation of innovative technologies, processes and decision-making tools, to assure an increasingly efficient management of water and wastewater, with a special focus on sustainability, circular economy and application of the helix model of innovation.

PerFORM WATER 2030 is promoting the development of 15+ activities related to innovations for the water sector, belonging to four thematic areas: water, biosolid valorization, recovery of energy and materials, economic and social issues. Key activities are research and validation at high TRL, development of information and decision-making models and tools, training at different levels.

The visit will take place at two WWTPs close to each other in the Metropolitan City of Milan, where pilot, demonstrative and full-scale research activities are developed.

The program will be completed soon.