This international workshop is an initiative of the EU-funded projects TESTNET and TECHNEAU. The objective of this workshop is to bring together the knowledge as it is developed in all kinds of different projects and initiatives, in order to learn from each other’s experiences. This workshop will provide an overview of the latest developments in the establishment of a European ETV (Environmental Technologies Verification), and the state-of-the-art in on-line (bio) monitoring technologies and their practical application in the field.
The European Commission’s Environmental Technology Action Plan (ETAP) aims at promoting environmentally sound technologies (EsT). One of the priority actions of ETAP is the establishment of an European EsT verification system. A performance verification system will help innovative eco-technologies and provide objective proof that the claimed performance is reliable. TESTNET is one of the European projects selected to " test the testing system ". It is funded by the European Union within the 6th Research Framework Programme.
The Nordic Water Technology Verification Network NOWATECH (funded by Nordisk InnovationsCenter) supports the Nordic technology providers and users, as well as test center operators by establishing Nordic test centers, in line with the European ETV initiative. The main objective is to support the Nordic environmental technology industry in both the home market and the global market by giving access to accepted and comparable technology verification data. The NOWATECH project will provide four ETV test centers within the water technology sector, and a cooperation with networks of technology providers and users.
Within the FP6 TECHNEAU project, new technologies for water monitoring are developed, optimised and extensively tested in waterworks for their application in controlling water quality in the whole drinking water production process from source to tap. Evaluation criteria are not only performance characteristics like sensitivity or reproducibility, but also include criteria like ease-of-use, robustness, maintenance, and costs. These new and innovative monitoring technologies include on-line UV sensors for source water control as well as for operational control of different treatment steps, effect-related DNA-arrays for the detection of various adverse effects, fish biomonitors for continuous quality control of the finished water, and electronic nose and tongue technologies for taste and odour control.