Urban Water Services in Transition: From Integrated Assessment to Deployable Solutions for Emerging Contaminants, Circular Resources and Climate-Neutral Utilities

The integrated water service is entering a transformative era, shaped by the urgent need for systemic water resilience and the tightening of European and national mandates on micropollutants, resource recovery, and climate-neutrality. This full-day conference addresses the dual challenge of ensuring long-term drinking water, wastewater and sludge security while navigating the transition toward energy neutrality and net-zero emissions. To provide a comprehensive roadmap for this transition, the conference is structured into two complementary pillars:
Technology Pathways & Deployable Solutions
A deep dive into innovative processes, smart operations, and digitalization across the drinking water, wastewater, and sludge sectors. This section emphasizes the recovery of material and energy resources, the removal of emerging contaminants and the reduction of carbon footprints.
Holistic assessment and Risk-based management: A holistic examination of the tools required to ensure safety in a circular economy and One Health perspective. This includes advancing chemical and effect-based monitoring, and deploying integrated decision-support tools. By linking advanced risk assessment with Water Safety Plans, this pillar ensures that the pursuit of circularity is underpinned by rigorous public health and environmental safeguards.
By bridging technical innovation with holistic assessment, this conference defines the "deployable solutions" necessary to build a water-resilient society in the face of escalating climate and chemical pressures.

Session Chairs

Giorgio Bertanza, University of Brescia
Tania Tellini, Utilitalia
Camilla Braguglia, CNR-IRSA

Program

10.00 Morning Session — Technology pathways and implementable solutions

10.00 Opening by the Chairs

10.15 Challenges posed by new directives and national laws on wastewater and sludge
Angiolo Martinelli, Ministry of Environment and Energy Security

10.30 Implementation of the UWWTD: The Chemical Sector's Perspective 
Lorenzo Ferrando, Federchimica

10.45 How the UWWTD will transform the Integrated Water Service”
Tania Tellini, Utilitalia

11.00 Call for papers

12.30 Discussion and Round Table

14.00 Afternoon Session — Holistic Assessment and Risk based management

14.00 Opening by the Chairs

14.15 Precision monitoring of emerging contaminants in water and complex matrices
Sara Castiglioni, Istituto Mario Negri

14.30 Risk assessment challenges for drinking water (WSP)
Susanna Murtas, Italian Institute of Health (TBC)

14.45 Call for papers

16.30 Discussion and Round Table