WATERCARE D.5.3.1 - Final Governance guidelines

The WATERCARE project "WATER Management solutions for reducing microbial environment impact in Coastal AREas" is part of the "INTERREG Italy-Croatia" cross-border cooperation program. In particular, the WATERCARE project belongs to Priority Axis 3 "Environment and Cultural Heritage" and to the Specific Objective OS 3.3: to improve the environmental quality conditions of maritime and coastal areas by using sustainable and innovative technologies and approaches. Adriatic sea offers an overall good quality of water in relation to Mediterranean context and this represents a strength point and an opportunity, but at the same time the increased anthropic pressure, in particular during touristic seasonal peaks and the inefficient and fragmented wastewater management systems, due to the Adriatic sea physical geographic characteristics, represent a weakness and threat points. In Italy, Croatia and Europe, the state of quality of the bathing waters and their classification determined by the monitoring required by Directive 2006/7/EC is presented primarily with a class of excellent quality; only near rivers and streams can be found classifications of bathing water with lower quality. Episodes of rain of significant intensity, also as a negative effect caused by climate change, induce floods and significant consequences on river and sewage systems, with medium / long-term impact on bathing water in many Italian and Croatian coastal areas, where the network sewer can discharge directly into the sea. During these events, the microbial contamination significantly affects the quality of bathing water with a negative impact on tourism and related activities of coastal towns. WATERCARE aims to improve microbial and environmental quality and resource efficiency in bathing and coastal waters reducing the microbial contamination by using innovative tools in wastewater management and treatment.