Monitoring the quality of raw water used in the production of drinking and recreational water, for chemical and microbiological hazards, including agents causing infectious diseases that result from human activity

The monitoring of the state of the environment is very important nowadays because of the many threats that exist in our surroundings. Threats can arise at any time and it is crucial that residents are notified and made aware of them. The idea of the project is to monitor pollution resulting from human activity in raw water used to produce drinking water and monitoring surface waters used for recreation.

Laboratory equipment will be purchased on both sides of the border, such as: refrigerators, temperature data loggers, UV fluorescent lamps, laboratory incubators, filtration and chromatographic sets, automatic sample concentration and liquid-solid extraction systems, dispensers, automatic pipettes, computer sets, automatic systems for sensitivity testing with software, monitoring panels for sample storage, autoclaves, PCR chamber, air conditioners, rotor and many others. Shopping will complement reagents, standards, auxiliary materials necessary for the needs of research (chemical, microbiological and epidemiological ones). Thanks to the EU support, microbiological and chemical monitoring of water will be carried out. This will include the determination of bacteria and viruses that enter the water with domestic wastewater. Such contaminants can cause rapidly spreading epidemics. Monitoring will also include microplastic particles. Using modern equipment and facilities requires training – they will be provided for those responsible for the research process: in health and safety, sampling, research methods, logistics, documentation. A few reports on ongoing research will be prepared. As part of the cooperation, a database of entities will be developed to exchange information and warnings about hazards. It is significant to react quickly to new risks and to communicate water quality problems effectively. These activities will be accompanied by an educational and promotional campaign including competitions for schools, local information meetings, 4 conferences, publications in the media. The project will include cross-border activities – joint risk monitoring that will allow both partners to obtain information on water quality in the area.

All these actions will result in the development of new methods to test water quality. The implemented methods will produce water quality data that will be sent to water supply and bathing water authorities. In addition, residents will be informed of the results. A key objective is not only to analyse the data, but also to effectively inform the public about potential threats to water quality.