QleanUP at a glance

Urban and recreational waters receive pollution from multiple, interconnected sources. In fact, bathing waters can be affected by chemical pollution even when they are assessed as safe on monitoring for bacteria and blue-green algae. Some pollutants are persistent, difficult to detect and capable of remaining in water and soil for long periods.

These substances can enter rivers, lakes and urban waters through industrial discharges, agriculture, traffic, shipping and wastewater. Europe’s urban water systems are exposed to an increasingly complex mixture of traditional contaminants and emerging pollutants. Water managers must understand where pollution originates, how it moves through the water system and where intervention is most urgently required.

The QleanUP project is responding to this need by developing an integrated water-quality management platform. Its approach combines real-time sensors for pollutants with specialised techniques for quantifying PFAS and microplastics. The project is developing AI-supported soft sensors for substances that are difficult to measure continuously. It will also use digital twins to represent urban water systems, estimate pollutant levels and predict how contamination may spread.

QleanUP’s solutions are being tested at five European demonstration sites representing different sources of pollution and water-management challenges.

For example, in Plymouth, UK, the project is examining pollution carried by urban road runoff. Water flowing from roads and vehicles can transport a complex mixture of contaminants into drainage systems, rivers and coastal waters, potentially affecting ecosystems and bathing-water quality. This evidence can help authorities prioritise targeted interventions, improve drainage infrastructure and respond more quickly when pollution risks increase.

By combining sensors, predictive models, digital twins and stakeholder participation, QleanUP aims to give water managers a more complete understanding of urban water quality. This can support a transition from monitoring a limited number of risks towards identifying emerging pollution earlier, tracing its movement and directing interventions where they can have the greatest impact.