This document summarizes the aqua3S project, which aims to integrate novel sensor technologies and detection mechanisms into existing water safety networks to improve risk reduction. The project will deploy various sensors throughout water distribution networks, as well as drones and satellites, to detect harmful substances. Data will be analyzed using threat detection algorithms and multi-sensor fusion to support early warning systems and decision making. Six pilot programs are planned in different cities to test the system. The project brings together various partners from research organizations and water utilities across Europe.

1. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020
research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 832876
Enhancing Standardisation strategies to integrate innovative
technologies for Safety and Security in existing water networks
the aqua3S project
Anastasios (Tasos) Karakostas
akarakos@iti.gr
Centre for Research andTechnology Hellas (CERTH)

2. The Challenge
o Potential disasters has led to vulnerable societies that require risk reduction measures
o Drinking water is one main source of risk when its safety and security is not ensured
o Although there have been proposed several technologies for the analysis of drinking
water, there is a gap on how we could integrate them in the existing water safety
networks
Slide 2
aqua3S combines novel technologies in water safety and security, aiming to
standardise existing sensor technologies complemented
by state-of-the-art detection mechanisms

3. The Concept
o aqua3S integrates a series of SoA technological achievements from multidisciplinary fields
o sensors, IoT, semantic reasoning, high-level analytics, DSS, crisis management and
situational awareness focusing on water sector
o aqua3S system will consist of
1. a combination of high precision key point spectroscopic sensors & widely spread refractive
index sensors deployed at fixed points throughout existing water distribution network
2. complemented by a fleet of unmanned UAV, IoT and satellite images to detect, assess,
evaluate and locate harmful substances
Slide 3

4. The Concept
o The data obtained from
o aqua3S’ sensor networks and
o from the existing infrastructure of the utility networks
…will be processed by the innovative threat detection algorithms and high-level
multimodal fusion techniques
o Practitioners from water, medical sector, FRs and utility providers will be
supported by the aqua3S's Early Warning and DSS
Slide 4

5. Slide 5

6. The objectives

7. Slide 7 aquaS Kick-Off MeetingThessaloniki, 25-26 September 2019
Create strategies and methods in order a water facility
to easily integrate solutions regarding water safety
Introduce bottom-up approaches such as
citizen mapping initiatives; build large
exposure databases
Model and classify a crisis event
Propose innovative sensor technologies to
support water safety
Create/use methods estimate the
infrastructure resilience level
Create early warning methods for water
authorities
Create a complex collaborative system
recording problems and finding new solutions
Allow easy engagement of different
authorities in a water related crisis

8. Slide 8

9. The pilots

10. Slide 10

11. Pilots
o Trieste
o Hypothesis of transboundary pollution, looking
for the effects it may have on the groundwater
system of the Isonzo river, and also on the other
backup sources (Satellite images & UAVs over the
Isonzo river to send video streams)
o Thessaloniki
o A variety of unpredictable events (accidental oil
spill at Aliakmonas river, a natural disastrous
flooding at the area of one of the main water)
o Install online monitoring instrumentation at crucial
spots of the river flow.
Slide 11

12. Pilots
o Paris
o aqua3S exploits the existing functionalities dedicated to the
real-time water networks management.
o Some of the DSS hydraulic functionalities already exist but
need to be completed or improved.
o Water quality monitoring functionalities but need to be
completed or improved
o Lemesos
o The possibility of a terrorist attack and the environmental
pollution make water safety more important than ever
before.
o The main sources of water in our system are desalinated
water and treated water (surface water from a dam).
o If the water from the dam is contaminated by a substance,
this contamination shall pass to the reservoirs and affect a
large number of people.
o If an early warning system was installed, then it could
detect this kind of contamination
Slide 12

13. Pilots
o Brussels
o Pollution events can take place at the resource (raw
water at the catchment), but can also happen closer to
the consumer, in the distribution network, and also at
other locations in between these two extreme stages
(e.g. water treatment, water storage).
o By placing well selected sensors, this kind of event could
be early detected
o Sensors are also installed in the distribution network,
closer to the consumers.
o Sofia
o At the moment the monitoring of water quality is aimed
at tracking the parameters of potable water upon
treatment, storage in reservoirs and in the water supply
network.
o Currently, there is no system for early warning and
registration of the microbiological and / or
physicochemical deviations from the water quality in
the water sources.
Slide 13

14. WPs – research and innovation
o WP1 - Project Management and Coordination (CERTH)
o WP2 - User Requirements (BDI)
o WP3 - Enhanced sensing for the water security and safety (CERTH)
o WP4 - Multi-sensor semantic data fusion for intelligent event detection (ICCS)
o WP5 - Early Warning & Decision Support Systems (UNEXE)
o WP6 - Social interaction and communication with the citizens (CENTRIC)
o WP7 - System Integration (EVERIS)
o WP8 - Pilot implementation, evaluation and training (ACEGAS)
o WP9 - Policies, Information Management & Standardisation (EGLOBALMARK)
o WP10 - Impact Creation, Dissemination and Exploitation (WssTP)
Slide 14

15. Evaluation
o Prototype and final system evaluation
o User-oriented evaluation
o End users
o External reviewers
o User Group
Slide 15

16. Expected results
o Final system dealing with 6 pilots
o Modules
o Operational approaches and guidelines
o Standardization of the solution
Slide 16

17. Exploitation and Dissemination
o Exploitation of results
o Creation of modules/tools
o Modules to be exploited by the industrial partners
o Business plan to exploit the final system
o Dissemination of results
o user and open door days
o conferences and joint workshops
o demonstration of results in several End Users
o publication to scientific conferences and journals
Slide 17

18. Impact
o Innovation in
o substance detection in water
o data acquisition from UAVs and earth observation
o social media monitoring
o algorithms for threat detection and localisation/ in the existing networks
o crisis management modelling for enhance preparedness
o crisis classification and decision support
Slide 18

19. Impact
o Security of people: aqua3S improves the way in which water authorities and companies are
aware of a problem
o Emergency working routines and standardization:The facilitation of innovative technical
solutions will allow water authorities and companies to do more focused and productive crisis
management
o Society: aqua3S will facilitate the information flow to the water authorities, thanks to inclusion
of new communication channels apart sensors (e.g. UAV, social media), making possible to
inform about an emergency across different devices or services.
Slide 19

20. Consortium
InformationTechnologies Institute,Centre for Research &Technology Hellas (CERTH) Greece
Vivaqua (VVQ) Belgium
Water Board of Lemesos (WBL) Cyprus
Draxis Environmental S.A. (DRAXIS) Greece
Centre of Excellence inTerrorism, Resilience, Intelligence & OrganisedCrime Research,Sheffield Halam University
(CENTRIC)
UK
Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences (FZU) Czech Rep.
mirSense (MIRS) France
Autorita' Di Bacino Distrettuale DelleAlpi Orientali (AAWA) Italy
ThessalonikiWater Supply and SewerageCompany SA (EYATH) Greece
Centre for Water Systems,University of Exeter (UNEXE) UK
AcegasAps Amga S.p.A (AAA) Italy
Bulgarian Defence Institute (BDI) Bulgaria
SUEZ Smart Solutions (3S) France
Institute of Communications and Computer Systems (ICCS) Greece
SofyiskaVoda (SOFYISKA) Bulgaria
Everis (EVERIS) Spain
Water supply and sanitationTechnology Platform (WssTP) Belgium
Trilateral Research Ltd (TRI) Ireland
SofiaViK (SVK) Bulgaria
Department of Environmental Hygiene and Health Inspection, Region of Central Macedonia (RCM) Greece
Regione delVenetoCoordinamento Regionale Emergenza Urgenza (CREU) Italy
UniversitätStuttgart (USTUTT) Germany
Easy Global Market SAS (EGM) France

21. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020
research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 832876
Enhancing Standardisation strategies to integrate innovative
technologies for Safety and Security in existing water networks
the aqua3S project
Anastasios (Tasos) Karakostas
StefanosVrochidis
Yiannis Kompatsiaris
Centre for Research andTechnology Hellas (CERTH)