Department of Agri-food and Environmental Systems Management, Catania, Italy

The University of Catania (UNICT) was founded in 1434. The research group on Hydraulics, from the Department of Agri-food and Environmental Systems Management, is active in a wide range of subjects in relation with water and soil management, particularly in agricultural sector. UNICT has developed its scientific knowledge as partner in several international projects including EC funded projects. The further infrastructure consists of chemical and technical laboratories. UNICT has the availability of several experimental facilities to carry out research on constructed wetlands, wastewater storage reservoirs and irrigation systems. The personnel are active in education, applied research and technical assistance on integrated water resources management. Its research activity is mainly focused on wastewater treatment and reuse for a sustainable water management, irrigation methods, and reservoir and watershed management. The UNICT team has expertise on agricultural water management, wastewater treatment, reclamation and reuse dated from 1970. It was involved in several projects, either European or Italian funded, being active also in the committees which prepared regulations for reuse at regional and national levels. Relevant previous experiences: CATCHWATER “Enhancement of integrated water management strategies with water reuse at catchment scale” (ENV4-CT98-0790); MED-REUNET I and II (ICA3-CT-2002-50002 and INCOCT-2003-502453) “Support Programme for Strengthening the Capacity Building of Wastewater Reclamation Professionals”; CHEM-FREE (FP6, COOP-CT-2006-032719) “Development of a chemical-free water treatment system through integrating fibre filters, ultrasound and UV-C”; INWATERMAN (INTERREG III-A) “Sustainable water resources management in arid and semiarid insular regions”; MEDIWAT (Programme MED) “Sustainable management of environmental issues related to water stress in Mediterranean islands”.