SOWA Integrated Soil and Water Protection
Country: EU Projects
Start Date:   1/1/2003         Duration: 24 months         Project Type: RTD
Contract Number: EVK1-CT-2002-80022
Organisation Type:  EC Project
Topics: 
Contaminated land-->Risk management-->Risk management overview
Contaminated land-->Soil and groundwater processes-->Soil and groundwater processes overview
Diffuse pollution-->Contaminants-->Contaminants overview
Diffuse pollution-->Contaminants-->Hydrocarbons
Diffuse pollution-->Contaminants-->Persistent Organic Pollutants
Diffuse pollution-->Contaminants-->Pesticides
Diffuse pollution-->Diffuse pollution overview
Diffuse pollution-->Monitoring
Diffuse pollution-->Processes
Diffuse pollution-->Regulation
Diffuse pollution-->Scales
Diffuse pollution-->Sources
Sediments
Soil-->Soil Overview
Project objectives: 
SOWA aims at the integration of soil and water research in Europe. The thematic focus is set on large scale i.e. diffuse pollution of soils from e.g. atmospheric 
deposition and agricultural practices and the associated risk of groundwater pollution.   
   
The objective is to pull together the critical mass needed in order to integrate available and emerging scientific knowledge from various disciplines such 
as soil science, soil chemistry, soil physics, hydrogeology, water resources, agriculture, atmospheric deposition of pollutants, environmental analysis 
and engineering as well as management and remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater.
Project Summary: 
Soil and water protection is an important and widely recognised issue in Europeanenvironmental research. In the hydrological cycle, water sooner or later 
interactswith  soil and/or sediments, which can function as source or sink of pollutants andthis determines the quality of groundwater, surface waters and 
finally drinkingwater. Soil has tobe recognised  as a complex interactive key zone between landsurface and groundwater. SOWA will establish an interdisciplinary 
forum, whichintegrates soil and water protection issues and  provides a platform forscientists, regulators, policy makers, and industry. SOWA will identify 
andprioritise demand-driven research-needs and provide the base for integratedsoil/water  research activities in the future. It aims to contribute and 
tocomplement existing EU-networks.
Achieved Objectives: 
SOWA supported the integration of disciplines working in soil and water research and provided a platform to:   
      
evaluate especially large scale soil pollution which will potentially damage important soil functions (such as the buffering, filtering, transformation 
capacity) and the soil ecology.    
   
increase the awareness of the risks of diffuse soil pollution, which pose a risk of long-term contamination of the water cycle (by workshops, publications, 
conference presentations, press releases).    
   
help to bridge the wide gaps by integrating soil and water related research, regulation and policy making throughout the EU.    
   
identify tools and procedures for low cost screening and contaminant analysis, soil characterisation methods, and management of soil/water contamination 
in Europe.
Product Descriptions: 
SOWA aimed to integrate soil and water protection issues in Europe by bringing together all disciplines involved in environmental research, which deal with 
diffuse pollution and behaviour of persistent pollutants in soils, sediments, and adjacent environmental compartments such as groundwater.   
   
The available products are:   
   
-The Joint Document (containing the conclusions of SOWA from the complementary specific thematic results)   
-Sowa First report:   
Thematic working groups of SOWA summarise the status quo and the future challenges in integrated soil and water protection.   
-Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Integrated Soil and Water Protection - Risks from diffuse pollution (SOWA)    
Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Groundwater Risk Assessment at Contaminated Sites (GRACOS) and Integrated Soil and Water Protection 
(SOWA)
Additional Information:
Project Resources:

SOWA report #1

SOWA - final report

Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Groundwater Risk Assessment at Contaminated Sites (GRACOS) and Integrated Soil and Water Protection (SOWA)

Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Integrated Soil and Water Protection - Risks from diffuse pollution (SOWA)
Weblink:
http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/sowa/sites/index.htm
Funding Programme(s): 
EC Framework Programme 5
Link to Organisations:
Submitted by: EUGRIS Team Prof Paul Bardos  Who does what?  03/07/2003 17:48:00
Updated by: EUGRIS Team Professor Paul Bardos  Who does what?  03/10/2006 14:50:00