A unique full scale water research facility for applied and fundamental research, technology development, education and public outreach

At present in Europe, there is a need, driven  mainly by EU environmental legislation, for sustainable, robust and economic water, wastewater and sludge treatment technologies. Furthermore these technologies are required to be increasingly energy efficient, employ new monitoring and control techniques and have reduced maintenance. This will present many opportunities for the water and wastewater  industries, cognate companies and research organisations. Local authorities, universities and other stakeholders will also be required to educate and train students and staff in the use and operation of new technologies. To meet these challenges NUI Galway, with funding from the EPA, and support from Galway County Council, have developed the NUI Galway EPA Water  Research Facility (WRF). The WRF is a full-scale test bed for innovative wastewater and water treatment technologies and comprises a full-scale wastewater treatment plant (treating up to 50 m3 day), a tertiary treatment  facility (treating up to 2 m3 hr) capable of supporting a number of technologies such as  automatic sand filtration, activated carbon systems, chlorine dosing, UV etc., and remote operating, monitoring and control processes.