Funded under the PRIMA 2018 call, the objective of WATERMED 4.0 (Efficient Use and Management of Conventional and Non-Conventional Water Resources through Smart Technologies Applied to Improve the Quality and Safety of Mediterranean Agriculture in Semi-Arid Areas) is to develop and apply an integrated decision support system (DSS) based on the Internet of Things (IoT) for Mediterranean agriculture. WATERMED 4.0 proposes a holistic water cycle management approach, by utilizing both conventional and non-conventional water resources for irrigation.
In collaboration with partners from Algeria, Germany, Morocco and Spain, SUEN coordinated a pilot study for the 2019-2022 period in Konya Basin, where treated wastewaters met the standards for reuse in irrigation. At pilot scale, the aim was to develop smart farming systems by integrating advanced wastewater treatment technologies and remote sensing applications into a DSS software.
SUEN conducted a socio-economic impact analysis as well, to assess the feasibility of these applications in comparison to the business-as-usual model. The impact analysis included social acceptability and institutional gap assessment studies to understand the context for and against expansion of water reuse applications in Türkiye.