The LIFE DrainRain aims at decreasing the negative environmental impacts derived from the release of road runoff into surface waters.The pilot systems will be designed to decrease the concentration of heavy metals, PAHs, pesticides and PCBs with the aim of complying with environmental quality standards (EQS) that must achieved in the receiving water bodies where the pilots will be located, in accordance to the EQS Directive (2013/39/EU). Additionally, on top of decreasing the impacts of road runoff, the project pursues the reuse of the treated water, achieving the microbiological quality needed for irrigation and similar uses according to the Spanish Water Reuse regulation (R.D. 1620/2007), in the absence of a European Directive.

Moreover, LIFE DrainRain project will allow the achievement of these additional results:

  • Water’s microbial load reduction.- Decreasing the concentration of oils in the water by 95%.
  • Improving groundwater quality by increasing the drainage of inorganic pollution free runoff water.
  • Reuse and recycling of runoff water for various uses such as irrigation, car washing and esplanades.
  • Reduction of direct discharges of polluted water on marine environments reducing the high levels of industrial pollution suffered by rivers and estuaries with major shipbuilding and port activities, as is the case of Ferrol.
  • Minimisation of flooding risk and flooding impacts by reducing runoff flow rate.
  • Promoting the development of sustainable drainage separative systems, through the inclusion of a runoff water treatment system independent of centralized wastewater.
  • Treatments systems and thus increasing performance of those by reducing peak flow rates.
  • Complementary, LIFE DrainRain will reduce the air pollution by capturing VOCs and NOX and thereby improving air quality by photocatalysis.
  • Mitigation of the heat-island effect present in urban areas.