BIO-UV Group Supports Pioneering EU Initiative for Urban Wastewater Reuse

BIO-UV Group, a leading specialist in water treatment and disinfection technologies, has integrated its RW UV-C reactor into a state-of-the-art mobile water recycling unit, developed as part of the European-funded LIFE ReWa programme. The project, led by the Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole Water Authority in consortium with DV2E and the University of Montpellier's European Membranes Institute, aims to produce up to 110,000m³ of high-quality recycled water per year, transforming treated wastewater into a vital and sustainable urban resource.

 The mobile unit was engineered by long-standing BIO-UV Group partner Chemdoc Water Technologies, combining ultrafiltration and UV-C disinfection to produce four distinct water quality grades at flow rates ranging from 25 to 40 m³/h. Testing will be conducted across five wastewater treatment plants in the Montpellier metropolitan area (Lattes, Fabrègues, Cournonterral, Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, and Saint-Georges-d'Orques) to validate treatment protocols suitable for a broad range of applications, including road cleaning, green space maintenance, fire protection, sewer flushing, agricultural irrigation, and industrial use.

Currently, Montpellier’s thirteen wastewater treatment plants discharge approximately 32m³ million of treated wastewater into the sea and waterways each year, with less than 0.01 percent being reused.

Laurent Emmanuel Migeon, CEO, BIO-UV Group, said, “We are delighted to be part of this truly pioneering project in France and Europe, alongside our partner Chemdoc, which will provide valuable technical data and help define specifications for treatment processes and water qualities depending on applications. These data will be essential for the use of treated wastewater in urban environments in the coming years.” 

Salvador Pérez, Director, Chemdoc Water Technologies, the French company that built the mobile unit, stated, “The REWA project truck is a fantastic demonstrator of the possibilities offered by water purification and disinfection technologies for new uses of urban wastewater reuse, from the simplest to the most demanding, aligned with drinking water standards. BIO-UV Group has been supporting us for years, sharing its expertise in disinfection.”

Co-funded by the European Union, the Occitanie Region, and the Rhône Méditerranée Corse Water Agency, the LIFE ReWa  programme represents one of the most ambitious water reuse pilots in France and a potential model for cities across Europe.

 Anne-Bénédicte Wommelsdorf, LIFE ReWa Project Coordinator, commented, “The LIFE ReWa project is both a technical and administrative adventure, driven by a strong ambition to demonstrate that wastewater can become a valuable resource. Innovative, multi-site, and multi-use, [the mobile unit] will provide water adapted to a wide variety of uses, including cleaning public spaces, sewer flushing, firefighting, watering green spaces, and agricultural irrigation. LIFE ReWa is a concrete, pioneering initiative in France to preserve water resources and build a more sustainable future.”

The LIFE ReWa project runs to September 2026, although the long term plan for the region is to produce 1,000,000m³ of recycled water per year by 2041. This would be through the construction of two additional mobile production units.

Around 20 percent of the Mediterranean region’s population faces constant water pressure, rising to 50 percent in summer, and by 2030 shortages could affect 50 percent of all European catchment areas.

 For more information: www.bio-uv.com