Challenge

In the near future, PFAS discharge standards will tighten, causing pumped groundwater to contain PFAS concentrations too high to discharge back. This will jeopardize circular water projects in the city of Antwerp. In this PIO project, the city of Antwerp wishes to investigate whether phytoremediation removes PFAS from the cycle.

The circular water project in which the drainage water of the city's administrative centre filters back into the soil via the pond of the Stadspark will be used as a case study. For this case study, innovative solutions to permanently or semi-permanently monitor the flow direction and velocity as well as the PFAS concentration in the groundwater will be examined.