The complex dimensions of the Mediterranean freshwater resources, their fragility and their scarcity have been highlighted and have received considerable attention as a primary priority issue politically, technically and scientifically. Membrane technology, with its different applications in water treatment (desalination, potable water treatment, wastewater treatment and reuse) has showed to be a powerful tool to abate the water crisis in the Mediterranean region. The primary objective of Membrane Technology in Water Treatment in the Mediterranean Region is to support the current research and development activities in membrane technology focused on water treatment in the Mediterranean area, providing an international stage to local research organisations and universities devoted to the development of membrane technologies in the following areas: municipal and industrial wastewater treatment, surface water purification and brackish and sea water treatment for drinking purpose. It covers the identification, mapping and evaluation of the on-going research, in order to propose future research and co-operation strategies. Visit the IWA WaterWiki to read and share material related to this title: http://www.iwawaterwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Articles/MembraneTechnologyinWaterTreatmentintheMediterraneanRegion

Many EU cities are experiencing increasing problems with their water pipeline infrastructure. The cost of replacing these old, worn-out systems, if left to deteriorate beyond repair, is astronomical and clearly beyond the resources of many communities. Replacement, however, is not the only choice as many of these systems can be rehabilitated at 30 to 70 percent of the cost of replacement. Accordingly, resources are now increasingly being allocated to address pipeline rehabilitation management issues. Due to the emphasis on sustainable management, risk-based approaches for the rehabilitation management of the water supply network need to be developed. Rehabilitation decisions should be based, interalia, on inspection and evaluation of the pipeline conditions. Yet, utilities cannot locate a number of their old pipes and current inspection technologies typically do not provide the needed detailed information on pipeline damage. The objectives of this book are to describe the research work carried out in the framework of WATERPIPE project aiming: * To develop a novel, high-resolution imaging ground penetrating radar for the detection of pipes, leaks and damages and the imaging of the damaged region and evaluate it at a test site. * To produce an integrated system that will contain the equipment in "1" and a Decision-Support-System (DSS) for the rehabilitation management of the underground water pipelines that will use input from the inspections to assess, probabilistically, the time-dependent leakage and structural reliability of the pipelines and a risk-based methodology for rehabilitation decisions that considers the overall risk, including financial, social and environmental criteria. * To field test the equipment and the Decision-Support-System