APRIORA One Health Summer School GIS Based Risk Mapping for Wastewater Borne Micropollutants in Receiving Waters

APRIORA One Health Summer School is an intensive, practice‑oriented training created as a response to a recent revision of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD). The course teaches a practical approach to prioritisation of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) upgrades based on contamination risk methodology. Participants will develop practical skills in design and implementation of monitoring, sampling and laboratory workflows, as well as environmental risk assessment (ERA) and antimicrobial‑resistance risk assessment (AMR‑RA) of wastewater-borne micropollutants with special focus on pharmaceuticals. Finally exercises in pharmaceutical contamination risk mapping using QGIS will take place. The course offers knowledge supporting transparent, evidence‑based decision‑making aligned with One Health principles developed in response to changes in UWWTD.

The summer school integrates three complementary pillars into one coherent workflow:

1. Monitoring – how to design and execute monitoring campaigns and produce reliable micropollutant occurrence datasets (including key aspects of site selection, sampling strategy, sample handling/transport, and quality assurance).
2. Modelling – how to estimate WWTP emissions and predict receiving‑water concentrations using pharmaceutical consumption‑based approaches and hydrological/catchment concepts.
3. Multi‑criteria risk assessment and decision support – how to combine ERA and AMR‑RA within a consistent, open‑source GIS workflow (QGIS toolbox) to produce transparent, reproducible risk maps that support prioritisation and mitigation planning.

The learning format combines short expert lectures with guided hands‑on exercises (GIS labs), applied case work, and practical demonstrations/discussions of field and laboratory workflows. The course follows a “source‑to‑impact” logic WWTP → river network → exposure → risks → prioritisation/mitigation. The approach was developed in an Interreg Baltic Sea Region APRIORA project.

After completing the summer school, participants will be able to:

·       design a fit-for-purpose monitoring plan to assess wastewater-borne micropollutants in receiving waters, and draft a sampling plan aligned with laboratory needs,

·       predict micropollutant emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and their concentrations in receiving waters using a mass-balance approach driven by pharmaceutical consumption, wastewater treatment efficiency, and hydrological regionalisation of the receiving waters,

·       explain principles of environmental (ERA) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR-RA) risk assessment, and how risk indicators can be combined for decision support,

·       integrate monitoring, modelling, and multi-criteria risk assessment for wastewater-borne micropollutants in receiving waters,

·       prepare and manage monitoring and hydrological datasets in QGIS to estimate micropollutant concentrations and associated contamination risk,

·       run a guided workflow to transform monitoring and modelling outputs into mapped risk indicators, and identify “risk-relevant” WWTPs for prioritisation,

·       interpret risk maps, formulate a defensible prioritisation statement and a mitigation planning narrative suitable for communication between authorities and operators.

The training is designed for a broad audience of current and future professionals in water and environmental management who will apply analytical methods, decision-support tools, and risk-assessment approaches in practice. Target participants include master and Ph.D. students, postdocs and early‑career professionals, as well as staff from regional/national water and environmental administrations, inspectorates, river basin planners, WWTP operators, and analytical laboratories.

To attend the course prior knowledge of any GIS software is beneficial but is not required.

The course is delivered in a blended format and consists of three parts:

·       Self‑preparation (based on provided documents): learning materials on the micropollutants monitoring and modelling methodology developed in the APRIORA project, supported by guiding questions to ensure understanding.

·       Online introduction (4 contact hours): (i) an overview of micropollutants in the environment and the overall course workflow/approach; (ii) a short QGIS technical introduction and setup required to complete the practical tasks.

·       In‑person block (4 days; 35 contact hours): interactive lectures combined with hands‑on QGIS labs and workflow exercises with technical site visit (to a WWTP).

The two-level mutual trust-based quality assurance scheme has been adopted:

• at the university level: Gdansk Tech has applied its internal quality assurance procedures and structures to the proposal of Advanced water Treatment Summer School it submitted to ENHANCE and to its implementation - the related learning activities,
• at the Alliance level: the body composed of Education Officers has made decisions regarding the inclusion of Advanced water Treatment Summer School proposed by Gdansk Tech to the Innovative Learning Campus part of the joint ENHANCE educational offer, based on the compliance with the formal requirements and ENHANCE goals.

In-person classes will be organised at Gdańsk Tech from 20/21 to 23/24 July (to be confirmed at a later date). Online classess will be conducted on one day (for 4h) or on two days (2h each) from 6 to 10 July (details soon).

The learning assessment comprises two elements: attendance and successful completion of the project assignment. To pass the course, each participant must submit QGIS project files that document the complete workflow for risk estimation, from data preparation to risk visualisation.

Gdańsk Tech