General Assembly of the Faculty of Engineering
November 25, 2025
Great Success for the Multidisciplinary “Cyprus AI Conference”
December 5, 2025
The safety of drinking water and the new European requirements are at the forefront, with the University of Cyprus and the city of Limassol serving as key reference points in the project.
A highly productive two-day meeting of the European research project intoDBP (Innovative Tools to Control Organic Matter and Disinfection Byproducts in Drinking Water) took place in Cyprus. The University of Cyprus (UCY), as an important partner and host, ensured excellent hospitality for the consortium members. The meeting further strengthened collaboration ahead of the project’s final stages, which aim to safeguard the quality of drinking water for the general public.
Drinking water quality is a central public health concern. With the recent revision of the European Drinking Water Directive, water suppliers across all EU Member States are required to comply with stricter standards for chemical substances formed during disinfection. The intoDBP project develops technologies and tools that help water treatment facilities effectively meet these new requirements.
The intoDBP project has a total budget of €3,994,708 and is funded by the Horizon Europe programme of the European Union. The consortium includes 18 partners (research institutions, companies, and public bodies). The project coordinator is the Fundació Institut Català de Recerca de l'Aigua (ICRA) in Spain.
Cypriot partners play a leading role, as Limassol is one of four European pilot sites where the project’s new technologies are being implemented. A total of €856,071 is allocated to Cyprus, highlighting the country's strategic role in EU drinking water research. From Cyprus, the participating organizations are:
The University of Cyprus, through the Nireas and KIOS Research Centers, as well as the Departments of Chemistry and Psychology
The Limassol District Development Agency
The private company S.K. EUROMARKET LTD
Water safety, disinfection byproducts (DBPs), and new legislation
The intoDBP project focuses on reducing disinfection byproducts (DBPs) formed during water chlorination, with trihalomethanes (THMs) remaining a key quality indicator and at the center of monitoring efforts. The new EU Drinking Water Directive (2020/2184) now introduces stricter standards and new limits for additional DBPs, such as chlorites, chlorates, and haloacetic acids (HAAs).
intoDBP develops innovative solutions to upgrade water treatment plants, ensuring compliance both with established THM limits and with new regulatory requirements for other DBPs.
Outcomes of the Meeting in Cyprus
During the two-day meeting, intoDBP partners focused on assessing project progress and coordinating the next steps, with particular emphasis on practical implementation:
A visit was conducted to the Limassol Drinking Water Treatment Plant, one of the country’s major facilities, which produces up to 40,000 m³ of drinking water per day. Participants also had the opportunity to see the MITO3X® pilot unit, which contributes to optimizing water pre-treatment processes.
The partners visited the new premises of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Cyprus, where they toured advanced research facilities and the University of Cyprus Library.
The University of Cyprus expresses its warmest thanks to all partners for their active participation.
