Water JPI 2013 Joint Pilot Call:
Emerging Water Contaminants – Anthropogenic Pollutants and Pathogens
Stopping Antibiotic Resistance Evolution in the Environment
“Antibiotic resistance is
an emerging
contaminant in treated
wastewater. This EU-
wide project will enable
Ireland and the EU to
ensure that government
agencies and policy
makers are informed of
such threats and
potential solutions to
these problems.”
Project Description
Urban Wastewater Treatment Plants (UWTPs) accumulate both chemical and biological waste from the
surrounding urban environment. These include microbiota from different sources such as community,
industries and animal production along with the majority of antibiotics used in human or animal
therapy.
The presence of antibiotic residues in UWTPs can promote the selection of antibiotic resistant bacteria
(ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARG). ARB & Gs are capable of surviving ‘conventional’ methods
of Wastewater Treatment, such as activated sludge treatment, and can be released into receiving
waters. UWTPs therefore represent crucial control points for using efficient removal/control
technologies. Current knowledge gaps exist in designing the most efficient and rational ways of
management and use of resources that could significantly reduce this environmental and public health
threat.
Stopping Antibiotic Resistance Evolution (StARE) will investigate a large number of European UWTPs to
evaluate ARB & G abundance versus chemical contamination and regional backgrounds. Guidelines for
ARB & G monitoring in water will be developed. The multidisciplinary StARE team consists of experts in
genetics, microbiology, public health, chemistry and engineering.
The StARE work will fill knowledge gaps and investigate the measures necessary to limit the spread of
ARB & Gs to contribute to the protection of the environment, water and the food chain from
contaminations. It will also support the revision of EU water directives, aimed at maintaining
ecosystem services and public health protection.
StARE:

Keywords
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria; Antibiotic Resistant Genes; Urban Wastewater Treatment Plants,
Guidelines, Monitoring.
Irish Contribution
We will analyse the Irish samples for
antibiotic resistance, resistant bacteria
and microbiome analysis, which will be
part of an EU wide understanding of
the problems. In addition, we are
involved in the development of
standards and guidelines in this area.
Dr Walsh is leader of WP5:
dissemination and communication. In
addition we provide molecular biology
support for other partners.
Project Partners
 Universidade Católica Portuguesa – Centro Regional do Porto (Portugal)
• Maynooth University (Ireland)
• University of Helsinki (Finland)
• Nireas International Water Research Center, Univesity of Cyprus (Cyprus)
• Fundació Institut Català de Recerca de l’ Aigua (Spain)
• Agencia Estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Spain)
• Norwegian School of Veterinary Science (Norway)
• Technische Universität Dresden (Germany)
• Aquantec GmbH (Germany)
• University of Aveiro (Portugal)
Project Details
Research area: Safe Water
Start date: 15/12/2014
Duration: 36 months
End date: 15/12/2017
Water JPI funding organisations:
• Portugal (FCT, Fundacao Para A Ciencia E A
Tecnologia)
• Finland (AKA, Academy of Finland)
• Cyprus (RFF, Research Promotion Foundation)
• Spain (MINECO, Ministerio de Economia y
Competitividad)
• Germany (BMBF, Federal Ministry of Education and
Research), Norway (RCN, Norges Forskningsrad)
• Ireland (EPA, Environmental Protection Agency of
Ireland)
Water JPI funding: €1,970,093
Coordinator: Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Portugal
Irish Contact:
Dr Fiona Walsh
National University of Ireland
Maynooth (NUIM)
Email: fiona.walsh@nuim.ie
Tel: 01 474 7246
The Water JPI
Water challenges cannot be successfully tackled through the isolated effort of individual national
research and innovation programmes. A significant share (more than 70%) of public spending in water
research and technology development is programmed, executed and evaluated at national level. The
Water Joint Programming Initiative aims at developing a coordinated and strategic approach to public
national and regional research and innovation funding in Europe.
www.waterjpi.eu