RECREATE unites 10 EU partners in Spain and Greece to develop circular water solutions for climate-stressed Mediterranean regions, reducing freshwater dependence and building water resilience.
WHERE CLIMATE CHANGE AND TOURISM COLLIDE
Mediterranean regions are among the most climate-affected in Europe and among its most visited. In summer, tourism sharply increases water demand. At the same time, droughts and rising temperatures are making freshwater supply increasingly uncertain. This is not just a local problem — it is a shared European challenge. RECREATE, led by EURECAT with 10 EU partners, responds to this directly. Working across two contrasting sites — Costa Brava in Spain and the island of Syros in Greece — the project turns a common European vulnerability into a practical laboratory for circular water innovation.
TWO REGIONS, ONE SHARED EUROPEAN MISSION
In Costa Brava, partner ICRA works with regional water authority CACGBi to demonstrate advanced wastewater treatment through a pilot plant, producing high-quality reused water for urban and industrial use. In Syros, local water utility DEYAS, together with the municipality and research partner DEMOKRITOS, digitalises the water network and increases agricultural water availability through managed aquifer recharge. Across both sites, Communities of Practice bring together authorities, utilities, farmers, and citizens to co-develop solutions, ensuring innovation is not only technical but also social and institutional.
WATER SECURITY FOR EUROPE'S MOST VULNERABLE REGIONS
The results are concrete. In Costa Brava, the approach could provide around 1,400 m³ of reused water per year, covering up to 50% of industrial and service needs in key municipalities. In Syros, infrastructure capable of supplying up to 16,000 m³ annually will increase water availability for agriculture while cutting reliance on energy-intensive desalination. But RECREATE's greatest contribution may be the model itself: a practical, transferable framework showing how European cooperation can help Mediterranean regions adapt to water scarcity and build lasting climate resilience together.
