On April 2, 2024, the 1st Greek co-creation workshop for the BOOST-IN project was held at the City Loft Hotel in Patras, co-hosting with the AccelWater project. The event gathered together 29 participants, including citizens, industries and researchers among them, to explore and discuss the social perception barriers surrounding the adoption of water treatment solutions.
The key social challenges that were identified were the safety and quality of the treated water, the lack of public knowledge about water treatment technologies and the low awareness for water scarcity issues.
A presentation on Water Circular Economy Solutions (WACES) was the central part of the workshop, where each solution was discussed and evaluated in detail regarding Feasibility, Expected benefits, Potential limitations. These discussions identified the key barriers of each WACES, emphasizing the importance of improving communication, transparency and outreach to facilitate the successful deployment of such technologies.
In a dedicated visioning session, participants discussed strategic actions to improve public perception and support for water treated solutions. The key actions highlighted are:
- Increase public awareness
- Improve access to technical knowledge
- Strengthen government support through initiatives promoting water reuse and revisions to the regulatory framework to encourage adoption
These recommendations reflect a collective desire for more structured and sustained efforts to shift public perception and policy in favour of water treatment technologies.
