Urban water systems are at the frontline of multiple environmental, social, and infrastructural challenges—ranging from pollution and habitat degradation to increasing climate-induced stressors like droughts and floods. As cities grow and climate change accelerates, innovative and interdisciplinary approaches are needed to safeguard water quality, ensure public health, and foster resilience and sustainability. This trio of sessions addresses critical yet often overlooked aspects of urban water management, offering a platform for scientific exchange and collaborative solutions.

Together, these sessions aim to foster a comprehensive discussion on the future of urban water systems by promoting scientific exchange across disciplinary boundaries, supporting sustainable development goals, and advancing resilient, adaptive urban water management.

Session 1: Targets for a Neglected Water Body Type – Urban Rivers

Urban rivers are unique within the framework of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), often classified as heavily modified and subjected to a different set of ecological targets than rural water bodies. This session invites contributions exploring how development goals for urban rivers are defined, implemented, and debated. Experts are encouraged to share successful case studies, methodologies for setting achievable targets, and insights into the ecological, hydrological, and social dynamics shaping urban river management.

Session 2: Coupling Water and Energy for a Circular Economy

This session investigates the integration of water and energy systems in urban environments. With rising demand for shallow geothermal systems, urban cooling, and energy recovery in water treatment, new use scenarios are emerging. At the same time, climate change and emerging pollutants pose additional stress. We seek contributions on how to manage these dynamics holistically, exploring innovations in wastewater energy recovery, the reuse of mine waters, and design principles for coupling energy and water cycles to advance circular economy models.

Session 3: Climate-Resilient, Sustainable, and Health-Promoting Urban Transformation – Sponge City Aspects

Urban stormwater management is evolving from flood prevention to multi-benefit solutions that enhance climate resilience, biodiversity, and public health. This session focuses on the sponge city concept as a transformative approach to urban water retention and reuse. Presentations are invited on practical implementations, system modeling, co-benefits (e.g., heat mitigation, recreation), and challenges related to nutrient and pollutant cycles in semi-closed systems. Interdisciplinary contributions that bridge natural and social sciences are particularly welcome.