On its tenth anniversary, the open-air laboratory, located in Montornès del Vallès, receives the prestigious 2025 Water Prize for its groundbreaking role in the research of highly modified rivers through nature-based solutions.
The Catalan Association of Friends of Water (ACAA) has awarded one of its 2025 Water Prizes to the Urban River Lab (URL) open-air laboratory, in recognition of its tenth anniversary and the cutting-edge research it conducts. The award ceremony took place on Tuesday, March 18, during the 6th Water Congress of Catalonia, held in Vic. Oscar Sierra, president of the Besòs Tordera Consortium, and Eugènia Martí, researcher at the Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), were responsible for collecting the award.
Both expressed their deep emotion at receiving this recognition for a platform that “was born with great enthusiasm and few resources and has now become a benchmark tool for studying highly modified rivers, providing solutions to improve the quality of fluvial environments, the natural ecosystem, and water quality,” stated Eugènia Martí.
Sierra, on behalf of all the members of this project, thanked the ACAA for this Water Prize, highlighting that “the URL is a testament to how interdisciplinary collaboration between entities has been a great success, allowing these challenges to be tackled from different perspectives and providing integrated and applicable solutions.”
Last December, the laboratory celebrated its tenth anniversary with an event that brought together more than a hundred people at the Margarida Xirgu Theatre (Montornès del Vallès). During the event, the short documentary “Urban River Lab: Science and Nature for River Care” premiered, showcasing the lab’s 10-year journey.
Urban River Lab: A pioneering and reference laboratory
Operating since December 2014, the URL is a joint project of CEAB-CSIC, Besòs Tordera Consortium, University of Barcelona, Naturalea, RIVUS Foundation, and the Montornès del Vallès City Council. It is the first laboratory of its kind in Spain and is also unique in Europe. The facility consists of artificial channels and ponds that simulate the processes occurring in urban rivers, testing various nature-based solutions aimed at improving both water quality and ecological conditions.
Over the years, in addition to research conducted by teams from Catalonia and across Spain, around 50 researchers from around the world have carried out experiments and academic studies at the lab, resulting in scientific articles published in renowned journals. Some of these studies can be found on its website: https://urbanriverlab.com/.
26th edition of the Water Prizes
The Water Prizes, awarded since 2000 to mark World Water Day, recognize the most outstanding individuals and initiatives each year that strive to improve the relationship between Catalan society and water and its natural environment. The entity’s members propose the candidates for each edition, and a specialized jury selects the awardees.
This year, the jury was composed of Carles Conill, president of the Water and Energy Commission of the College of Civil Engineers; Laia Llenas, deputy director of the Beta Technological Center (UVic-UCC); Marina Arnaldos, director of Cetaqua Barcelona; Marc Pifarré, general director of Aigües de Catalunya; and Ignasi Servià, consultant and agronomic engineer.
L'entrada Urban River Lab, awarded the 2025 Water Prize for its pioneering research ha aparegut primer a CEAB.
