Background According to a recent United Nations’ report, the percentage of appropriated water has risen by up to 30% in recent years: the consumption of water per capita increases (due to the improvement of living standards), the population grows and as a result, the amount of available water is less than the overall demand. Some regions of the European Union, especially in the Mediterranean area, have an unbalanced geographical distribution of water resources. Furthermore, the volume of wastewater is also increasing by six to seven per cent in Europe. Treated wastewater contains large amounts of organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus and other micronutrients that were it to be directly discharged could cause eutrophication and a reduction of the dissolved oxygen levels in surface waters leading to a decline in biodiversity. Similarly, the output water from wastewater treatment plants contains a high concentration of pathogenic microorganisms that prevents re-use in certain areas. European water legislation, in particular the Water Framework Directive, emphasises the need to include in legislation tools for addressing the problem of water shortage and possible solutions, such as the promotion of efficient technologies for obtaining treated water of sufficient quality for re-use in high-value applications. In Spain re-used water accounts for only a small percentage of the total Spanish water demand, but in some areas, such as the Canary Islands, Murcia and Valencia, this percentage is much higher, indicating that water has become a strategic non-conventional resource. Objectives LIFE RAMSES aims to demonstrate a water treatment process that enhances the quality of reclaimed water, thus enabling it to be re-used for irrigation and agricultural purposes. The proposed process consists of an anaerobic digestion phase using supported biomass growth followed by biological treatment. In order to improve the overall sustainability, the project will couple a co-digestion process using organic residues from regional agro-food industries (mainly canned food industries) to the anaerobic reactor. This phase will improve the biogas production and contribute to achieving a self-sufficient energy process. The project will be carried out in a new scalable pilot plant of 300 m3 capacity to be constructed in the wastewater treatment plant (WTTP) of the municipality of Blanca (Murcia, Spain). Blanca’s WWTP is designed to treat 2 000 m3/day, serving a population of 8 570 inhabitants. Expected results: Improved quality of treated water, thus increasing the amount of reclaimed water available for re-use and reducing the amount that it is discharged – more than 90% of the organic matter and suspended solids of the wastewater are removed before the biological treatment; A 30 % reduction in the current volume of sludge produced in the biological treatment, and an increase in the value of this sludge (currently considered waste) enabling its re-use as fertiliser due to its high organic content; Improved stability of the process by means of using supported biomass growth; A 25% decrease in the volume of the reactor in newly built facilities, as the amount of biomass involved in the process (for the same volume) is increased and highly specialised; Reduced CO2 emissions since the biogas produced by co-digestion is used to cover the energy demand of the WWTP; A 50% cost reduction of treated wastewater (per m3) due to a reduction in energy consumption, a better strategy for sludge management and the lack of any further chemical treatment (coagulation, flocculation) once reclaimed water is produced in the biological treatment; A strategy for managing organic waste from nearby industries (canned food industries) to facilitate the co-digestion process; Guidelines for full-plant design with RAMSES technology; A report on the environmental and socio-economic benefits of the project; and Awareness of the project and the transfer of knowledge and best practices to stakeholders.