The very first WETPOL Symposium on Dynamics and Control of Pollutants in Wetlands was held in September 2005 in Gent, Belgium. The second WETPOL Symposium took place in 2007 in Tartu, Estonia. More than 200 delegates from more than 30 countries participated in this second symposium.

The WETPOL 2009 Symposium to be held in Barcelona is a follow-up of the previous ones considering similar process-based topics on pollutant dynamics in both natural and constructed wetlands. Advances in scientific aspects related to pollutant removal processes and fate in natural wetlands and wetlands constructed for pollution control are the main objectives of this Symposium.

The WETPOL 2009 is organised by the Department of Hydraulics, Maritime and Environmental Engineering at the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) and the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC) in Barcelona.