Abteilung Oberflächengewässer

Wastewater treatments plants (WWTP) discharge antibiotic resistant bacteria with the treated wastewater. In this project we quantify the extent to which different WWTP in Switzerland eliminate and discharge resistant bacteria and how this affects the receiving waters.
Oxidative wastewater treatment is an important strategy for the removal of micropollutants from wastewater, and is one of the main technologies that will be used for this purpose in Switzerland. In this Project we study how this treatment affects resistant bacteria. Laboratory studies investigate in detail how ozonation damages resistant cells and resistant genes to provide Information about dose dependence and kinetics of the process. Investigations at the first full scale ozonation plant in Switzerland, ARA Neugut, provide data from a real world implementation of this treatment process.