Archive News

September 5, 2017Dried-up ponds, culverted streams, contamination with fertilisers and pesticides – the list of adverse effects caused by agriculture to water and waterbodies is a long one. Shortening this list is a major challenge, not only for agriculture but also for society as a whole. Supplying humanity with food is, after all, equally important. At the Eawag Info Day, experts demonstrated that the conflicts between use and protection can be addressed through objective dialogue, transparently stated goals and a broad raft of measures.

September 1, 2017Will global warming force a shift in Biel’s drinking water intake? What caused the sudden turbidity of the water supply in the winter of 2009? Eawag has come up with answers to these and other questions for Energy Service Biel, and in the process, new questions have also emerged.

August 25, 2017Eawag researchers working on the research project “VUNA” have developed a new recycling process with which nutrients in urine can be harvested and used as fertilizer. In order to further their ideology of sustainable handling of water and wastewater and to work out and implement innovative concepts of water and wastewater treatment, the researchers have founded the Spin-off Vuna GmbH. 

August 23, 2017Arsenic-contaminated groundwater used as drinking water or for irrigation may threaten the health of 50 to 60 million people in Pakistan. This is shown by an Eawag-led study – co-financed by SDC – in which data from 1200 groundwater samples was analysed and combined with geological and hydrological parameters to generate a hazard map.

August 4, 2017From August 2017, FIBER, the fisheries advisory service in Kastanienbaum, will again be managed by a team of two. Corinne Schmid, who currently heads up the office, is looking forward to working with Sébastien Nusslé as co-managers.

July 26, 2017The emergence of new technologies requires conditions tailored to specific industrial sectors. Social scientists at Eawag have developed a conceptual framework describing the relevant innovation drivers. This should make it possible to identify factors hindering innovation and to design industry‑specific support programmes. 

July 24, 2017It has been a year since the research building NEST was inaugurated by Empa and Eawag. Since then, scientists working in the research platform Water Hub have investigated new models and methods to recycle waste water. Experiments for processing and reusing grey water started in June. 

July 19, 2017Central Switzerland is shaped by Lake Lucerne, which offers not only rich landscape diversity but also habitats for numerous animal species. As part of the Swiss-wide “Projet Lac” study, the lake’s fish fauna was surveyed for the first time using standardized quantitative methods – producing some surprising findings.

July 13, 2017If the wind blows away the warm surface waters of a lake, cold water flows in from the depths. As a result of this effect the temperature in Lake Geneva recently sank to 8 degrees. A project led by Eawag and EPFL had predicted this cooling event.

July 11, 2017Alexander Damm has been appointed by the University of Zurich as Assistant Professor tenure track for remote sensing of water systems, effective as of 1 August 2017. The joint professorship at Eawag and the University of Zurich will enable Eawag to broaden its competence and knowledge in the field of remote sensing.