Archive News

November 17, 2016The residual flow in the Sarine River is insufficient to maintain its dynamic flow. Research is currently being carried out as part of the “Energy Turnaround” National Research Programme (NRP 70), to ascertain whether hydropower can be made more environmentally friendly through controlled experimental flooding. The first experimental flood event has taken place, and researchers are now analysing all the data and records that have been collected.

November 16, 2016With the help of modern sensors and the innovative remote data transfer system LoRaWAN, researchers at Eawag are investigating the relationships between precipitation and the resulting drainage processes. It is hoped that the new technology, otherwise known as the “Internet of Things”, will enable wastewater disposal and sewage systems to be run as efficiently as possible, as well as allowing the quality of wastewater and waterbodies to be monitored.

November 14, 2016The “Regional Water Supply for Basel-Landschaft 21” project, which was started in 2013, culminated today in a media conference in Liestal.

November 14, 2016A small exhibition in the Lucerne Nature Museum has been curated to commemorate the founding of the Hydrobiological Laboratory in Kastanienbaum 100 years ago in 1916. Visitors will also be able to view the exhibition “A Chance for the Otter”, which will be showing throughout the same period in the Forum Treppenhaus, as well as having the opportunity to learn about the early years of the Institute.

November 10, 2016The theme of the recent Aqua Urbanica event, held on the Rigi by Eawag and the Swiss Water Association (VSA), was the importance of measurements.

November 8, 2016Hydropeaking operations at storage hydropower plants affect hydrological processes and have adverse impacts on river ecosystems. For example, rapid and intense fluctuations in discharge can cause fish and macroinvertebrates to be flushed downstream or stranded.

November 7, 2016Eawag colleague Bouziane Outiti has been nominated for the 2016 Energy Globe World Award for his wastewater treatment project in Morocco. The award, which will be presented on 10 November at the World Climate Conference in Marrakech, is designed to highlight the existence of sustainable and innovative projects that tackle many of our environmental problems while protecting our resources.

November 3, 2016Stream and river restoration measures may be showcase projects for conservationists, but – in the absence of systematic monitoring – it is often unclear what benefits they provide for ecosystems.

October 31, 2016On 1 November 1986, a chemical warehouse at Schweizerhalle near Basel was destroyed by a fire. Aquatic life in the Rhine suffered catastrophic damage as a result of inflows of toxic, red-coloured firefighting water.

October 25, 2016In the coming years, around a hundred wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) across Switzerland are to be upgraded with an additional treatment step in order to eliminate micropollutants. The method of choice is often ozonation.