Archive News

April 14, 2020Tremendous research efforts have been dedicated over the last two decades to better understand the sources and distribution of arsenic-polluted groundwater. Now, an international research team with the involvement of Eawag have used reactive transport modelling to integrate much of what has been learned into computer simulations that mimic the complex interactions between groundwater flow, solute transport and geochemical reaction mechanisms.

April 7, 2020The spatial requirements for surface waters specified in the Waters Protection Act represent the absolute minimum required to safeguard their ecological functions. The space provided along small streams is of particular importance, as material flows between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are not dependent on the width of the watercourse. This is shown by Eawag’s own investigations – and by a review of available studies, which was cited by the Federal Supreme Court in a recent ruling.

March 31, 2020Using a simple but ingenious strategy, a research team has successfully demonstrated how water quality downstream of wastewater treatment plants is influenced by a single pharmaceutical manufacturing site: as variations in the concentrations of compounds over time are dependent on production cycles, it is possible to distinguish between industrial and household emissions – even a long way downstream.

March 24, 2020Contaminated waste water often flows into rivers and streams after heavy rains. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria thus also enter the waters. Eawag is researching exactly which ones and in what amounts as part of a national research programme.

February 20, 2020Degradation products of the fungal agent chlorothalonil are found widely in groundwater on the Swiss Plateau, even in places where it is used as drinking water. Dealing with these substances is becoming a challenge for waterworks. There is a wide range between rash immediate measures and concealing the problem. An Eawag fact sheet serves to contribute to an objective discussion and longer-term strategies.

February 17, 2020Eawag and the Eawag spin-off Vuna have made urine fertiliser production mobile. Today, the Urine Express will be presented at a very special location in Biel: next to the first public grass tennis court in Switzerland. In future, the tennis court is to be fertilised with urine fertiliser.

February 4, 2020Although use of the fungicide hexachlorobenzene has been banned since 2004, this compound is chemically stable – and accumulates in the polar regions where humpback whales replenish their fat reserves each year. Cell line studies conducted at Eawag have now shown that, while hexachlorobenzene does not have acute toxic effects, it can cause damage to DNA in humpback whale cells.

December 12, 2019Pesticides in sediments cause adverse effects on benthic organisms. This was shown by a monitoring study conducted by the Ecotox Centre and Eawag on five streams in agricultural areas. Crustaceans were particularly affected. Concentrations of several insecticides, including chlorpyrifos and the pyrethroid cypermethrin, exceeded effect thresholds, indicating impaired sediment quality.

December 2, 2019Invertebrates on the beds of water bodies are observed closely, for they serve as indicators for the ecological status of running waters. A new Swiss-wide study by the aquatic research institute Eawag shows which species are especially good indicators, and how the monitoring and management of surface waters can be further improved.

November 4, 2019The measurement of trace concentrations of pyrethroid and organophosphate insecticides – now possible thanks to a newly developed analytical method – shows that these compounds can pose a greater threat to aquatic organisms than all other pesticides.