Science that matters

Eawag is one of the world’s leading aquatic research institutes. With its professional diversity, close partnerships with practitioners and an international network, Eawag offers an excellent environment for the study of water as a habitat and resource, for identifying problems at an early stage and for developing widely accepted solutions.

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The latest news from Eawag

The latest news from Eawag

News
Successful spin-off celebrates anniversary
July 18, 2025

At the beginning of the month, Eawag spin-off Ranas celebrated its anniversary. After five years, companies founded at Eawag are ‘released’ from their spin-off status and stand on their own two feet. During this time, Ranas has developed into a successful, independent company that supports clients in implementing campaigns aimed at behavioural change and prevention.

Sampling during the corona epidemic at the Werdhölzli wastewater treatment plant in Zurich (Photo: Eawag, Andri Bryner)
News
New perspectives thanks to wastewater monitoring
July 17, 2025

Wastewater monitoring became well known during the coronavirus period from 2020, when Eawag and its partners began monitoring whether and which coronaviruses could be detected in wastewater throughout Switzerland. However, the researchers are now able to make far more statements about the health of the population because other pathogens and traces of medicines and drugs are also being monitored in parallel. The combination of data from both programmes opens up new perspectives.

The new findings on the future warming of watercourses will help to plan adaptation measures in a more targeted manner (Photo: Adobe Stock).
News
How much Swiss watercourses will warm up
July 15, 2025

By the end of the century, water temperatures in Swiss rivers will rise by up to 3.5 degrees if no action to protect the climate is taken. The rivers in the Alps are particularly affected. This is the conclusion reached by researchers from Eawag and the University of Basel in a research project funded by the FOEN.

Daniel McCurry (Photo: Peter Penicka, Eawag).
Institutional
Daniel McCurry appointed Professor of Water and ...
July 11, 2025

The ETH Board appointed Daniel McCurry as a joint professor at EPFL and Eawag. The environmental engineer, who is currently still teaching in the USA, is already on sabbatical at Eawag. From summer 2026, alongside his teaching and research activities at EPFL, he will set up a research group that will also be active at Eawag.

The global «plastosphere» contains more than 16,000 chemicals. The new study published iprovides a comprehensive overview of all chemicals that can be present in plastics. (Image: Adobe Stock)
News
Identifying chemicals of concern in plastics – and ...
July 10, 2025

To curb global plastic pollution and to make plastics safer and more sustainable, countries are currently negotiating a global treaty. A new study with participation from Eawag and Empa published in Nature provides a comprehensive and systematic overview of all chemicals that can be present in plastics, their properties, uses, and hazards. Moreover, the study also provides a scientific approach for identifying chemicals of concern. This allows scientists and manufacturers to develop safer plastics and policy makers to promote a non-toxic circular economy.