The latest news from Eawag

During prolonged droughts, the drinking water supply for the affected population is critical. Water filters are of enormous importance in such emergencies to prevent diseases. However, often it is not the distribution of filters that is lacking, but the fact that they are not used consistently in everyday life. Researchers at the Aquatic Research Institute Eawag have analysed the reasons for this in Northern Kenya.

At today's Eawag Info Day, the Aquatic Research Institute outlined the steps that need to be taken to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Timely analyses of the bacterial community in wastewater treatment plants enables changes to be detected and remedied before cleaning performance suffers.

The 4 research institutes of the ETH Domain strengthen cooperation and build bridges between research and innovative solutions for today's challenges.

This can indirectly affect the survival of fish populations and may be one of the reasons for the fish decline we are currently observing in Switzerland.

Green spaces or trees can mitigate urban heat, but it takes time for the cooling effects to develop. Modelling using satellite data can show how much time is needed.

The combined sewer system is a great achievement. But the discharge of diluted wastewater into central sewage treatment plants is approaching its limits.

The number of microbes that acquire antibiotic resistance depends on the time at which the antibiotic is added. This is a conclusion reached by a research group at Eawag on the basis of experiments with genetically modified bacteria that glow in different colours when they exchange genetic information with each other.

In the scientific journal Nature, a team including a member of Eawag published a study on the development of biodiversity in European inland waters, based on invertebrates.

Barbara Jeanne “BJ” Ward received the ETH Medal for her doctoral thesis on predicting the dewatering capacity of faecal sludge in mid-July. The medal honours excellent master and doctoral theses at ETH Zurich each year.

The Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences has elected five new members to the Swiss Young Academy, including Benjamin Hofmann, postdoctoral researcher in the Environmental Social Sciences Department at the Aquatic Research Institute Eawag.

While the use of pesticides in industrial countries is being questioned more and more critically, less is known about their consequences on human health and the environment in tropical countries. The interdisciplinary project “Pestrop” is now changing this and also shows where the necessary measures need to be taken.

CO₂ emissions from heterotrophic respiration could increase by 40% by the end of the century.

Every year, around 180 bachelor and master students are supervised at Eawag. They often participate directly in research projects. This integration, the flat hierarchies and Eawag’s interdisciplinary culture repeatedly lead to master theses receiving awards.

Out of sight, out of mind: we’ve been flushing away human waste ever since sewers were invented, using copious amounts of fresh water to expel it from our homes and cities as fast as the pipes can carry it. In an interview with the ETH magazine GLOBE, Eawag researchers Max Maurer and Kai Udert talk about the water management of the future.

Read the LinkedIn post

Eawag has been involved in basic vocational training for many years. In short portraits we introduce four of the apprentices.