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With the latest analytical methods, potentially toxic substances can be detected even at very low concentrations. However, the aim of research is not merely to document such contamination but also to understand how it occurs in streams and groundwater, and to propose mitigation measures.

Microbes self-organise to grow into fascinating and complex patterns. The diversity of these patterns depends on a previously unknown factor, as researchers at Eawag have discovered. This might re-define how we view the concept of microbial biodiversity.

The Zambezi River Basin in southern Africa is a high-quality waterscape. But current rapid development threatens the waters of the Zambezi, particularly its tributaries. The challenge will be to ensure that mitigation measures keep up with population and economic growth to avoid degradation of water quality degradation.

Treated wastewater can be continuously monitored online with the use of organisms. This gives operators of wastewater treatment plants and discharging industrial companies the ability to respond to acute pollution quickly.

The shift from fossil to renewable energy sources is essential for climate mitigation but will also significantly reduce the atmospheric input of the nutrients sulphur and selenium into soils. Sustainable solutions are therefore needed to supply intensively used agricultural soils with sufficient nutrients and to ensure a safe and healthy diet for the world's population.  

An Eawag researcher has helped to develop a new approach to tracking how river water enters the groundwater. In the test area within the Emmental, the flow time within the aquifer has been shown to be much shorter than previously assumed. This has potential consequences during dry spells.

22 May is the International Day for Biological Diversity. In 2021, the theme is: "We are part of the solution". The research institutes Eawag and WSL are working together in search of solutions to conserve, promote and protect biodiversity.

The last ice age, about 20,000 years ago, was significantly colder than previously thought. This is shown for the first time by systematically analysed samples of groundwater collected around the globe and the inert gases dissolved in it. Swiss groundwater from Uster (ZH) also contributed to the results.

With research, teaching and consulting on all aspects of water, Eawag is committed to a sustainable future – in Switzerland and worldwide. This is illustrated by the diverse and exciting projects that we present in our Annual Report.

On Wednesday, 5 May, the expansion of the Empa and Eawag research campus in Dübendorf began with a ground-breaking ceremony for a new laboratory building. This was attended by representatives of the two research institutes, the general contractor, the architectural office and the city of Dübendorf.

Eawag Director Janet Hering has been awarded the honorary title of IAGC Fellow by the International Association of Geochemistry for her contributions to the field of geochemistry.

Their very small size means that rotaviruses are difficult to filter out of water. But these pathogens are among the leading causes of gastrointestinal infections, especially among children in developing countries. Now, a team of researchers from Empa and Eawag has demonstrated an approach that could make rotaviruses easier to remove in the future.

The condition of Swiss lakes has improved thanks to stricter protection measures, but less than expected. A new method developed by Eawag for calculating biomass production in lakes provides explanations and a basis for further water protection measures.

Never did Jagannath Biswakarma think that a Tweet about one of his academic articles would receive attention from world-leading media outlets. Yet, that is exactly what happened and how his work was promoted internationally.

A mobile handwashing station that hygienically recycles its own water without water mains or sewage connection not only has great potential for deployment in countries lacking in infrastructure. The water wall also has great potential in public transport or at events.

The influence of various factors on the ecosystem of Lake Constance and its resilience is the main focus of two mutually informative and wide-ranging research projects that are currently in progress.

In the Blue-Green Biodiversity research initiative of WSL and Eawag scientists from around the world are working together to find solutions to the pressing challenges of biodiversity loss. The scientists explain in a video what they are working on – and why.

Ecotoxicological tests need to be extremely accurate – which often poses challenges in research and practice. Eawag has now developed a computer model that enables even more accurate testing at high throughput; the model is simple, widely applicable and saves resources.

In the latest NEST podcast with Peter Richner, Tove Larsen talks about what we flush down the toilet, why problems should be solved at the source and why wastewater doesn't lie.

Online biomonitoring systems offer the possibility of real-time monitoring of wastewater with organisms and enable wastewater treatment plant operators to react immediately to acute pollution in wastewater. So far, however, very little information is available on the suitability of online biomonitoring systems for such monitoring. An applied project by Eawag, the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland and the Oekotoxzentrum is now set to change this.

The motto of today’s World Water Day is “Valuing water – What means water to you?”. With this motto, the United Nations wants to raise awareness of the vital importance of water and call on people to think about the value of water. In an interview, Eawag Director Janet Hering explains the importance of water for the aquatic research institute Eawag and also her personally.

There will be no general shortage, but water may be scarce depending on the region and time of year – conversely, heavier rainfall will lead to more local flooding. These are the findings of the Hydro-CH2018 project published today, Hydrological Principles of Climate Change. The extensive study with collaboration of the Eawag Water Research Institute was carried out under the lead of the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) in conjunction with the National Centre for Climate Services (NCCS). Climate change means that our use of water will have to change in future.

Rare earth metals such as cerium and gadolinium are increasingly entering wastewater from industry, but also from hospitals. This is shown by Eawag’s investigations at 63 wastewater treatment plants in Switzerland.

Monitoring of wastewater samples has the potential to provide a further indicator – alongside the number of cases, hospitalisations and deaths – to track the course of the pandemic. With support from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), an existing research project is now being expanded from two to six wastewater treatment plants.

Researchers have discovered a unique bacterium that lives inside a unicellular eukaryote and provides it with energy. Unlike mitochondria, this so-called endosymbiont derives energy from the respiration of nitrate, not oxygen.

New pharmaceuticals are being launched on the market all the time. It is of course their effectiveness in people’s health that is of central importance here, but at some point, their active ingredients or traces of them wind up in the environment, where they can have negative consequences. A large-scale EU project in which Eawag is also participating is now trying to help ensure that possible environmental impacts of pharmaceuticals are recognised by the pharmaceutical industry and the relevant approval bodies in the early stages of a drug’s development.

In Lake Constance, sticklebacks are occupying increasingly varied habitat types – in recent years even including the open and deep waters of the lake. In an Eawag review undertaken as part of the “SeeWandel” project, these uniquely diverse ecological adaptations are explained in terms of renewed contact between three stickleback lineages – including one originating from the Baltic region, whose genetic material is as yet rarely observed in other Swiss lakes.