News archive

Pesticides 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.

The lakes of East Africa are home to a surprising number of different cichlid species. This level of biodiversity has developed partly due to hybrids that managed to take over new ecological niches in their habitats, according to recent research carried out by scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Eawag, and the University of Bern.

Invertebrates 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.

It's World Toilet Day today. What may sound curious is intended to draw attention to a serious problem. Because worldwide, one in three people lack access to appropriate sanitation. In the Blue Diversion Autarky project, researchers are developing an off-grid toilet, with on-site treatment allowing valuable resources to be recovered.

ETH Zurich has awarded Stefan Achermann the Otto Jaag Water Protection Prize for his dissertation entitled "Exploring linkages between micropollutant biotransformation reactions and microbial community characteristics in activated sludge". This prize is awarded to outstanding dissertations and master theses at ETH Zurich in the field of water protection and hydrology. In his work, Stefan Achermann combined chemical-analytical and molecular-biological methods to investigate the degradation pathways of micropollutants in wastewater treatment plants.

There may be hundreds of species of char living in Greenland’s lakes and rivers, according to a team from the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) and the University of Bern, that has discovered the largest known diversity of char species in the catchment area of the Eqaluit River.

The 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.

What developments do urban water researchers and professionals see as important – or worthy of scepticism? A pioneering horizon scan conducted by Eawag scientists indicates that, for this community, digitalisation is a particular concern – in a positive and negative sense. In this interview, Frank Blumensaat, an environmental engineer at ETH Zurich and Eawag, discusses the opportunities and risks it creates in the urban water field.

One of the most popular drugs in Central and Southern Europe is cocaine, according to the new European drugs report. In Eastern Europe however, it’s methamphetamine — more commonly known as crystal meth — that is the drug of choice.

In aquatic ecosystems, both mussels and macrophytes increase water clarity and generally help to prevent excessive algal growth. However, according to a study carried out at Eawag’s experimental pond facility, these stabilizing effects can be disrupted when the co‑occurrence of species gives rise to complex interactions.