Sino-German water supply network (SIGN2)

Clean water from the source to the tap

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Sedimentation basin of a waterwork at Tai Hu

In the SIGN-2 project, German water technologies and management concepts were further developed in cooperation with scientific and industrial partners and adapted to Chinese requirements. The aim was to take a holistic view of the water cycle from the source to the consumer.

Based on the previous activities in China, especially in the framework of SIGN, the following topics in the German-Chinese cooperation for clean drinking water from the source to the consumer were considered in more detail in the follow-up project SIGN-2:

  • Process understanding of pollutant dynamics in Lake Tai caused by mixing processes between water and sediment typical for shallow lakes (lake).
  • Production of clean drinking water with innovative dense membranes and sensors for process control as well as optimized - in terms of water quality and energy efficiency - treatment chains (treatment)
  • Preservation of drinking water quality during distribution with integral software-based infrastructure management (distribution)
  • Practical demonstration and training in the catchment area of lake tai
  • Market introduction of German products to the Chinese market (market)

TZW was not only significantly involved by coordinating the project consortium. Also molecular biological investigations on antibiotic resistances, microbial denitrification potential and sources of fecal inputs in lake samples, as well as samples from water treatment were conducted. By methodical adaptions of the DNA extraction workflow, viruses and free DNA were identified as important carriers of antibiotic resistance genes in addition to bacteria, which appear to be largely introduced by wastewater contaminated with fecal matter. An establishment of new qPCR methods could also show that a genetic potential for complete nitrogen mineralization by denitrifying bacteria is present at almost all investigated sites of Lake Tai. At TZW Dresden, scientists additionally worked on the optimization of network management post water treatment, e.g. developing adapted flushing strategies for the drinking water network to remove brownwater causing debris.

Publications

Nischwitz, V.; Stelmaszyk, L.; Piel, S.; Tiehm, A.: Cascade Filtration With PCR Detection and Field-Flow-Fractionation Online With ICP-MS for the Characterization of DNA Interaction With Suspended Particulate Matter. Frontiers in Chemistry, 10, 919442 (2022) doi: 10.3389/fchem.2022.919442

Schäfer, C.: Nachweis, Dynamik und Stimulation der Denitrifikation in Gewässern. Veröffentlichungen aus dem Technologiezentrum Wasser, ISSN 1434-5765, TZW-Band 98 (2021)

Niestroj-Pahl, R.; Stelmaszyk, L.; ElSherbiny, I.M.A.; Abuelgasim, H.; Krug, M.; Staaks, C.; Birkholz, G.; Horn, H.; Li, T.; Dong, B.; Dähne, L.; Tiehm, A.; Panglisch, S.Performance of Layer-by-Layer-Modified Multibore® Ultrafiltration Capillary Membranes for Salt Retention and Removal of Antibiotic Resistance Genes.
Membranes 2020, 10, 398, 12: 17 Pages (2020) DOI: 10.3390/membranes10120398

Tiehm, A.; Hollert, H.; Yin, D.; Zheng, B.:
Tai Hu (China): Water quality and processes - From the source to the tap.
Science of the total environment 712: 135559 (2020)
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135559

Tiehm A., Yin D., Zheng B.: The SIGN-2 Project Assuring Good Water Quality from the Source to the Tap. In: econet china monitor, 09/2020: 10–13 (2020)

Schäfer, C.; Ho, J.; Lotz, B.; Armbruster, J.; Putz, A.; Zou, H.; Li, C.; Ye, C.; Zheng, B.; Hügler, M.; Tiehm, A.Evaluation and application of molecular denitrification monitoring methods in the northern Lake Tai, China. Science of the total environment 663, 663: 686–695 (2019) DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.359

Stange, C.; Yin, D.; Xu, T.; Guo, X.; Schäfer, C.; Tiehm, A.Distribution of clinically relevant antibiotic resistance genes in Lake Tai, China.
Science of the total environment 655: 337–346 (2019) DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.211

Schmidt K.R., aus der Beek T., Dai X., Dong B., Dopp E., Eichinger F., Hammers-Wirtz M., Haußmann R., Holbach A., Hollert H., Illgen M., Jiang X., Koehler J., Koester S., Korth A., Kueppers S., Li A., Lohmann M., Moldaenke C., Norra S., Qin B., Qin Y., Reese M., Riehle E., Santiago-Schuebel B., Schaefer C., Simon A., Song Y., Staaks C., Steinhardt J., Subklew G., Tao T., Wu T., Yin D., Zhao F., Zheng B., Zhou M., Zou H., Zuo J.,Tiehm A.: Since 2015 the SinoGerman research project SIGN supports water quality improvement in the Taihu region, China. Environmental Sciences Europe 28(1): 1-6 (2016) DOI 10.1186/s12302-016-0092-7

Schäfer C., Stange C., Tiehm A.: Internationale Kooperationen: Das Deutsch-Chinesische Trinkwasser-Netzwerk (Sino German Water Supply Network, SIGN). In: Entwicklungstrends für die Wasserversorgung, 22. TZW-Kolloquium, Veröffentlichungen aus dem Technologiezentrum Wasser, ISSN 1434-5765, TZW-Band 80: 159-177 (2017)

Volumes from the TZW publication series can be purchased here.

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