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Solutions
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Water analysis Conducting and evaluating physical-chemical and microbiological water testing in accordance with German Drinking Water Ordinance and other regulations. -
Testing of products and devices Initial testing of products and materials in contact with drinking water. The test centre is accredited for more than 200 product standards. -
Treatment technologies Develop sustainable water supply concepts. Implement, monitor and optimise new technologies. Test and further develop existing treatment methods. -
Micropollutants and microorganisms Development and improvement of determination procedures. Investigating occurrence, behaviour and fate of inorganic and organic trace substances. -
Network management and drinking water installation Advice on safeguarding the quality of drinking water in the distribution system, support in the development of specific network management strategies. -
Risk management Supporting water supply companies in setting up continuous risk management for water supply facilities, based on our comprehensive expertise. -
Drinking water catchments and resources Protection of drinking water resources by assessing potential hazards in water catchment areas, catalogues of measures, monitoring concepts, databases. -
Environmental biotechnology and contaminated sites Environmental biotechnology to improve water quality. Degradation processes for water purification. Concepts and studies for pollutant contamination. -
Digitalisation Solving complex questions and problems of water supply companies in digitalisation through technical support or practical research projects. -
Practical projects Research and practice, water supply, scientific and technical expertise, technology concepts, resource protection, distribution network, digitalisation.
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Research
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Resource protection Sustainable resource protection as an important factor for safe drinking water supply. Management of hazards and risks in water catchment areas. -
Environmental biotechnology Technical and biological methods for the elimination of microorganisms, microbiological degradation processes, risk assessment of microbial contamination. -
Microorganisms Application and development of reliable detection methods for microorganisms in drinking water, evaluation of disinfection and treatment measures. -
Micropollutants Reliable and sensitive determination of trace substances and microplastics, investigation of the behaviour in the water cycle, qualified risk assessment. -
Waste water and water cycle Development of integrated water supply and waste water disposal concepts, Utilisation of biodegradation processes to eliminate persistent substances. -
New technologies and products Technologies and products for the treatment, disinfection and post-treatment of drinking water, testing for performance, safety and robustness. -
Asset management and infrastructure Development of asset management strategies to ensure a stable supply of high-quality drinking water, assessment of the condition of pipeline networks. -
Safety and security, digitalisation and management Digitalisation in the areas of data collection, data management, data-driven applications and IT security. Artificial intelligence and blockchain.
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- Projects
- About TZW
- Information
Research for the future
Research opens up strong perspectives, if tomorrow's challenges are identified and tackled in a targeted manner. In this sense TZW identifies itself as a driving force for the development of innovations that encompass the entire water cycle. In about 50 research projects each year TZW develops concepts and processes that can be implemented successfully in practice.
Employee measures field with surveying equipment
Resource protection
Our research focuses on the management of raw water resources, both groundwater and surface water. Innovative planning tools are applied for these investigations. We explore and evaluate hazards and risks, which arise from e.g. land cultivation or biomass generation in water catchment areas. By using modelling we investigate the impacts of climate change on water supply.
Environmental biotechnology
Main research areas are microbiological degradation processes and combining technical and biological methods to eliminate especially persistent substances. The constant development of modern microbiological and molecular biological methods and the use of efficacy tests to monitor and evaluate the processes running in the aquatic environment contribute to improve water quality.
Employee works on test columns, second employee in the background
Bioanalyser is filled with a sample by one hand
Microorganisms
Within our research projects, reliable and sensitive detection methods for hygienically relevant and pathogenic microorganisms, antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes are developed, extended and applied. We test their application for water analysis and evaluate disinfection and treatment measures in the context of the quantitative microbial risk assessment.
Micropollutants
Micropollutants, their transformation products and the topic of microplastics are of top priority for the water sector. By a permanent development of modern analytical methods it is possible to determine these parameters reliably and sensitively. We investigate their behaviour in the water cycle and in treatment processes. A qualified risk assessment is also a subject of our research.
Employee works with safety goggles on analytical column and liquid chromatograph
Employee with safety goggles fills samples on test columns filled with sand
Waste water and water cycle
The use of biological decomposition in the purification and reuse of waste water and in groundwater recharge makes a significant contribution to the protection of surface waters and overstained groundwater resources. We develop integrated water supply and waste water management concepts and evaluate the purification capacity using chemical indicators.
New technologies and products
New technologies, such as UV LED technology and products to treat, disinfect and post-process drinking water are constantly entering the market. These are investigated in our research projects related to the efficiency, security and robustness for practical application.
An employee sits in front of a computer that shows the sample under the colony counter, enlarged
Two employees looking into the camera and working on a test stand for water distribution
Asset management and infrastructure
The aim of our research is to develop methods and management strategies to evaluate the condition of the supply network and its components during operation. This enables a stable supply of high-quality drinking water while the evaluation is in progress. The further development of online sensor technology and of data-driven models for process control are important future-oriented topics.
Safety and security, digitalisation and management
Digital transformation is taking place in public water supply in areas such as data collection, data management and IT security. Identifying trends and the resulting specifications is part of every effective research management strategy. Our research covers the safety of drinking water supply in normal operation and exceptional situations.
Projects
modelsites & project logo
Sustainable and climate adapted Water Management in Mining in Southern African Regions (WASA)
As part of WaMiSAR, TZW is investigating microbial processes in groundwater contaminated by mining activities in Southern African regions. The focus…
Read moreExperimental roofs at LVGA Image: Manfred Köhler
Realisation of the sponge city
Green roofs in cities can contribute to improving the urban climate. The necessary policy instruments are being developed for their implementation and…
Read moreLumbriculus variegatus Image: ECT
Phosphonates in sediment
Experimental investigation of selected organophosphonates to gain a comprehensive understanding of their environmental behaviour and to obtain a solid…
Read morePoster
A transnational strategy extending the role of roads to support rural water systems (Rural Roadwater Rescue)
Roads and highways are crossing the north-west-european (NEW) territory abundantly. They usually drain the runoff water from rainfall events swiftly…
Read morePractical approaches are needed for the evaluation of substances in drinking water that have not yet been evaluated or have only been partially evaluated. Image: LedyX on Shutterstock
Concepts for the assessment of drinking water contaminants (GOW-OPTI)
Occasionally, substances for which there are no limit or guide values are found in very low concentrations in drinking water. The German Federal…
Read more