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Solutions
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Water analysis Conducting and evaluating physical-chemical and microbiological water testing in accordance with the German Drinking Water Ordinance and other relevant legal regulations. -
Testing of products and devices Initial testing of products and materials in contact with drinking water. Our Test Centre is accredited for more than 200 different product standards according to DIN EN ISO 17025. Test and develop UV technology. -
Treatment technologies Develop sustainable water supply concepts. Implement, monitor and optimise new technologies. Test and further develop existing treatment methods. -
Micropollutants and microorganisms Develop and improve the method of determination using cutting-edge equipment. Investigate the presence, behaviour and retention of inorganic and organic micropollutants in the water cycle and drinking water treatment. -
Network management and drinking water installation Microbiological quality change, deposit formation and cleaning and optimisation of the distribution network operation. Evaluate and analyse corrosion damage. -
Risk management Support for water supply companies to establish a Water Safety Plan. Benefit from our extensive expertise. -
Environmental biotechnology and contaminated sites Evaluation of the decomposition potential at contaminated locations. Development of sustainable ways to eliminate pollutants from the environment. Employ a combination of microbiological and technical methods.
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Research
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Resource protection Protection of water resources, risk management in water catchment areas -
Environmental biotechnology Technical and biological methods for the elimination of microorganisms, microbiological degradation processes -
Microorganisms Developing and applying reliable and sensitive detection methods, evaluating disinfection and treatment measures -
Micropollutants Determination of micropollutants, transformation products and microplastics reliably and sensitively, investigate behaviour in the water cycle, qualified risk assessment -
Waste water and water cycle Use of biological decomposition, developing integrated water supply and waste water management concepts -
New technologies and products Testing and optimizing processes and products to treat, disinfect and post-process drinking water for efficiency, security and robustness -
Asset management and infrastructure Development of management strategies and innovative tools to evaluate the condition of the supply network and its components -
Safety and security, digitalisation and management Digital transformation in public drinking water supply, increase the safety and security of drinking water supply
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Multi-sectoral waterdemand and regions of water shortage in Germany (WatDEMAND)
Climate change has arrived in Germany and poses new challenges for water suppliers. WatDEMAND analyses what impact climate change will have on water…
Read moreMethod for microbiological water quality monitoring (MoVe)
With the rapid development of microbiological analysis in recent years, the question arises as to what the future of drinking water monitoring for…
Read moreGerman-Israeli project for advanced wastewater treatment (ELARIA)
This research project will provide reliable data on additional wastewater treatment steps for the elimination of antibiotic resistance and…
Read moreOnline technology for operational monitoring of drinking water treatment (TRINKcontrol)
Efficient online monitoring is becoming increasingly important in drinking water treatment. New applications include automatic process control and…
Read moreDistribution of Water in the Field of Conflict between Water and Agriculture (VERTIKAL)
VERTIKAL analyses the increasing potential of conflict between drinking water supply and agricultural irrigation. Based on this, approaches and…
Read moreWater reuse and drinking water reservoirs on trial (FLEXITILITY)
The Flexitility research project entered its implementation phase in October 2022. Until 2024, network partners from practice and research will test…
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