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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.
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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.
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Treatment technologies Develop sustainable water supply concepts. Implement, monitor and optimise new technologies. Test and further develop existing treatment methods.
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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.
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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.
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Risk management Support for water supply companies to establish a Water Safety Plan. Benefit from our extensive expertise.
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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
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Environmental biotechnology Technical and biological methods for the elimination of microorganisms, microbiological degradation processes
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Microorganisms Developing and applying reliable and sensitive detection methods, evaluating disinfection and treatment measures
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Micropollutants Determination of micropollutants, transformation products and microplastics reliably and sensitively, investigate behaviour in the water cycle, qualified risk assessment
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Waste water and water cycle Use of biological decomposition, developing integrated water supply and waste water management concepts
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New technologies and products Testing and optimizing processes and products to treat, disinfect and post-process drinking water for efficiency, security and robustness
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Asset management and infrastructure Development of management strategies and innovative tools to evaluate the condition of the supply network and its components
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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

Asset management and infrastructure
Assuring drinking water quality is a decisive requirement on water distribution. Research is therefore focused on developing management strategies that ensure the stable provision of high-quality drinking water. Current work is concentrated on processes of qualitative change and measures derived from this to ensure flawless drinking water quality. This includes online sensor technology as a key tool that can be used for monitoring and regulation.
The most valuable asset of water supply companies is their distribution networks. Regular maintenance, decontamination and renovation is required to maintain these, and risk-based and preventative decontamination and replacement is a preferred strategy. The aim of research in this area is to develop methods to evaluate the condition of the supply network and its components during operation.
Research areas
Model-based pipeline operation
The objective of the field of model-based pipeline operation is to ensure water quality at the point of distribution under variable boundary conditions. The use of calculation and simulation models will gain increasing importance. Projects aim to further develop TZW-developed process descriptions, tools and management strategies such that they can be linked to or used with the existing IT structure of the supply companies.
Risk-based maintenance strategies
The principles for developing risk-based maintenance strategies are to assess the condition of the supply network, to evaluate the possible extent of damage both in the case of supply failure and related to destruction caused by a burst water pipe.
Development of future-proof networks
With the aim of reducing the time and effort involved in operating the supply networks in future, it makes sense to develop concepts for future network design and ways to implement this into existing systems in stages. This concerns the network structures as well as the hydraulic installation and use of materials. Target networks should be considered in connection with regional supply structures.
Corrosion, materials and test methods
Material testing is a key requirement for the use of materials in water distribution that have no negative affect on water quality. Auxiliary materials that have been given little attention to date, should also be considered. Material testing is also a decisive part of assessing the condition of water distribution systems as a requirement for developing and implementing risk-based rehabilitation and asset-management strategies.
Drinking water installations
Ensuring water quality in drinking water installations is determined by the use of suitable materials but also by the operation of the installation. These should be designed in such a way that also ensures microbiological quality in the drinking water installation. Ongoing research projects on this topic should clarify the conditions to be met.
Online data – evaluation
In addition to the further development or redevelopment of sensors that permit new parameters to be recorded, work is also concentrated on data evaluation. Key priorities include the automatic detection of false sensor indications, quality changes and the development of data-driven models for process control.
Projects
Water 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…
Read moreIncreased temperatures in the drinking water distribution network (MibiTemp)
The Project aims on a general understanding of the effects of increased water temperatures on resilience and vulnerability of microbial communities…
Read moreOptical-acoustic inspection of drinking water distribution systems (OptInspekt)
Within the scope of inspection projects at water supply companies, the project investigates under which conditions an optical and acoustic inspection…
Read moreMonitoring technology for assessing the condition of shut-off valves (ValveEar)
ValveEar is engaged in the further development of a valve maintenance device for the precise assessment of the tightness of shut-off valves. For this…
Read moreIncreased water temperatures
Increased water temperatures in the drinking water network already pose a challenge for water supply companies. The objective of the research project…
Read moreMetrology for Real-World Domestic Water Metering (MetroWaMet)
"MetroWaMet" aimed to build a metrological infrastructure that enables an integral characterisation of the performance of domestic water meters under…
Read morePublications
TZW Publication Series No. 70: Innovative Entwicklungen aus dem Forschungsradar Wasser [Innovative developments from the research radar water] (MikroSens)
TZW Publication Series No. 79: Hochaufgelöste Verbrauchsmessungen bei Kunden [High-resolution customer consumption measurements] (consumption hydrographs)
TZW Publication Series No. 82: Bewertung der Wirkung von Korrosionsinhibitoren im Verteilungsnetz [Assessment of the effectiveness of corrosion inhibitors in the distribution network] (Inhibitor I+II)
Volumes from the TZW publication series can be purchased here.
Contact
Water distribution

Corrosion
