IWW Water Centre

IWW research projects are funded by a number of prominent institutions, among them the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), the German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water (DVGW), the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (German Environment Foundation, DBU), the Ministry of Climate Protection, Environment, Agriculture, Nature Conversation and Consumer Protection of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MKULNV NRW), the North Rhine- Westphalia State Agency for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection (LANUV NRW) as well as the German Federation of Industrial Research Associations (AiF) and the EU Framework Programme.

Two large-scale research projects with IWW participation are dealing with adjustment to the consequences of climate change. While the EU project “Prepared” is dedicated to the impacts on the water supply and waste water systems, “Dynaklim” develops dynamic instruments and processes for a proactive and anticipatory adjustment of the Emscher-Lippe region to the effects of climate change.

Two further IWW projects focus on the safety of the drinking water supply from attack. The BMBF-funded collaborative research project “Protection of the drinking water supply against CBNRattacks” (STATuS) sets out to develop preventive and defensive strategies based on hazard and risk analysis. The EU project “Security and decontamination of drinking water distribution systems following a deliberate contamination” (SecurEau) researches the best methods to quickly restore drinking water networks after a terrorist attack.

IWW is also coordinating a major European research project for the first time. “Transitions to the Urban Water Services of Tomorrow”, or TRUST for short, began its work in 2011. Up to 2015, it will work on developing technology and management solutions for city water supply and waste water systems with the aim of creating more efficient, sustainable and eco-friendly urban water cycles.

A selection of other current research includes projects on: water quality in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China (BMBF); prognosis of decreasing nitrate reducing capacities in aquifers (DVGW); by-product formation in oxidative treatment of municipal wastewaters (MKULNV); Intelligent Water Networks IWaNet (BMBF); structural and process-related comparability of water utilities (DVGW); aging of pipe materials in drinking water supply (DVGW); biofilms in household installations (BMBF); and technical development of bioinorganic membranes MEM-S (EU FP7).