IFAT 2018

••• 17 ••• Innovationen Simplifying the water pollution control New model to provide a forward-looking view on water quality in reservoirs for many years T o develop a simple model that provides a forward-looking view on the water quality in reser- voirs for many years and that can easily be applied worldwide, is the goal of the German-Brazilian re- search project MuDak-WRM. The water quality in a reservoir depends largely on its drainage area. To obtain a meaningful model of the processes taking place in reservoirs, the river drain- age area must be factored in. If large quantities of nutrients get into the reservoir due to intensive agriculture or forestry or a dense population of the surrounding re- gion, the result can be overferti- lization – eutrophication – of the lake supporting a lush growth of algae and often of so-called cy- anobacteria as well. Long-term overfertilization makes the water of a reservoir unsuitable for drink- ing water production. A German- Brazilian research consortium led by KIT is working on the devel- opment of a preferably simple model that allows to predict the medium- to long-term changes to be expected for the water quality in reservoirs. The research project focuses on reducing the complex- ity of the underlying scientific ap- proaches and of the data required for the future model so that it is easily applicable to, e.g., develop- ing countries. “The reduced complexity, com- pared to the existing models, is a decisive step towards a transfer- able, globally functional model,” stresses Dr. Stephan Fuchs who is responsible for the MuDak-WRM project (Multidisciplinary Data Acquisition as Key for a Globally Applicable Water Resource Man- agement). Dr. Fuchs is head of the Department of Aquatic Envi- ronmental Engineering at the In- stitute for Water and River Basin Management (IWG) of KIT. In the course of the research project, two reservoirs and their drainage areas will be examined: the Große Dhünntalsperre in North Rhine- Westphalia (Germany) and the Passauna reservoir in the Brazil- ian state of Paraná. By comparing the results, the researchers make sure that the insight gained here can be adopted to other reser- voirs as well. In order to be able to predict the water quality in reservoirs, the MuDaK-WRM research project developed new methods, e.g. for the Passauna reservoir in Brazil. Photo: Mauricio Scheer 14.–18. Mai 2018 MESSE MÜNCHEN %HVXFKHQ 6LH XQV +DOOH $