Future Danube

• Project number: LS19-016
• Project Management: Andreas Farnleitner, Karl Landsteiner Private University for Health Sciences / Department of Water Quality and Health
• Project partners:inside: Vienna University of Technology / Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Engineering Hydrology, Medical University of Vienna / Institute of Hygiene and Applied Immunology, Office of the Lower Austrian Provincial Government / Water Department
• Project duration: 36 months from 1 October 2021

Background

River water resources play an important role in human health. Rivers provide, for example drinking water or water for irrigation. They also provide a natural environment for many recreational activities. Rivers are also important receiving waters for municipal wastewater disposal and can thereby be exposed to faecal microbiological contamination, which requires adequate safety management to ensure adequate protection against infection when used properly. In contrast to the importance, little is known about the future challenges facing rivers due to the global change phenomena in terms of health-related aspects (climatic, demographic, economic and technological change, new potential threats, such as those posed by the growing shipping tourism). In this research project, a new innovative combination of microbiological and molecular biological parameters for large rivers dominated by municipal wastewater disposal, which is able to robustly predict mathematical simulation programmes for the estimation of pollutant loads robustly calibrate and verify health-related water quality. For this purpose, genetic host-associated faecal markers for bacterial and viral inputs and standard indicators together with general water quality parameters for the studies. For the modelling of faecal pollution and water quality relevant to health, the newly developed simulation tool QMRAcatch is used. A multidisciplinary team of scientists, governmental water and health experts, and experienced practitioners from a leading water utility, will address previously unsolved problems in the wake of future global challenges ("global change") for densely populated catchment areas of large rivers. In a first step, these developed scenarios will be simulated for the Danube in the Lower Austrian section to predict health-relevant challenges for future water quality management. In a second step, the detailed information from of the Danube will be extrapolated to other representative European sites of larger rivers. The main objective of the project is to develop baseline knowledge on health-related microbiological aspects of the water quality for river water resources confronted with future global change phenomena will be confronted with. Furthermore, the research project will also provide optimal management strategies for (Lower) Austrian authorities and municipalities as well as for water suppliers. The methodology developed will also be of great interest to catchment areas outside Europe, in order to develop a health-related sustainable quality management of river water resources in a rapidly changing world.