Immer noch gut geschütztes Wasserreich

We don't know any different in this country: "Drinking water in Austria is of excellent quality," says Andreas Farnleitner, Head of the Water Quality and Health Department at the Karl Landsteiner University. Farnleitner knows it differently, having worked as a scientist in various countries around the world. We owe the comparatively high quantity and quality of water above all to our favourable location in the Alps. Our drinking water resource is groundwater. The "water kingdom" of Austria has always focused on protecting spring areas well and minimising necessary treatment measures. "However, we do not live on an island of bliss - climate change is also having an impact in Austria. In the east in particular, for example, there is less water regionally, but the water industry is responding to this and suppliers are joining forces to improve distribution." As a foodstuff, drinking water is subject to the strict specifications and limits of the Austrian Drinking Water Ordinance and is strictly monitored by independent bodies.

Farnleitner holds a double professorship at Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences and TU Vienna. He and his colleagues from the Inter-University Cooperation Centre Water & Health (ICC Water & Health), of which MedUni Vienna is also a member, play a leading role in various committees, for example at the International Water Association (IWA) or as experts at the WHO. Twenty years ago, the ICC Water & Health “developed organically - without a mandate - from an initial collaboration between myself and professor Regina Sommer from MedUni Vienna. ”That is the recipe for success," says Farnleitner, who is co-director of the cooperation centre. Otherwise, it would probably have to be invented as quickly as possible, because research is conducted here in an international network in order to sustainably safeguard drinking water, irrigation, bathing water, snowmaking etc.

Growing challenges

One example is the research cooperation with the City of Vienna which aims to shed light on four major shaping forces by 2029 in order to tackle them: global change, technology change, analysis change and regulation change. Global change encompasses more than just global warming. For example, it is also about new pathogens due to more travelling or more wastewater due to growing cities. The amount and distribution of drinking water is changing as the climate warms. There are more frequent extreme weather events that can jeopardise drinking water. Less water is less able to dilute any pollution. Dried-out (or even sealed) soil loses its ability to absorb and retain water. It filters less well - precipitation rushes through or simply runs off.

A molecule in a bathtub

How are climate warming, microplastics and persistent chemicals currently affecting drinking water? "The source protection areas are usually well-chosen to minimise human influence. Trace substances can now be measured very accurately. The fact that something is detectable in the 'picogram range' does not automatically mean that it poses a health risk. However, relevant substances must be identified and strictly regulated or banned. We also need to further research and prove the exact toxicological relevance of many substances," says Farnleitner. This is where the analytical change comes in, which ultimately involves selecting measurement methods that are stable, cost-efficient and comparable in practice.

The regulatory change takes the form of the "Water Safety Planning Strategy" of the WHO. Drinking water safety is defined as "from the catchment to the tap", i.e. from the catchment area to the tap along the entire "production chain". This must be planned, checked and managed. In addition, specifications and procedures are defined for drinking water hazards, such as flooding: "This planning is never complete; the process is constantly being improved step by step by experts". In principle, direct and ambitious health-related WHO targets now also apply. Put simply, for example, a maximum of one in 10,000 people per year may contract a faecal-borne infection from drinking water. Where the quality of drinking water is inadequate, disinfection or treatment is required by law. In view of the ongoing warming, it should also be noted that drinking water is a perishable good: "A well-matured groundwater resource has its own natural water microbiome. However, the warmer the water, the lower the so-called biostability. Odour or appearance can change, or even opportunistic pathogens can become prevalent."

Divided river water

From the recent analysis of the Danube recently carried out by Professor Alexander Kirschner from ICC Water & Health - from Ulm to the Black Sea - he reports that water quality has improved in all EU countries. However, Farnleitner's report on the situation in low-income countries (LINCs) is truly alarming. The UN has proclaimed goals for sustainable development by 2030, and the SDG6 "Clean water and sanitation" aims to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. These two areas are combined into one goal, as they are inconceivable without each other. "This goal will not be achieved in severely affected regions - six times more would have had to be done. Without sanitation, drinking water is contaminated, and without clean water for washing hands, faecal-borne diseases are unavoidable," says Farnleitner. In figures 2.2 billion people have no access to clean drinking water. That is 28 percent of the world's population. 3.4 billion people - or 43 percent - have no sanitation. 500 million people defecate in the fields, which contributes to two billion people suffering from worm infections.

What would be important from the perspective of the water expert, who has worked in Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia? "It's not about high technology, but about the targeted use of funds for infrastructure and information, especially maternal education. We have technology and knowledge - it's about a basic budget and consistent implementation. The more politically unstable the country and the more cramped the living conditions, for example in slums, the worse the water quality usually is."

The element of water has fascinated Andreas Farnleitner since childhood. The state-certified mountain guide grew up in the Wechsel-Semmering-Rax region, used to be an enthusiastic ice climber and cave explorer. Today he and his team at St Pölten University Hospital (Team Primaria Barbara Ströbele) in the comprehensive hygiene and microbiology training programme for students: "During my studies, I set the course to be able to make a difference in the field of water quality. I find it motivating and fascinating to be able to help and shape things - that's not something that can be taken for granted."

Text: Astrid Kuffner

The Online magazine ask - art & science krems provides insights into the lively cultural and research city of Krems. It raises awareness of the intellectual, scientific and artistic charisma of this place and thus anchors it more firmly in the consciousness of exponents and those interested in art and science. In addition, ask seeks out interfaces between the institutions that may not be obvious at first glance.

KL is a co-operation partner of the magazine and has contributed ideas for stories and portraits since the beginning.