Chairman
Prof. Dr. Holger V. Lutze, Technical University of Darmstadt

Over 100 scientists from Germany, Austria, England, the Netherlands, and Switzerland are involved in the Research Main Committee. They discuss current developments in water research and technologies in workshops, consolidate these findings, and examine their practical relevance. To meet the challenges in the water sector, it is important to develop pioneering technologies, methods, and models. A special focus here is on interdisciplinary approaches, as the topic of water touches on many different disciplines. The Research Main Committee is divided into 13 specialist committees.

The expert committees in the field of analytics deal with new methods for identifying new substances and expanding the analytical measurement window ( FA1 ), (eco)toxicological effects ( FA2 ), real-time measurements ( FA3 ) and tools for investigating environmental processes ( FA4 ).

In the area of emissions, Literature and transport of trace substances ( FA5 ), the behavior of polar low-molecular trace substances (e.g. persistence and (eco-) toxicology) ( FA6 ), formation, distribution and aging of microplastics ( FA7 ), substance emissions from modern building materials ( FA8 ) and the distribution and behavior of antibiotic-resistant bacteria ( FA9 ) are dealt with.

In the area of processes, the focus is on biological processes for pollutant degradation ( FA10 ), physical processes in the aquatic environment and in treatment (e.g. colloidal mass transport, sorption processes, filtration) ( FA11 ) as well as oxidative water treatment methods ( FA12 ).

The Water 4.0 and Climate Change Expert Committee ( FA13 ) represents a cross-cutting topic, integrating all three areas (analysis, emissions, and processes). This committee assesses the impacts of extreme events and future water management requirements (availability and quality of resources) on water supplies using digital images (e.g., virtual twins) in the areas of water extraction, treatment, and distribution. This will be used to derive action strategies to ensure a sufficient supply of high-quality drinking water in the future.

Rules of Procedure of the Committees (as of September 2016)