Forum Alpbach - "Water, Origin of Life"

At the Alpbach Technology Symposium 2020 one focus was on water and health. Andreas Farnleitner and Regina Sommer shared their expertise in the top-class round.

Alpbach Technology Symposium 2020 organized by AIT ORF Ö1 and EFA. Foto: ecoplus

Lower Austria places water as the source of all life in the center of his Breakout Session. In the pandemic year 2020, the overriding theme is "Fundamentals". "Accordingly, we have placed one of mankind's greatest assets at the center of our virtual, interactive Breakout Session: water. A high-caliber panel discussion highlighted the various perspectives on the topic - as an ecosystem and habitat as well as an energy supplier, economic factor and from a health perspective," explained Technology State Councillor Jochen Danninger.

"In Austria we are used to having drinking water of excellent quality available at all times. From a global perspective, however, this is not a matter of course and that is why research in the field of water is so important. In Lower Austria we have with the water cluster Lunz a big 'natural laboratory', so to speak, in which three universities cooperate and - unique in Europe - do basic research on the ecosystem water", says Technology Councillor Jochen Danninger.

Biodiversity and nutrient supply in waters

The ecoplus breakout session looked at the current situation on the one hand and analyzed on the other hand which developments in the course of climate change and globalization are to be expected in the field of water. Martin Kainz researches at the water cluster Lunz the connections between biodiversity and nutrient supply in waters. Pollutants disturb the natural balance and can also have serious effects on humans. The research group concentrates mainly on lipids and which effects a deficiency supply has on the brain development of fish. This could provide indications that an incorrect diet could also promote neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's in humans.

Security management of water resources

When it comes to the relationship between water and health, the safety management of water resources is a top priority. ICC board member Andreas Farnleitner heads the Department of Water Quality and Health at the Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences. He provided information on the current state of research in microbiology. State-of-the-art technologies can not only track the traces of pathogens, but these methods can also be increasingly automated. Thus, a large amount of information is available to create the basis for a safe water supply worldwide.

UV disinfection of water

Water hygiene is also the focus of the work of ICC board member Regina Sommer, who heads the Department of Water Hygiene at the Medical University of Vienna. Her task is to protect people from infections caused by water. An effective method is the UV disinfection of water and here local know-how is leading worldwide.

Water and environmental sensor technology

This also applies to forward-looking sensor systems, such as those developed by Martin Brandl and his team at the Center for Water and Environmental Sensor Technology at the Danube University Krems. With so-called "smart sensors", many parameters that are important for a high-quality drinking water supply can be monitored simultaneously.

Modern technology for supply security

These modern technologies are also used by the water supplier EVN Wasser, whose infrastructure ensures security of supply for the whole of Lower Austria. "Climate change and urbanization present us with new challenges," says Managing Director Franz Dinhobl. Water is sufficiently available in Austria, but not distributed equally. Here a compensation must take place by the public supply.

Water is the origin of life

"There is hardly any other topic that is as important to humanity as the supply of drinking water. This year's ecoplus Breakout Session made it clear that technology and know-how from Lower Austria make an important contribution in this respect", says ecoplus Managing Director Helmut Miernicki.

The Alpbach Technology Talks are organized by AIT Austrian Institute of Technology and ORF Radio Österreich 1 in cooperation with the European Forum Alpbach.