Assessing the impact of inland navigation on the faecal pollution status of large rivers
A novel integrated field approach.
Recent publication
ICC Water & Health has developed a method to estimate the contribution of ships to microbial faecal pollution of water bodies. The approach has been implemented on a 230 km stretch of the Austrian Danube and provides, for the first time, detailed information on the complex pollution characteristics associated with shipping. The approach integrates theoretical faecal pollution profiles, genetic and microbial analyses of the chemical-physical water quality at the selected river reaches, and integrated statistical analyses of the observed faecal pollution in relation to the number of vessels. The number of vessels was determined using satellite-based vessel tracking. The new innovative approach can be applied to any water body for which ship tracking data are available. The study was funded by the Lower Austrian Research Promotion Agency as part of the Future Danube project and by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF).
Steinbacher, SD, Ameen, A, Demeter, K, Lun, D, Derx, J, Lindner, G, Sommer, R, Linke, RB, Kolm, C, Zuser, K, Heckel, M, Perschl, A, Blöschl, G, Blaschke, AP, Kirschner, AKT & Farnleitner, AH 2024, 'Assessing the impact of inland navigation on the faecal pollution status of large rivers: A novel integrated field approach', Water Research, vol. 261, 122029, pp. 122029. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2024.122029
DI Sophia Steinbacher BSc
Scientific Staff (PreDoc)
Division of Water Quality and Health
DI Dr. Claudia Kolm Bakk
Scientific Staff (PostDoc)
Division of Water Quality and Health
Karen Zuser MSc
Head of labaratory, Works Council
Division of Water Quality and Health
Assoc. Prof. PD Mag. Dr. Alexander Kirschner
Scientific Staff (Sen. PostDoc)
Division of Water Quality and Health
Univ.-Prof. PD Dr. Andreas Farnleitner MSc
Head of
Division of Water Quality and Health
