NAVEBGO – Reduction of the input of biocides into the groundwater of the Upper Rhine
Good Practices Category
Good Practices Summary
The project aims to reduce the pollution of groundwater tables by biocides used in construction and also to understand the phenomena of infiltration into groundwater tables.
Mitigation
Mitigation of the risk of water contamination.
Replicability/Knowledge Transfer
The NAVEBGO project works on 3 different and interrelated approaches. The first approach is to understand how it will be possible to reduce biocides on buildings. The second approach consists in understanding the phenomena of water and pollutant infiltration into the water table in order to then be able to intervene on it. This approach is very interesting to transfer in the framework of adaptation to climate change through the increase of water quality and quantity. The third approach consists of discovering substitutes for current biocides.
Resources
The project was covered by the media in both France and Germany. Numerous publications have been published presenting the various developments within the project (https://www.navebgo.uni-freiburg.de/fr/relations-publiques). The project works closely with university students.
The project’s website is very comprehensive.
Target Audience
Policy Implications
Local authorities and local decision-makers are involved in the project in two ways: the first is the use of urban planning data for the study of the transfer of biocides to the water table. In addition, the project aims to know the different actors at city level who could act to reduce the use of biocides. An analysis of the socio-economic context will make it possible to identify the relevant actors in the 3 cities studied and their sensitivity to the structural precautions previously described, as well as to the risk of biocide release. In this way, the arguments in favour of an optimised architectural design with regard to the risk of biocide release will be collected and the feasibility of alternative strategies will be assessed. The differences in urban planning regulations between France and Germany pose particular challenges in terms of building law and land use requirements, providing urban planning actors with different steering instruments.
Social Dimension
The project will have an impact at the societal level through the securing of groundwater. However, the community is not directly involved in the project.
Innovation Type
Awareness, Methodology, Process, TechnologyInnovation
An important and so far completely unknown element will be to study the contribution of biocides transported in the particulate phase by sediments in the rainwater collection system.