Trainees in the focus of a national monitoring programme

Trainees from Eawag’s analytical and training laboratory assist in the analysis of a wide variety of water samples. A prominent example is the National River Monitoring and Survey Programme (NADUF). In a video, we take a look behind the scenes of the laboratory and show its role for the NADUF programme.

Manuel Koller 30.05.2023

The Aquatic Research Institute Eawag analyses water samples from Swiss rivers as part of the National River Monitoring and Survey Programme (NADUF) . The monitoring programme, which is carried out jointly with the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022. It has contributed significantly to the improved condition of water bodies today and will remain relevant in the future, for example to monitor the amount of nutrients in water bodies.

Eawag’s role

Eawag has been involved in the monitoring programme since it was launched in 1972. The institute is responsible for analysing the water samples and publishes the data publicly on an ongoing basis. The trainees in the analytical and training laboratory make a special contribution: as part of their training, they can contribute to the Federal assignment and analyse water samples every week. In the video, they explain how they go about it and what it means to them personally to be involved in such a programme.

NADUF in detail

Several articles were published last year on the occasion of the NADUF anniversary. These look back at the programme in detail and show in particular which measures have contributed to an improvement in water quality.

Water quality: half a century on the road to clean rivers (in German)

50 years of NADUF (in German)