Can sales of locally produced solar power be increased if households are allowed to trade it among themselves? The "Quartierstrom" research project in Walenstadt is testing the electricity market of the future for a year.
Editorial
-
July 11, 2019
If electricity is generated and distributed within the neighborhood, less has to be purchased from outside. (Image: ETH)
In December 2018, the starting signal was given for a solar power experiment that is unique in Switzerland: In the Schwemmiweg neighborhood in Walenstadt, 37 households have joined forces to form a local electricity market. Owners of photovoltaic systems can sell their self-generated electricity to their own neighbors, without going through the energy supplier. Households without solar systems can purchase clean electricity from close by. The price is determined by the participants themselves, via supply and demand.
If electricity is generated and distributed within the neighborhood, less has to be purchased from outside. And electricity trading between households offers other advantages: "For example, producers can achieve prices that are clearly above the grid feed-in tariff and thus amortize their systems more quickly," says Sandro Schopfer from ETH's Bits to Energy Lab. He heads the "Quartierstrom" project, which involves the University of St. Gallen and other partners as well as the local energy supplier, the Walenstadt Water and Electricity Works, which is making its distribution grid available for local trading during the pilot test. The Swiss Federal Office of Energy is supporting "Quartierstrom" as part of a pilot, demonstration and lighthouse program.
Incentive for private producers
The project is testing what the electricity market of the future could look like. This is because the energy transition is bringing with it an increasing decentralization of electricity production - away from centralized large-scale power plants and toward many small, often private producers. "Today, these hardly have any opportunities to freely market their electricity," says Schopfer. They usually have to sell surpluses to the energy supplier at the feed-in tariff, and the electricity flows into the public grid. The paradox: Physically, this electricity already ends up with the neighbor, since electrons always seek the shortest path. "But the market doesn't reflect that," Schopfer says. Involving private producers in trading could provide financial incentives and promote the sale of locally generated, clean energy.
The neighborhood electricity project is intended to show whether this is actually the case. Of the participants, 28 have their own solar power system, nine are pure consumers, including a retirement home. The systems supply around 300,000 kWh of electricity annually; the community's actual demand is around 250,000 kWh. Several battery storage units serve as buffers. Specially installed smart meters - a variant of the low-budget Raspberry Pi computer - continuously measure the production and consumption of individual households. Specially developed software installed on the devices handles trading directly on site. This is based on blockchain technology, which is used for tamper-proof transactions within networks.
Lucrative for both sides
In an app, participants set price limits: producers set their offer price, consumers set their purchase price. Every 15 minutes, an algorithm determines who can buy from whom. It pairs the cheapest supplier with the highest bidder. Those who cannot find a trading partner buy electricity from the utility at the local rate.
The prices of the neighborhood electricity market fluctuate with supply and demand. Experience so far shows that they settle between the feed-in tariff of 4 centimes and the utility's electricity price of 20.75 centimes per kWh. "This is lucrative for both producers and consumers," says ETH doctoral student Liliane Ableitner, who is studying user behavior and acceptance in the project. She is very pleased with user participation in trading. "Many log into the app more often than expected."
Although detailed results will not be available until the project is completed in January 2020, it is already apparent that trading is increasing self-consumption within the community. For example, in the first two weeks of February 2019, more than 80 percent of the solar power produced was consumed by the neighborhood itself. By comparison, without interconnection, an individual household can only use about 30 percent of its generated electricity itself.
Energy supplier as insurer
But despite the higher degree of self-sufficiency, the neighborhood is still dependent on the local energy supplier. The utility not only takes surplus electricity, it also supplies it when the sun is not shining and demand is high. "In this scenario, the energy supplier will take on the role of an insurer in the future," Ableitner says. She is convinced that the change in the electricity market cannot be stopped. Those responsible at the Walenstadt water and electricity utility, who have been recruited for the project, see it the same way. They hope to gain insights into new business models and to be involved in their development from the very beginning.
In a next step, the researchers will investigate how battery storage and flexibly deployable loads such as heat pumps or electric cars can be used to balance out production fluctuations. "This is much more feasible within a community than in an individual household," says Schopfer. Moreover, by storing surplus electricity on site and using it again later, the degree of self-sufficiency can be further increased. "Our goal is to have as little electricity as possible flowing out of the neighborhood."
This text is published in the current issue of the ETH magazine Globe published.
Switzerland adopts CO2 regulation for new vehicles
With the new target values, Switzerland is adopting the CO2 regulations of the European Union. With one important difference: Swiss importers are to achieve these targets on their own, whereas in the EU a fleet value per brand is formed across all member states.
Editorial
-
July 8, 2019
A Ferrari in front of the Château de Gilly, Gilly-lès-Cîteaux, France. In Switzerland, its CO2 consumption may be recycled differently. (Symbol image: unsplash)
With the new target values, Switzerland is adopting the CO2 regulations of the European Union. With one important difference: Swiss importers are to achieve these targets on their own, whereas in the EU a fleet value per brand is formed across all member states - even the non-EU countries Norway and Iceland can be counted. However, the local vehicle market is special due to its higher purchasing power and special topographical requirements. On average, new passenger cars in Switzerland have more power than in neighboring countries, and no EU member has a similarly high all-wheel drive market share.
This drives down the CO2-average and ensures that Switzerland even has a higher value than Germany (2017: CH 134.1g CO2/km; D 127.1g; EU 118.5g), it says on the page of www.auto.swiss
"Supercredits" for plug-in hybrids
In order to take these market-specific characteristics into account to some extent, the Federal Council has, as it did when introducing the limit value of 130g CO2/km for passenger cars in 2013 (see table). On the one hand, these regulate what proportion of an importer's vehicle fleet must reach the new target value in one year. This phasing-in procedure is called "phasing-in". Secondly, particularly efficient vehicles with a CO2-emissions of less than 50 grams per kilometer for several years. These factors, which mainly affect electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, are called "supercredits.
Phasing-in: proportion of the most efficient vehicles used to calculate the fleet average. Supercredits: Multiple credits for vehicles with a CO2-emissions of less than 50g/km to the fleet average.
Even if the Swiss phasing-in 2020 starts minimally lower than in the EU, the implementation modalities are far from sufficient to compensate for the market differences. As Switzerland is now at a higher level than EU countries, it will have to reduce CO2-emissions in the same period of time. With the same effort as in the EU, Switzerland will therefore not reach the average value of 95 grams until 2025.
Determination of limit values remains a challenge
Under the title "10/20" auto-schweiz is issuing an ambitious industry target for the electrification of motorized private transport. By 2020, every tenth new passenger car registered in Switzerland or Liechtenstein should be an electric car or plug-in hybrid. The target is extremely ambitious, given that the share of e-vehicles in 2018 was just 3.2 percent. Only by achieving this target, as well as growth in other alternative drive systems such as gas or hybrid cars, will it be possible to come close to meeting the CO2 limit of 95 grams per kilometer on average that will apply from 2020. However, a prerequisite for "10/20" is the creation of favorable framework conditions for electromobility, including a rapid and massive expansion of the publicly available charging and filling station infrastructure for alternative fuels.
The introduction of the new limit value for light commercial vehicles presents a particular challenge. Here, too, Switzerland finds itself in a special position, explains Andreas Burgener: "According to the figures for 2018, the Swiss fleet of vans and light semitrailers emitted an average of 183.3 grams of CO2 per kilometer, the highest value in Europe; the EU average was 158.1 grams. The difference is explained not least by the performance-based heavy vehicle fee LSVA, which favors transport with smaller, lighter vehicles over truck transport." Therefore, commercial vehicle regulations must take into account the Swiss situation, Burgener said. "High penalties for our customers are of no use, because otherwise, like cars, the vehicles will cross the border free of penalties and taxes even after six months." This would serve neither Swiss tax revenues nor the environment, he said.
Things are moving: How sustainability is finding its way into Swiss politics
Sustainability is increasingly being taken into account in Swiss politics, but certain hurdles continue to complicate the process. In June, an indirect counter-proposal to the Corporate Responsibility Initiative was approved by the National Council.
Sarah Blaser, öbu
-
July 3, 2019
The road to a successfully embedded and effective sustainability strategy in Swiss politics is still long. (Image: wikipedia)
Recently, the Corporate Responsibility Initiative (KoVI) and its counter-proposal have kept Swiss politicians, or rather parliamentarians in Bern, very busy. After a five-hour discussion on numerous abuses caused by Swiss companies and their subsidiaries abroad (poisoning by pesticides, child labor, deforestation, etc.), the National Council again came out in favor of an indirect counter-proposal on June 13 (109 votes against 69 with 7 abstentions).
For a year now, parliamentarians have been juggling the initiative and its counter-proposal, which was rejected by the Council of States in March. This time, however, the SVP and FDP did not express a clear majority rejection, which led to the endorsement. As a supporter of the counter-proposal, öbu, the Association for Sustainable Business, welcomes this decision.
The corporate responsibility initiative not going far enough?
The social and ecological responsibility of companies should be regulated by law. The Swiss population would also support the regulation of corporate activities, shows a study by the ETH. However, implementation at the national level is problematic. Such a decision could lead to a disadvantage of the Swiss economy, claim the opponents of the initiative. Therefore, until now, an agreement of the National Council with the Council of States still seems difficult.
The supporters of the counter-proposal are divided into two camps: Those who advocate strict liability rules (SP, Greens, EVP) and those who find the counter-proposal too extreme, although they consider rules sensible (CVP, GLP, BDP). The indirect counter-proposal is rejected by some parties because it would directly affect the competitiveness of Swiss companies and jobs, such as the SVP and FDP.
After the 2019 summer session of the federal councils, it is the turn of the Council of States again: in the fall of 2019, it will once again decide on the indirect counterproposal.
Federal Law on Public Procurement
A fresh wind is also blowing in another area: on June 21, Parliament passed the Federal Law on Public Procurement (BöB). This step is the result of a revision process initiated over many years by a coalition of NGOs (including Public Eye, Bread for All, Helvetas, Swiss Fair Trade, etc.).
As a major consumer, the public sector is required to contribute to sustainable development, since the Confederation, cantons and municipalities spend 40 billion Swiss francs annually on goods produced abroad. In order to serve as a role model through its consumption behavior, the federal government is legally obligated after the revision through valid articles of purpose to make procurements that are environmentally friendly, socially responsible and compatible with health.
However, the parliament has also added another criterion to the law, which requires the consideration of different price levels in the production countries. Some NGOs, including Public Eye, now fear that this would mean sacrificing sustainability for competitiveness, as favorable production processes would often lead to poor working conditions and environmentally harmful activities.
What next?
The road to a successfully embedded and effective sustainability strategy in Swiss politics is still long - be it on the side of BöB or the counter-proposal to KoVI. Nevertheless, measures are being taken. Keep it up, says öbu! We support the counter-proposal to the Corporate Responsibility Initiative.
The Working Group "Sustainable Supply Chain" has been launched by öbu in cooperation with Global Compact Network Switzerland to disseminate knowledge and awareness on, among other things, human rights protection in the supply chain. If you are a manufacturing company and want to work in a closed group with like-minded people to improve sustainability in your supply chains, please contact weiss@oebu.ch
Preview of the anniversary event of the Forum ö 2019
Forum ö celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2019. This year's theme revolves around "Entrepreneurial Sustainability", the guiding theme is "People as Bridge Builders" and takes into account experienced movers and shakers from the business world.
mm
-
July 3, 2019
At Forum ö, there is always plenty to talk about and controversy surrounding the topic of the environment in business, but also lighthouse projects. (Image: Michael Vanek)
Forum ö celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2019. "Reason to celebrate - and for a look back. Just as much as for a look into the future," says the site of our media partner öbu. The world is spinning faster and faster. The rifts are getting deeper in "a world marked by uncertainties everywhere. Cynical and condemning voices are booming in times of these rifts. Negative images of the future and paralysis, however, do not help us to shape the urgently needed entrepreneurial future in Switzerland.
In the meantime, however, Swiss movers and shakers, including many politicians, have recognized that the once divergent fields of the environment and business do indeed make good partners. The Forum ö 2019 offers space, impulses and reflections on sustainable and entrepreneurial action. It brings together a community of people to highlight opportunities for people and businesses - beyond rifts and fears.
It is high time to courageously build bridges and get into action. Between öbu members and beyond.
First details about the program
Among other things, you can expect exciting keynotes, talks and panel discussions as well as inspiring "break-out" sessions by and with experts from die Mobiliar, Eberhard Unternehmungen, Swisscom, sustainserv, collaboratio helvetica, engageability and many more.
öbu is currently still in contact with many European lateral and forward thinkers - therefore the list of participating persons and organizations will be extended.
More details will follow shortly.
The anniversary event
Takes place at the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute in Rüschlikon.
Smart cities in Switzerland: a wide range of activities according to start-up themes
First conceived in the metropolises, there are also more and more smart cities in Switzerland. However, where do Swiss cities and municipalities stand on the way to becoming smart cities today? And which actors play which roles in this process? The stakeholder analysis "Smart City Switzerland" contributes to clarifying these questions.
Editorial
-
July 1, 2019
Cities around the world are facing ever greater and more diverse challenges, and major Swiss cities are feeling it too. (Symbol image: Unsplash)
The analysis on Smart Swiss Cities was commissioned by asut - Swiss Association of Telecommunications, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (with the Smart City Switzerland program), the Swiss Association of Cities and the Smart City Hub. The study was prepared by AWK Group in collaboration with the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW).
From strategy to local implementation
By international standards, the smart city movement in Switzerland got off to a rather slow start. However, one-third of the cities and municipalities that participated in the study now have a smart city strategy. Another third is currently in the process of developing a strategy. A good third of the companies also have a smart city strategy, although only around another ten percent are planning one.
When asked in which areas products and services already exist, there are notable differences: The most widespread products and services are in the areas of "Smart Environment," "Smart Government" and "Smart Mobility"; a good 50 percent of the responding cities and municipalities have (pilot) projects in these areas. Products and services in the areas of smart economy, smart people and smart living are less widespread.
Almost two-thirds of the cities and municipalities state that they have a budget for smart city products or services or have planned one. This suggests that the number and range of smart city projects will continue to increase. In cities and municipalities, 80 percent of smart city projects are locally oriented. On the other hand, such products and services for companies.
Cities around the world are facing ever greater and more diverse challenges. The public sector hopes that digital technologies will help improve the quality of life for the population, conserve resources, simplify procedures and make processes more efficient.
Networking as a success factor (silo thinking a hindrance)
What are important success factors on the way to a smart city? It is clear from both the survey and the expert interviews that networking within and outside the city or municipality, suitable platforms for data exchange and a corresponding strategy, as well as political support, are particularly important. Furthermore, experience from Germany and abroad shows that the involvement of the population is crucial for the success of smart city activities.
The "silo thinking" within the administration and the tendency toward isolated solutions or missing interfaces were identified as hurdles that slow down the implementation of smart city projects.
The stakeholders and those interested in smart cities attach great importance to IT security. This is thus becoming a key competence in the further development of Smart City in Switzerland.
Strengthen cooperation under different auspices
The results of the stakeholder analysis "Smart City Switzerland" show the high importance of platforms and initiatives that promote exchange among stakeholders. A number of cities and municipalities also cultivate this exchange internationally. The clients also promote cooperation and networking among the stakeholders.
Innovative forms of collaboration between the various stakeholders should be sought, as should simple platforms for the exchange of experience. Sometimes a challenge lies in "coopetition," i.e., collaboration between partners who are also competitors.
The evaluations of the stakeholder analysis "Smart City Switzerland" as well as the summarizing report can be here be downloaded
Climate change will also affect waterbodies and aquatic ecosystems in Switzerland. The extent to which this will be the case has now been outlined by Eawag researchers in a synthesis report commissioned by FOEN. Overall, it will be possible to maintain high water quality in Switzerland in the future through management and adaptation.
Editorial
-
June 27, 2019
Warm temperatures not only attract invasive species, there is also a shift in habitats to higher elevations, says a new study. (Image: eawag)
For example, better nutrient management in watersheds can partially offset critical impacts on lakes, such as reduced oxygen concentrations in deeper layers or cyanobacterial blooms in late summer.
Rising water temperatures?
Similarly, pollution peaks, such as overflows from wastewater treatment plants during flood events or pesticides in agricultural watersheds, can be prevented by reducing inputs and improving wastewater and effluent management. However, some changes in water quality, such as rising water temperatures or seasonal shifts in river flow regimes, cannot be prevented even through management.
In addition, many impacts of climate change on water bodies will be indirect, for example, through changes in land use patterns, which will then affect water quality.
Compared to effects on water quality, changes in aquatic ecology are more likely to occur and less likely to be mitigated. These include, for example, the spread of invasive species and species adapted to warm temperatures, a shift of habitats to higher elevations, and increased fish mortality from heat waves.
The study by Benateau, S.; Gaudard, A.; Stamm, C.; Altermatt, F. Originated 2019 on behalf of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment within the NCCS thematic focus.
"Hydrological Basis for Climate Change" (Hydro2020).
Swico Managing Director nominated for the National Council
On June 25, Swico's new CEO, Judith Bellaiche, was nominated by her party as a candidate for the National Council. With her election, Swico would have a strong representation in the Federal Parliament, which consistently supports the concerns of the ICT industry.
Editorial
-
June 27, 2019
Judith Bellaiche, managing director of Swico. (Image zVg)
Judith Bellaiche starts from the hopeful position 5 on the list of the Green Liberal Party of the Canton of Zurich. She has been a member of the Zurich Cantonal Council for more than eight years and, as an economic politician, consistently advocates
innovation and digitization. Thanks to her clear positioning as a progressive, pro-business and pro-environment representative of the political center and her convincing results from the last elections, she is considered to have intact electoral chances.
With her election, Swico would have a strong representative in the Federal Parliament, who consistently supports the concerns of the ICT industry. President Andreas Knöpfli is pleased with the nomination: "I support the political commitment of our CEO and hope for a positive election result. We can make good use of the reinforcement in Bern."
Judith Bellaiche succeeded Jean-Marc Hensch at Swico in May and has since acted with great commitment to the further development of the association. On her political goals, she says:
"Digitization needs a permanent place on the political agenda. I want to advocate for progressive framework conditions - this is about our innovation location! Our successful recycling system for digital devices is also very close to my heart and I want to promote and defend self-responsibility and voluntarism."
The National Council elections will be held on October 20, 2019.
Arthur Braunschweig, Managing Partner of E2 Management Consulting AG, is the new President of öbu, the association for sustainable business. The vice presidency is held by Anne Wolf, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Swiss Post.
Editorial
-
June 27, 2019
Prof. Arthur Braunschweig is the new öbu president. (Image: zVg)
Arthur Braunschweig takes over from Ruth E. Blumer Lahner, Head Regulatory Affairs, Sustainability and SHEQ at Kolb Group. Ruth Blumer Lahner, as the previous öbu Vice President, initially took over the presidency ad-interim and then formally in January 2019 when Christian Hunziker resigned for health reasons.
Both have played a key role in shaping the association and the development of a sustainable economy in Switzerland.
öbu general meeting
At this year's general meeting of öbu, the association for sustainable business, Olmar Albers, Managing Director at öbu, gave an insight into the association's ongoing strategy process. In addition to new forms of financing, the focus will increasingly be on cooperation and member engagement as well as the implementation of sustainable management in the company.
In addition to the strategic transformation, there are also personnel changes. The newly appointed presidium of the association introduced itself to the company representatives present at the general meeting. öbu President Dr. Arthur Braunschweig, Managing Partner of E2 Management Consulting AG, helped establish the association in 1989 as Managing Director and has been on the board since 1999. He sees great potential in öbu as a platform where companies can jointly test out novel approaches, from new working and business models to sustainable supply chains - all in the interests of the future viability of companies. Anne Wolf, öbu's new vice president, reported on Swiss Post's materiality analysis and the valuable lessons learned when considering the relevance of sustainable development issues.
The general meeting was followed by a stimulating presentation by Christian Felber, economic reformer and initiator of the common good economy, on the question of whether we are not measuring economic performance incorrectly with financial data. The common good economy proposes to focus on the effects on people and society, such as satisfaction, security, etc., as indicators for the actual goals of economic activity as well. Financial things should thus be seen as a means and not as an end.
At a workshop with interested companies in the fall of 2019, the preparation of a common good balance sheet based on these principles will be elaborated. Further information will follow on www.oebu.ch
Federal Councillor Sommaruga: "A climate-neutral energy supply can only be achieved together with the economy".
Federal Councillor Simonetta Sommaruga emphasized the importance of innovative companies and technologies for climate protection at the summer event of the swisscleantech business association at the Rapperswil University of Applied Sciences. She praised swisscleantech as an important player in the phase-out of fossil energies.
Editorial
-
June 25 2019
In her speech at the HSR, the head of the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy commented on the role of environmental associations. (Image: swisscleantech)
By 2050, the energy supply must be completely converted to renewable energies so that Switzerland becomes climate-neutral. The necessary technologies are being developed at the HSR University of Applied Sciences Rapperswil. During her appearance at the swisscleantech members' event, Federal Councillor Simonetta Sommaruga also visited the power-to-gas plant. HSR is driving this key technology for a CO2-neutral energy supply forward with research projects. It allows surplus renewable electricity to be stored in the long term and to replace fossil energy sources.
In her speech, the head of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications commented on the role of business and the swisscleantech association in climate protection.
"swisscleantech has been campaigning for a climate-neutral energy supply for ten years. The trade association thus plays a central role in Switzerland in achieving the necessary phase-out of fossil energies. This change can only succeed together with the business community. As a location for innovation, Switzerland is in a very good position here," said Federal Councilor Sommaruga.
Entrepreneurs for ambitious climate protection
The call for ambitious climate protection has also reached the Swiss business community. This is shown by the growing number of members who support swisscleantech.
"Since the beginning of the year, we have been able to recruit over 70 companies from a wide range of industries as members. More and more entrepreneurs are realizing that now is the time to act. In the face of the challenge of climate change, entrepreneurial innovation plays a central role, bringing with it many economic opportunities. However, this requires the right political framework conditions. Since its foundation ten years ago, swisscleantech has been working to achieve precisely this," says Fabian Etter, Vice President of swisscleantech and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Elektro Etter AG.
Swiss research for ambitious climate protection
At HSR, more than 100 scientists in four institutes are conducting intensive research into a sustainable future in the fields of energy and environmental technology. HSR has very strong national and international networks and works closely with business and industry as well as other research institutions.
"Two thirds of Swiss energy consumption is based on fossil sources and causes CO2 emissions. Many implementation questions arise in the changeover to a fossil-free energy supply. HSR's applied research and development provided concrete answers to these. Moreover, the transformation will only succeed if a sufficient number of well-trained specialists are available. HSR was the first university of applied sciences in Switzerland to establish a degree program in Renewable Energies and Environmental Engineering and has been training young engineers for the energy transition since 2010," says Henrik Nordborg, head of the Renewable Energies and Environmental Engineering program at HSR.
The trophic status of 163 small lakes in Switzerland was assessed according to the guidelines for watercourse assessment of the German Länderarbeitsgemeinschaft (LAWA) and presented for the first time in overview form. Despite successful remediation in many places, more than 50% of the small lakes studied at colline altitude are still in an inadequate trophic state.
What importance do you attach to small lakes? In Switzerland, there are about 1600 lakes with a minimum area of 0.5 hectares. About 1500 of these lakes are smaller than 50 hectares. These water bodies, referred to as small lakes in this report, show a high diversity both in terms of their formation and their use. Many small lakes, such as dead lakes, moraine reservoirs, and sinkholes, were formed naturally. Artificially created small lakes, such as peat ponds, impoundment ponds, and dredge lakes, are equally diverse. The small lakes are used by man in very different ways, e.g. for recreation, fishing, flood retention basins, power generation.
All these small lakes also form an important habitat for partly endangered animal and plant species. Although the water surface area of all small lakes is only about 3% of the water surface area of all Swiss lakes, they harbor about 50% of the species of aquatic snails, aquatic beetles, aquatic plants and dragonflies found in Switzerland and about 80% of the species of amphibians found in Switzerland [1] - they are an absolute hotspot for biodiversity.
Knowledge about the condition of small lakes is important in order to preserve these valuable habitats, to protect them in a targeted manner and to ensure the diverse use of these lakes in the long term. However, there is no nationwide overview of their condition yet, because uniform assessment methods are lacking and the data situation is very heterogeneous due to the different monitoring practices in the individual cantons.
In order to nevertheless provide an overview, an assessment of the small Swiss lakes studied was carried out in accordance with the guidelines "Gewässerbewertung - stehende Gewässer" (Water assessment - standing waters) of the German Länderarbeitsgemeinschaft (LAWA) [2-5]. For this purpose, all cantonally available data on the trophic status of the small lakes were compiled, summarized and, if sufficient data were available, evaluated using these guidelines [6].
Valuation record
The assessment of a standing water body according to the LAWA approach is basically based on the actual trophic level and the reference trophic level to be defined for the specific water body, in which the water body would be under natural or near-natural conditions. The reference trophic level takes into account the individual characteristics of the water body and its catchment area and can be determined individually for each lake from the morphometric conditions or the potential natural nutrient input from the catchment area. The measure of assessment is the deviation of the actual trophic level from the reference trophic level [2]. By trophicity is meant the intensity of organic photoautotrophic production, which is strongly dependent on the available nutrient supply.
With this approach, the achievement of the quality objectives listed in the GSchV (no unnaturally high production of biomass), which is the legal basis for monitoring small lakes, can be checked directly. It can be assumed that a deviation of the actual trophic level from the reference trophic level influences the occurrence of sensitive animals and plants and thus has far-reaching consequences for the functioning of the ecosystem. Therefore, this approach can also be used indirectly to check compliance with the requirements of the Water Protection Ordinance (no impairment of the reproduction, development and health of sensitive plants, animals and microorganisms; natural conditions).
Determination of the actual trophy
The determination of the trophic actual state is based on a data set to be collected according to defined specifications, which includes phosphorus concentrations, chlorophyll-a contents (Chla) as well as visual depths.
The actual trophic level was taken from existing studies and cantonal technical reports due to a lack of a uniform data set of the required parameters. The classification of the actual trophic level was done in 4 steps:
oligotrophic
weakly productive
mesotrophic
Moderately productive
eutrophic
Highly productive
Highly eutrophic
Very high productive
The reference trophicity can be determined on the one hand from the morphometric conditions of the lakes, such as basin shape and depth or the stratification behavior, and on the other hand from the potential natural phosphorus input from the catchment area. A comparison of the results from the two independent reference approaches allows a plausibility check of the determined reference trophies.
In the present evaluations, the reference trophic level was determined solely on the basis of morphometry due to the lack of the necessary data. The basis for this is a statistical relationship between trophic parameters such as Chla concentrations, visible depth and total phosphorus concentration and factors characterizing the basin shape of a lake such as volume, surface area, maximum depth, length and width. This statistical relationship is based on current measured data on 108 glacially formed lakes in Germany, which was calibrated with data on 51 glacial lakes in natural state in Belarus [2].
Evaluation
The measure for the assessment is the deviation of the actual state from the reference state. Based on the available data, the assessment is presented in 3 stages in deviation from the LAWA guideline:
good
Actual trophic equal or
better than reference trophy
moderate
Actual trophic level is at most one level worse than reference trophic level
unsatisfactory
Actual trophic level is more than one level worse than reference trophic level
Small lakes for which the reference trophic level could not be determined due to insufficient morphometric data were not assessed. For these small lakes only a trophic classification is available. This concerns all artificial and some alpine and subalpine small lakes.
CONDITION OF THE SMALL LAKES
Information on the trophic situation is available for 163 small lakes. The studied small lakes are distributed over all altitudinal levels from colline to alpine. The proportion of studied lakes with information on the trophic situation ranges from 14 to 18% in the colline, montane and subalpine altitudinal zones, and from 6% in the alpine altitudinal zone. Alpine lakes are relatively underrepresented in the studied sample, but overall a good sample size is achieved at all altitudinal levels.
In order to provide an overview of the condition of the Swiss small lakes and to be able to discuss the results in context, the lakes were divided into different categories. The grouping took into account factors influencing the trophic situation, such as the origin, altitude and stratification behavior of the small lakes.
First of all, the lakes were grouped into natural and artificial lakes on the basis of their formation. This seems appropriate, since the assessment approach according to the LAWA Guideline is based on a comparison of the actual state with a near-natural reference state, which has yet to be defined for artificial small lakes. Therefore, only a trophic classification was carried out for the artificial lakes, but no actual assessment according to the LAWA Guideline. The status of the small lakes is therefore presented below separately according to natural and artificial small lakes.
As a second criterion, the altitude was used for grouping. On the one hand, this is considered an indication of the anthropogenic load from the catchment area of the lakes, since the settlement density and the share as well as the intensity of agriculture decrease with increasing altitude. On the other hand, this classification also takes into account the climatic conditions relevant for primary production. The altitude classification was made according to geobotanical criteria in four altitude levels. The division into altitude levels allows statements to be made about lakes with comparable stress situations.
Altitude level
Altitude
[m a.s.l.]
Share
Agricultural land %
Share
Settlement area %
collin
< 700
49
18
montan
700-1200
44
4
subalpine
1200-1900
18
1
alpine
> 1900
1
0
The stratification behavior served as a third criterion for the grouping. A distinction was made between unstratified and stratified small lakes. In contrast to stratified lakes, in shallow unstratified lakes the nutrients released in the water or sediment after decomposition of the biomass are immediately available again for algal growth. The trophic situation of lakes is thus significantly influenced and is also an important parameter for determining the actual and reference trophicity according to the LAWA guideline.
Natural small lakes
Actual state
As a rule, small lakes at lower elevations are more nutrient-rich and more likely to be in insufficient trophic condition than small lakes at higher elevations. For example, 21 of 36 colline small lakes surveyed (60%) are in insufficient condition. At all elevations, unstratified small lakes are generally rated better than stratified ones because they tend to naturally have higher trophic levels than stratified ones due to their morphometry (polymixy, high self-fertilization).
The unsatisfactory condition of colline small lakes can be attributed to one or more causes. 80% of the small lakes in moderate and unsatisfactory condition are located in catchments with intensive agricultural use. Impairments due to this intensive agricultural use in the watershed likely play the major role in their unsatisfactory condition. Nutrients enter the water bodies on the one hand through fertilization of the agricultural areas, some of which are directly adjacent to the shore, and the resulting surface nutrient runoff, and on the other hand via drainage discharges. Many small lakes were lowered during World War II, and the surrounding boggy areas were drained and made usable for agriculture. The peat is decomposed by the influx of air. The released nutrients are also transported to the lakes via drainages.
In some small lakes, nutrients still enter via urban drainage, e.g. through discharges from flood spillways or meteoric water or, in individual cases, from households not connected to a wastewater treatment plant. Investigations of nine small colline lakes in the canton of Bern indicate both nutrient loads from agriculture and inputs from domestic sewage, which are cited as reasons for their inadequate condition [7].
However, these nutrient inputs from point sources are usually of minor importance. In most cases, they are diffuse inputs from agriculture. This could be shown by means of a substance flow analysis, for example, at Lake Inkwil (BE/SO) [8]. The diffuse inputs, with a share of 91 to 98% for phosphorus and nitrogen, respectively, were far above the inputs from point sources (stormwater discharges, meteoric discharges). Inputs from cropland were found to be the most significant sources of nutrients.
A dominance of nutrient inputs from agriculture is likely to occur in many small lakes of the Central Plateau, which have a high proportion of intensive agriculture. Significant nutrient inputs from point sources of urban drainage are usually of minor importance, according to the assessment of cantonal agencies.
The considerable share of 40% of the small lakes in the subalpine area, which are in insufficient condition, is striking. It is likely that alpine farming, which accounts for up to 60% of the catchment area use in some lakes, is of great importance for their insufficient trophic condition. The proximity of alpine pastures to the water body or use as a cattle watering place is also likely to cause significant eutrophication, particularly of small subalpine lakes. Furthermore, discharges from individual farms or businesses that are not treated or are insufficiently treated in terms of wastewater technology can impair the trophic conditions in the lake.
Virtually all of the studied subalpine small lakes in insufficient condition are located in karst areas. Due to the special hydrological conditions, even low nutrient loads can have a major negative impact on their trophic situation. The extent to which high lake level fluctuations of some subalpine lakes used for energy production affect the trophic level remains to be investigated. The exact causes of the impairments must be determined on a case-by-case and lake-specific basis.
The small alpine lakes assessed are in good condition.
State development
Long-term studies of 27 small lakes where remediation measures were carried out show that targeted measures outside the lake (remediation of urban drainage, extensification of agriculture, creation of buffer zones) and within the lake (deep water drainage, circulation support) have restored about one third of the lakes to their natural state and they are currently in good condition.
Successful off-lake remediation measures included the rehabilitation of urban drainage, the extensification of agricultural land, especially on areas close to the watercourse, the creation of buffer zones, especially on slopes, and adapted fertilization practices. In-lake measures such as deep water drainage and circulation support were particularly successful in combination with out-of-lake measures. It has been shown that the measures must be individually adapted and applied to each water body in order to achieve restoration success.
However, about two thirds of the small lakes are still in an insufficient condition despite remediation measures. Phosphorus re-dissolution from the sediments under oxygen-free conditions, which causes high self-fertilization from sediments polluted over decades, is one reason for this situation. This is especially important in unstratified small lakes.
Only one out of five unstratified small lakes has reached a good condition thanks to rehabilitation measures. This proportion is twice as high for the stratified small lakes.
The long-term studies also show that remediation measures must be implemented over a long period of time until equilibrium and a stable new improved condition are established. The amount of algae in a lake reacts with a delay to the external nutrient decline due to phosphorus re-dissolution from the sediments or internal lake fertilization.
Another reason for the still insufficient condition of the small lakes studied over many years is still the too high external nutrient load from the catchment area mainly due to agriculture and partly due to urban drainage.
To further improve the condition of small lakes in Switzerland, measures must be implemented primarily in the area of agriculture through extensification, reduction of livestock, creation of buffer strips and erosion control measures. In individual cases, measures in the area of urban drainage, e.g. keeping away flood spillways, are likely to be necessary. In addition, measures already taken must continue to be maintained even if improvements are not yet apparent.
Artificial small lakes
The 61 artificial small lakes studied show a great diversity of trophic levels, depending both on their history of formation and on the type and intensity of use. The small lakes at lower elevations are more frequently rich in nutrients compared to those at higher elevations, which is probably due to the greater anthropogenic load from intensive agriculture and urban drainage at low elevations [6].
Most of the 61 small artificial lakes studied could not be assessed according to the LAWA guidelines due to a reference trophic level that could not be determined, which is why this article does not discuss the condition of the small artificial lakes in more detail.
Conclusion and outlook
Of the approximately 1500 small lakes in Switzerland, 163 have so far been examined for their trophic condition.
The comparison of water body type-specific trophic actual condition and trophic reference condition was considered a suitable approach for a uniform assessment of natural small lakes throughout Switzerland, as it allows the achievement of the legal objectives and compliance with the requirements to be verified.
Half of the natural small lakes in the Central Plateau are in an inadequate condition. The cause of the inadequate condition of many lakes on the Central Plateau is the excessively high nutrient load from intensive agriculture. In the case of subalpine lakes, about one third of the lakes are in an unsatisfactory condition, whereby this can be explained by impairments from both alpine farming in the catchment area and discharges from individual farms and businesses. Small alpine lakes are generally in good condition.
Results from long-term studies of small natural lakes show that, with suitable measures outside the lake in the areas of agriculture and urban drainage, improvements can be achieved even in catchments that are heavily used for anthropogenic purposes, and that it is possible to achieve a near-natural status. The combination of lake-external and lake-internal measures to achieve good status has proven successful in practice. However, long-term studies also show that many small lakes are still in an inadequate condition despite the remediation measures that have been implemented.
Further measures to reduce nutrient pollution, particularly in the agricultural sector, are necessary to further improve the condition of the small lakes and thus ensure their long-term function as valuable habitats and recreational areas.
[1] Oertli, B. (2000): Diversité biologique et typologie écologique des étangs et petits lacs de Suisse. Federal Office for the Environment, Bern et Laboratoire d'Écologie et de Biologie Aquatique, Université de Genève [2] LAWA (Länderarbeitsgemeinschaft Wasser) (1998): Gewässerbewertung - stehende Gewässer. Preliminary guideline for an initial assessment of naturally occurring lakes according to trophic criteria, Berlin. [3] LAWA (Länderarbeitsgemeinschaft Wasser) (2001): Preliminary Guideline for the Trophic Classification of Dams, Berlin. [4] LAWA (Länderarbeitsgemeinschaft Wasser) (2003): Preliminary guideline for an initial assessment of dredged lakes according to trophic criteria, Berlin. [5] LAWA (Länderarbeitsgemeinschaft Wasser) (2014): Guideline for the determination of the trophic index according to LAWA for natural lakes, dredged lakes, dams and reservoirs, Berlin. [6] Binderheim, E. (2018): Status report of Swiss small lakes. Report for the attention of the Federal Office for the Environment, Bern. [7] Guthruf-Seiler, K. et al. (2015): State of the small lakes. Office for Water and Waste of the Canton of Bern, Bern. [8] Fankhauser, R. (2018): Nutrient inputs across the catchment area of Lake Inkwil. Report for the attention of the Office for the Environment, Canton Solothurn.
Dispute barometer: How Switzerland disputes
The Touring Club Switzerland launches the first Swiss dispute barometer. The large-scale TCS legal protection study provides answers to what Mr. and Mrs. Swiss argue about, where in Switzerland the biggest disputants live and how differently men and women argue. In its first edition, the dispute barometer reflects dispute behavior in the area of traffic law.
Editorial
-
20 June 2019
If the frequency of disputes around mobility with vehicles is examined by age group, it becomes clear that this decreases with increasing age. (Symbol image: Unsplash)
Following the already well-known travel barometer, TCS is now publishing its dispute barometer for the first time. With the first survey of this kind in Switzerland, the largest mobility club in Switzerland underlines its many years of experience in the field of legal protection. The evaluations of the 1st dispute barometer are based on the TCS portfolio in traffic legal protection with around 263,000 policies. The data collected is based on TCS legal protection cases opened or closed in 2018.
(Source: TCS)
Zurich and Geneva are the biggest disputants
In the Zurich and Geneva regions, almost four out of every hundred people have a legal dispute every year as a result of an incident on the road or in connection with their vehicle. Compared with the other five major Swiss regions, the frequency in the two metropolitan areas is around 50 percent higher. Disputes in the area of traffic rule violations occur almost twice as frequently among Zurich residents as in the Espace Mittelland or Ticino.
Older people argue less, men twice as often, women longer
If we look at the frequency of disputes relating to mobility with vehicles by age group, we see that this clearly decreases with increasing age. The age group of 18 to 35-year-olds, for example, is involved in legal disputes almost twice as often as the age group of over 66, with around four disputes per hundred people.
The gender analysis shows that men are responsible for two-thirds of all disputes. Accordingly, they argue twice as often as women. The discrepancy is particularly large in the case of traffic violations and traffic accidents; women are responsible for only ¼ of these disputes, while men account for the lion's share of 75 percent. Similarly, men's disputes cost an average of 25 percent more. Women, on the other hand, argue longer. On average, a legal dispute lasts almost a month longer for women than for men.
The first TCS dispute barometer on traffic legal protection can be downloaded at www.tcs.ch can be downloaded. Further dispute barometers with a focus on building legal protection and private legal protection will follow.
The PPP model is established; now Smart City wants to drive cities forward
The PPP model for public-private partnerships is now well established in Switzerland and is increasingly being used for smart city projects. The Smart City approach, which shares many similarities with the PPP model, aims to make cities more efficient, technologically advanced, greener and socially inclusive.
Editorial
-
20 June 2019
In the city of Zurich, an automatic bike rental system is in operation on a PPP model. The Postbus subsidiary "PubliBike" is the private partner responsible for planning, setting up, operating and financing the more than 150 stations. "Züri Velo" was launched on April 6, 2018; by summer 2019, its rental network should be fully operational with a total of 2,250 bicycles, half of which are e-bikes and half conventionally powered bicycles. (Image: PubliBike)
Lorenz Bösch, President of the PPP Switzerland Association, emphasized at the General Assembly in Bern that the PPP model is now well established in Switzerland and is increasingly being considered for larger projects and tasks. The association's publications and events in recent years have made a significant contribution to this.
Standardization of the PPP model has become firmly established in some areas. The association's efforts have helped to ensure that core elements of the PPP model have been incorporated and established as binding specifications by the federal government, the federal procurement conference and many other administrations.
The knowledge gained with the support of many experts is publicly accessible. The association has thus largely achieved the goals it set itself and will cease its activities at the end of the month.
Smart City - means what exactly?
With a last public information event on the topic of "Smart City", the association PPP Switzerland, founded in 2006, ended its activities. The association had set itself the goal of anchoring the new model of public-private partnerships for the fulfillment of public tasks in Switzerland and promoting its standardization. The Smart City theme, which is also based on partnerships, aims to achieve ecological, economic and social sustainability, particularly in cities, and has many similarities with the association's previous efforts. According to current projections, Switzerland will have around ten million inhabitants in 2045 - the majority of them in large cities.
Smart City is a collective term for holistic development concepts that aim to make cities more efficient, technologically advanced, greener and socially inclusive. These concepts include technical, economic and social innovations.
According to Dr. Christian Geiger, President of the Smart City Hub Switzerland association, precautions are needed to maintain the quality of life and location in Switzerland. He is convinced that this is only possible in partnership between society, politics, administration and business.
New impetus for cities and more quality of life and location
Smart City Hub Switzerland was founded in summer 2018 by the cities of St. Gallen, Winterthur, Zug and Zurich together with SBB, Swisscom and Swiss Post. Other cities have become members in recent months, including Basel, Wil SG, Ittigen, Aarau, Lenzburg, Lucerne and Schaffhausen. Others are to follow, including cities from French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino. The association aims to promote the topic of smart cities throughout Switzerland with concrete projects. A central task of the Smart City Hub Switzerland is also to support its members in the implementation of public and private projects.
Philippe Stadler Benz, interim head of the Smart City program at SBB, emphasized that SBB can make a significant contribution to a smart Switzerland with its networked mobility services, nationwide infrastructures and central, large-scale areas. Aware of this economic responsibility, it wants to support cantons, cities and municipalities as a strong partner on the path to the smart city.
In spring 2019, the canton of Basel-Stadt and SBB opened the Smart City Lab Basel on the Wolf site, a few minutes by bike south of Basel's SBB train station. The Lab enables partners from business, science and government to develop and test innovative solutions for the city of tomorrow and for improving the quality of life and competitiveness of Switzerland as a whole. Until 2024, the Smart City Lab Basel offers around 160,000 m2 of space for smart city pilot projects and brings together ideas, knowledge and people to jointly address current and future challenges. The thematic focus is on the areas of mobility and logistics. Initial partners are working in the areas of city logistics, lighting control, energy, traffic counting and 3D data.
PPP model established, PPP Switzerland association ceases its activities
The knowledge developed by the PPP Association and its writings will be kept publicly available in the future by the Swiss Society for Administrative Sciences (www.sgvw.ch)
