Environment office wary of future groundwater contamination

Tap water in Switzerland, and the groundwater from which much of it is drawn, remains at a high and clean level – but the federal environment office is worried about contamination. According to Swiss public broadcaster SRF, who reported on a recent study by the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), the tap water in 80% of Swiss households is drawn from groundwater: i.e. undersoil springs and wells. And though much of it is clean, FOEN is nevertheless worried that the sites of these groundwater wells are not well enough protected. In areas where land is heavily developed with infrastructure or housing, for example, the risk of waste water contamination (from buildings) or petrol seepage (from roads) is not to be discounted, the office wrote. + A visual trip through the various ways water appears in Switzerland Adrian Auckenthaler, a hydrology expert and canton Basel Land’s groundwater boss, says that over-developed areas and zones where groundwater is drawn are coming more ...