Portrait
Sustainable Cities and Communities
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Life on land
Responsible
consumption and production
Cities and Mobility
Building and Construction
Finance
Circular economy
Forest Management
Supply Chains
Agriculture and Nutrition
Governance
Sustainable Behaviour
Decarbonisation of the transport sector
Post-fossil cities
Co-evolution of business strategies and resource policies in the building industry
Ecological footprint in the housing sector
Financing clean tech
Sustainable finance
Laboratory for circular economy
Towards a sustainable circular economy
Challenges of modular water infrastructure systems
Resource efficiency in Swiss hospitals
Ecosystem services in forests
Trade‐offs in forests
Insurance value of forest ecosystems
Enhancing supply chain sustainability
Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP)
Open assessment of Swiss economy and society
Digital innovations for sustainable agriculture
Impacts of Swiss food consumption and trade
Interaction of economy and ecology in Swiss farms
Switzerland’s sustainability footprint
Sustainable Trade Relations for Diversified Food Systems
Green labour market effects
Voluntary corporate environmental initiatives
Legal framework for a resource-efficient circular economy
Nudging small and medium-sized companies
Rebound Effects of the Sharing Economy
Sustainable consumer behaviour
Extending the lifespan of mobile devices
The influence of environmental identities

Challenges of modular water infrastructure systems

Comix analysed whether and how modular, more decentralised infrastructures could become part of future sustainable urban water management services. Particular emphasis was put on strategic implications for Swiss regulators, operators and technology companies in this sector.

Background

Urban water management is confronted with substantial sustainability challenges (climate change, new pollutants, ageing infrastructures). Recent technological advances would enable radically more decentralised and modular solutions to tackle these problems. Their large scale diffusion presents considerable challenges regarding regulation and operation. An early assessment of potential transformation dynamics is therefore key for informing the innovation strategies of different actors.

Aim

Comix aimed to assess recent technological developments and global industry dynamics in order to identify potential roles for Swiss actors in this emerging industry[LB1] . It wanted to analyse alternative governance structures to develop, operate and regulate these new infrastructures and to develop tools to assess optimal transition pathways from a current centralised to a future more hybrid system. Challenges and opportunities were to be assessed jointly with a group of representatives of today’s water infrastructure sector.

 [LB1]Which industry? water management or modular infrastructure? Suggestion: 
«in the emerging modular water management industry”

Results

Modular water treatment system in practice

Modular water treatment systems have experienced strong innovation activities in the past years, especially in terms of new treatment technologies, new monitoring and remote control concepts, but also new business models and governance approaches around the world. Furthermore, we see an increasing number of experiments with modular water infrastructures both globally and within Switzerland. The first fully functional systems are on the market and civil society, companies and cities are starting to implement them. 

 

High water quality with modular solutions

The quality of the treated wastewater can be brought to levels comparabe to those of centralised plants, while sensoring and remote operation systems enable reliable and profitable business models and effective governance approaches. Appropriate governance structures are currently being developed, but they pose a challenge to current capabilities and resources of utilities, owners and regulators. 

 

 

Cost estimates for modular water infrastructures

Cost assessments of transition pathways towards more hybrid infrastructures in selected Swiss municipalities show that implementation of existing modular systems would already be cost efficient today. This is not only the case for very remote houses, but also extends to peri-urban areas and central city districts, for instance in re-developments of former industrial areas. A future decrease in costs will substantially increase the overall market potential for these systems. 

 

Great potential in rainwater management

Operators, planners and regulators of the Swiss urban water management sector consider these developments to be relevant for their present and future investment decisions. They point to high uncertainties and unclear incentive structures that currently prevent a more proactive engagement with modular alternatives. However, they see considerable future potential, in particular in the context of new approaches to rainwater management. Close coordination between the different parties will be important when it comes to reaping the benefits of such a transition while preventing sunk costs and problem shifts in the future.

Implications for research

We contributed to innovation and governance studies on sustainability transitions. We developed a new methodology to assess socio-technical transformation dynamics. We further contributed to a better understanding of the governance structures needed to implement more hybrid infrastructures. We investigated how mixes of policies and policy instruments – where traditional instruments, such as regulatory and economic tools are supplemented with procedural tools of participation and user responsibility – can facilitate such transition processes and how grassroots initiatives could contribute.

Implications for practice

Comix co-devised scenarios for potential developments of modular infrastructures in Switzerland with a broad range of stakeholders. This will inform future investment and regulation strategies aiming for more sustainable management of water resources at the level of the confederation, cantons and municipalities. We also developed a dynamic cost-assessment tool to analyse what a transition should look like and how communal and cantonal planning should organise their future investment plans.

Publications

Kosten-Nutzen-Analyse modularer Abwasserreinigungsanlagen

Müller, A., Elbel, R., “Kosten-Nutzen-Analyse modularer Abwasserreinigungsanlagen” (2021), Ecoplan, Bern.

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Perspektiven modularer Abwassersysteme in der Schweiz

Skizzierung einer Umsetzungsstrategie

Truffer, B., Elbel, R., Heiberg, J., Lieberherr, E., Maurer, M., Müller, A. und Pakizer, K., 2022.
Perspektiven modularer Abwassersysteme in der Schweiz: Skizzierung einer Umsetzungsstrategie. Eawag, Dübendorf

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Modulare Wasserinfrastrukturen

Optionen für eine zukunftsfähige Siedlungswasserwirtschaft

Truffer, B., Maurer, M., und Heiberg, J., 2022.
Modulare Wasserinfrastrukturen. Aqua & Gas, 2022(N°9).

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Modulare Abwassertechnologien

Bedingen neue Technologien Änderungen in Politik, Verwaltung und Management?

Lieberherr, E. und Pakizer, K., 2022.
Modulare Abwassertechnologien. Aqua & Gas, 2022(N°10).

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Overcoming the harmony fallacy: How values shape the course of innovation systems

Heiberg, J./Truffer, B.
2022

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Assessing transitions through socio-technical configuration analysis – a methodological framework and a case study in the water sector

Heiberg, J. et al.
2022

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The Geography of Technology Legitimation: How Multiscalar Institutional Dynamics Matter for Path Creation in Emerging Industries

Heiberg, J. et al.
2020

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Policy instrument mixes for operating modular technology within hybrid water systems

Pakizer, K. et al.
2020

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A Research Agenda for the Future of Urban Water Management: Exploring the Potential of Nongrid, Small-Grid, and Hybrid Solutions

Hoffmann, S. et al.
2020

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Eine globale Schweizer Wasserpolitik. Internationale Verhandlungen zum Nachhaltigkeitsziel 6 und dessen Umsetzung im Ausland

Mathys, N. et al.
2019

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Alternative governance arrangements for modular water infrastructure: An exploratory review

Pakizer, K./Lieberherr, E.
2018

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Project leaders​

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Truffer
Abteilung Umweltsozialwissenschaften, Eawag

Dr. Eva Lieberherr
Departement Umweltsystemwissenschaften,
ETH Zürich

Dipl. Ing. André Müller
Ecoplan, Bern

Prof. Dr. Max Maurer
Abteilung Siedlungswasserwirtschaft, Eawag

« 

Even if our infrastructures seem made to last forever, there is plenty of room for innovation and change. We spend too much time and energy making our well-worn paths smoother and straighter - instead we should make them wider - so we can overtake. Thanks to the research team for this insight.

 »
Anja HerlynWIF (Partner)
« 

I found the workshops very motivating, which is how I imagine constructive cooperation between research and practice. I was pleased that our input on the implementation strategy of the research project was taken on board; this will have a positive impact on Swiss urban water management thanks to more conscious use of water resources. Let's go!

 »
Jürg MeyerHOLINGER AG (Member of the Board of Directors)
« 

The workshop series showed me what the real challenges are when implementing modular wastewater systems. These can be mastered if all participants take steps towards each other. This is exactly what the research project has also contributed significantly to.

 »
Markus GreschHunziker Betatech (Business Unit Manager)
« 

In the COMIX project, we discussed challenges and opportunities in dealing with modular wastewater systems in three workshops. Even though many implementation questions are still open, it can be stated that the topic is definitely relevant and that a proactive approach to modular wastewater systems is worthwhile.

 »
Stefan VollenweiderWater Agenda 21 (Managing Director)

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