September 9, 2014

Keeping rivers clean to protect our drinking water





Abundant supplies of safe drinking water are among Switzerland’s most valuable natural resources, with groundwater accounting for 80% of the total. A third of this groundwater, in turn, is fed by infiltrating river water. Although contaminants and pathogens are filtered out as they pass through the soil, this natural protection system is not infallible. That makes it all the more important for river water to be kept as clean as possible, and for interactions between river and groundwater to be carefully observed.