News

Effective reduction of microplastics in highway runoff

Large amounts of rubber, asphalt and other types of microplastics and micro-debris accompany the stormwater runoff from the high-traffic E4 at the Sundsvallsbron high bridge. In a unique study, researchers at Luleå University of Technology together with IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, investigated how effective a stormwater treatment facility is at removing microplastics from one of Sweden's busiest motorways. The results are promising.

Predatory Urbanism: Rapid Urbanization and Resources

2 Jul. 2021 14:00 – 15:30 :

The event will take place during the Architecture Biennial in Venice, at the Italian Pavilion "Resilient Communities".

GreenNano final conference goes on-line Oct 20-21, 2021

As some of you may have already seen in our newsletter *, GreenNano final conference will be held on 20-21 October. We were hoping that we could all meet physically but have finally come to the decision to hold the conference completely digitally, from 10 am - 3 pm on both days.

Open positions in Architecture 2021

Research in architecture is expanding with new exciting projects in the areas of big data, urban analytics, urban solar energy, heritage districts

Students participated in interior design project

Four master's engineering students have been hired to design two areas in the Alfa building on the university campus in Luleå. Three of the students study The Master Programme in Architectural Engineering and the fourth study on The Master Programme in Industrial Design Engineering.

New report: Ground-based treatment - design, function and assessment criteria for supervision

This report summarizes the results of the project Ground-based treatment - design, function and assessment criteria for supervision financed by the Swedish Maritime Administration through appropriation 1:11 Measures for the marine and aquatic environment.

Course: Sampling and Measurements in Urban Water Engineering

Water Research School open PhD course on stormwater sampling

Are you interested in stormwater sampling and measurements and want to learn more about it and deepen your knowledge? Then look out for the course in this subject given by Luleå University of Technology within the framework of the national Water Research School this autumn.

Emmanuel Okwori presented his licentiate thesis

At a public licentiate seminar featuring Frédéric Cherqui, associate professor at INSA Lyon, France, as discussion leader on 18th of June, Emmanuel Okwori defended his licentiate thesis on data-driven approaches for proactive maintenance planning of sewer blockage management.

Ivan Milovanovic presented his licentiate thesis

Ivan Milovanovic presented his licentiate thesis titled “Components for area-efficient stormwater treatment systems” on 17th of June, 2021, at Luleå University of Technology. The discussion leader was Jovan Despotovic, professor in hydrology and hydraulic engineering at the University of Belgrade, Serbia.

The university's vision for 2030 and the green transition

On 19 May 2021 the Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering held the internal digital conference “LTU Vision 2030 and the Green Transition”. The aim of the conference was to present our research and teaching at CENE, and to discuss how to move forward in line with Luleå University of Technology´s Vision 2030 and the Green transition.

In the media: Garbage study shows how plastic erodes

In a study from Luleå University of Technology, researchers have compared how quickly different types of plastic debris decompose into microplastics. The results may cause more people to take the detour via the trash.

How does stormwater effect microplastic contamination?

Stormwater runoff is a known pathway for mobilization and transport of microcontaminants from terrestrial environments to diverse aquatic ecosystems (ponds, rivers and sea). Yet, there is a lack of evaluation before and after rainfall events which limits the knowledge on the actual influence of stormwater in microplastic contamination.

In the media: Elin takes industrial wood construction to new heights

She is basically a civil engineer, educated in architecture with a focus on house construction at Luleå University of Technology. She devoted a large part of her education to sustainable industrial construction and her degree project was about just that.

Now begins a series of DRIZZLE seminars

Starting on 21 April 2021, “DRIZZLE - center for stormwater management” is organizing a series of online lunch seminars, where results from DRIZZLE's ongoing work will be presented to those interested in the partnership.

New network for you who works with infiltration, inflow and overflows

Stormwater&Sewers participates in the Swedish Water forum on infiltration/inflow (I/I) and overflows. The forum has now decided to coordinate a network for all professionals who have an interest in I/I and issues related to overflows.

Annelie Hedström has been promoted to professor

Annelie Hedström, Luleå University of Technology, has been promoted to professor. In her new role, Annelie will continue to contribute to the development of the research subject Urban Water Engineering and the undergraduate education conducted by the subject. Annelie will have a special focus on the research area of sewer systems and issues concerning the development of more resource-efficient urban water systems.

Ico Broekhuizen defended his doctoral thesis

On April 8, 2021, Ico Broekhuizen defended his doctoral thesis "Hydrological modelling of green urban drainage systems: Advancing the understanding and management of uncertainties in data, model structure and objective functions".

Pulsatile flow may increase performance of ultrafiltration

Treatment of stormwater with a pulsatile liquid flow on ultrafiltration membranes may improve purification properties.

EUROSAM 16-17 June

EUROSAM workshop 2021 goes on-line

Sewers and climate conference (RÖK 2021)

In March, Swedish Water arranged its ordinary Sewers and Climate conference (Rörnät och Klimat 2021) online this year

Meet Hans Walloschke

Hans Walloschke divides his time between teaching at Luleå University of Technology and as a professional architect at the historic MAF Architects' Office here in Luleå.

Water Sewerage Cycle 2021 conference

The annual VAK conference went online this year, March 17-18. The program was at least as extensive as in previous years, with the difference that some of the sessions were pre-recorded.

LPS-workshop - Important aspects and issues

On 26th of February, Stormwater&Sewers arranged an online workshop, within the framework of the ongoing SVU project "Experiences with LPS systems – A knowledge compilation"

Field work in winter? Absolutely!

Within Stormwater&Sewers, field work is carried out all year round, even wintertime. This winter, snow sampling was carried out for three different projects within Stormwater&Sewers.

New members of Swedish Water RÖK Committee

At the beginning of 2021, Swedish Water made a fresh start with its expert committees. The committees provide an exciting platform where members with their experience, interests and competence both contribute to the Swedish water industry as a whole, but also personally have the opportunity to develop knowledge-wise and take part in new networks.

Are you our next PhD candidate in circular nutrient flows from sewage?

The research subject Urban Water Engineering at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, is looking for an engaged PhD candidate that would like to study circular nutrient flows from wastewater to food production and connect waste energy flows in an industrial and urban resource efficient symbiosis.

The application period has ended.

"A master's degree in architecture combines the aesthetic with the construction technology"

Sanna Haukka, NCC

"It was very useful to see how to actually build on site"

Name: Ebba Eneris
Program: Master Programme in Architectural Engineering

In the media: Hanna Malm wrote the best student essay in gender equality, traffic and transport

Hanna Malm, recipient of the award Best Student Thesis 2020. Hanna wrote her thesis at Luleå University of Technology but now works at Örebro municipality.

"I want to work with sustainability and digitization"

Name: Felicia Johansson
Age: 24
City of residence: Stockholm
Programme: Master Programme in Architectural Engineering

EUROSAM 16-17 june

16 Jun. 2021 08:30 – 17 Jun. 2021 12:30 :

A workshop organised by the “EUROpean – Sewer Asset Management network" was planned to be held in Luleå. Due to the pandemic, a decision has been taken to arrange the event online in June, 16-17. Contrary to the normally limited number of participants (a maximum of 25 researchers), this also opens up for a bigger number of participants.

"In the future, I want to work on pursuing important issues concerning sustainability linked to construction"

Name: Johanna Lagerlund
Age: 23
Place of residence: Eringsboda (Blekinge)
Programme: Master Programme in Architectural Engineering

Water Europe's policy white paper on emerging pollutants

The recent EU Water legislation fitness check concluded that, whilst key legislation such as the EU Water Framework Directive and Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive are having a positive impact on the ecological status of water bodies across the EU, further actions are required in relation to the management of chemicals in the water cycle.

New publication on evaluation of functionality of biofilters

Within the article series New Research and Technology, the new publication "Översiktlig utvärdering av funktionaliteten av 26 dagvattenbiofilter" has been published.

DRIZZLE reinforced with new project administrator

In the beginning of 2021, Betty Christakopoulou became part of the DRIZZLE team within the Urban Water Engineering group at LTU. She works as project administrator and website coordinator.

Kelsey Flanagan will be an Associate Senior Lecturer

After more than a year of work as a post-doctor in Urban Water Engineering within the framework of DRIZZLE - Centre for Stormwater Management, Kelsey Flanagan has now been hired as an Associate Senior Lecturer.

Urban Water seminar and industry day 2021

25 Feb. 2021 13:00 – 16:15 :

On February 25, 2021, we conducted our annual VA seminar. Due to the pandemic situation, the seminar was held at Zoom and in a somewhat abbreviated form.

New post-doc with a focus on stormwater quality

Mehwish Taneez joined the Urban Water Research Group in December 2020 as Postdoctoral fellow in Urban Water Engineering, within the framework of DRIZZLE - Centre for Stormwater Management. She will be working on sources of stormwater pollution, quantification of emissions and risk assessment.

Supplementary funding of Water Research School by Swedish Universities of the Built Environment

As an active member of the Swedish Universities of the Built Environment (SBU), Lena Goldkuhl, Stormwater&Sewers, has taken the initiative to apply for a grant to develop courses within the framework of the national Water Research School. Earlier this year, the Water Research School received funding from Swedish Water and Swedish Water Development for its activities for the next three years. Luleå University of Technology, Chalmers, Lund University and KTH together have now received additional funding of a total of SEK 200,000 to develop the courses to be given in 2021.

Better control of the floating baffle functionning in Östersund due to covid-19

There aren't many glimpses of light when it comes to covid-19. But thanks to the pandemic, LTU gets the opportunity to continue evaluating the floating baffle in lake Storsjön together with Östersund municipality.

Agatino Rizzo appointed Adviser to the Italian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale

Agatino Rizzo, professor in architecture at Luleå University of Technology, has been appointed to the advisory board of the Italian Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale. The Venice Biennale is one of the most prestigious cultural institutions in the world.

Property-related stormwater management and industry standard for prefabricated stormwater facilities

Stormwater&Sewers researchers from RISE and Luleå University of Technology have participated in a recently finished Vinnova-funded test bed project on stormwater management in close vicinity to built property and industry standards for assessment of prefabricated stormwater facilities.

ICUD2020 goes digital with a webinar series for young researchers

When the international stormwater conference ICUD2020 had to be postponed to May 2021 because of the pandemic, a series of webinars was organized instead.

InfraSweden2030 program conference

In October, InfraSweden2030 held its annual program conference. Due to the pandemic, the conference was held completely online this year, with the benefits that such an arrangement can provide. For the first time, the conference was open to external participants and everyone with ongoing projects was asked to invite stakeholders.

Experience of low pressure sewer (LPS) systems – a new Stormwater&Sewers project

The project "Experiences of low pressure sewer systems – A knowledge compilation" has been granted funding from Swedish Water Development (SVU) and will run during the first half of the year 2021. Solveig Johannesdottir from RISE Research Institutes of Sweden will be the project leader of this Stormwater&Sewers project with a project team from RISE, Luleå University of Technology and ten different Swedish municipal water and sanitation departments and companies.

Swedish Water Research and Innovation days 2020

The Swedish Water annual Research and Innovation Conference was held on 8-9 December 2020. During the conference organized as a webinar due to the current situation, Swedish Water, the research funders and the four research clusters Stormwater&Sewers, DRICKS, VA-kluster Mälardalen and VA-teknik Södra presented the latest news in water research and development.

A pilot plant with reed beds is being built in Luleå municipality

Within the framework of a Formas project at Urban Water Engineering, LTU, the possibilities of using wetland systems for small rural areas in subarctic climate are investigated. Stormwater&Sewers will assess the function and treatment potential of the reed beds.

To what extent should the renewal of water and sewerage pipes and roads in residential areas be coordinated?

Taking the opportunity to change a water pipe when the sewer pipe next to it needs to be replaced (or vice versa) is a widespread practice in Sweden, and is often beneficial to society. This is usually done with shafts and means that the road superstructure is replaced in the process.

Characterization of dissolved metals in stormwater

Metals in stormwater occur in many chemical forms that affect the mobility and transport of the metals in the stormwater system and what environmental impact the metals will have in the recipient.

Enhancement of stormwater quality in grass swales

Snežana Gavrić will present her licentiate thesis “Enhancement of stormwater quality in grass swales: Removal and immobilisation of metals” on December 17, 2020 at Luleå University of Technology. The discussion leader is Magnus Bäckström from Swedish Water.

Data management workshop for better use of data for renewal of water and sewer networks and streets

During Stormwater&Sewers' annual strategic autumn meeting with its cooperating water utilities and municipalities, a workshop on data management was carried out. The aim was to identify which kind of data management should be improved within their asset management of water and sewer networks.

Johan Linton has been appointed as Visiting Professor at the School of Architecture in Venice (IUAV)

Johan Linton, Associate Professor in the Theory and History of Architecture and teacher at the Division of Architecture and Water, has been appointed as Visiting Professor 2021 by the School of Architecture in Venice (IUAV).

The architecture of future cities after covid-19

27 Nov. 2020 12:00 – 13:00 , ltu.se/vhlive:

Covid-19 has accelerated the existing conflicts regarding the use of land and resources in small and large cities worldwide. However, we still design and build in the same way we have done for the past 50 years.

Lic. seminar Snezana Gavric – Urban Water Engineering

17 Dec. 2020 14:00 – 16:00 , Online with Zoom and E632:

Enhancement of stormwater quality in grass swales: Removal and immobilization of metals.

The Dragon´s Den 2020

This year's version of the innovation competition "The Dragon´s Den" was held in the House of Science due to the corona pandemic and the requirement for physical distance. 42 students in 12 groups presented their business ideas to a jury consisting of Stefan Lindbäck, CEO Lindbäcks Group, Mattias Lindström from PEAB and Karoline Pettersson from LTU Business.

Open positions in Architecture

Research in architecture is expanding with new exciting projects in the areas of big data, urban analytics, urban solar energy, heritage districts

Harvard students study Urban transformation of the Arctic city Kiruna

History professor Dag Avango, at Luleå University of Technology, is responsible for an international digital workshop: "What does it take to move a city?" It is held for master's students in collaboration with Harvard Research University in Cambridge, on the theme of sustainable development in the Arctic.

Wastewater is tested for coronavirus

Researchers at Luleå University of Technology have participated in a European study in which wastewater was sampled in a number of municipalities in Sweden at the same time and then analyzed for SARS-CoV-2. The approach may provide indications of future corona outbreaks.

Built in risks in blue green infrastructure

Together with Ohio State University, Luleå University of Technology has performed a major international field study of sustainable blue and green infrastructure and “built-in risks” in urban storm water management.

Best Poster Award to Cristina Ramos Caceres

This award was presented at the 35th PLEA CONFERENCE SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN conference. Planning Post Carbon Cities. A Coruña, 1st-3rd September 2020.

Lic. seminar Arya Vijayan – Urban Water Engineering

3 Nov. 2020 14:00 – 15:00 , C305 or online with Zoom:

Quality of snow deposited in urban areas: Storage, load assessment and releases of selected pollutants with snowmelt

In the media: Kiruna was to build "the world's northernmost passive house"

Six years ago, Sweden's northernmost passive house in Kiruna would be the first in an Arctic climate. Today, there is no one who wants to comment on how the result was.

Pollutants in urban snow

Snow and snowmelt are sources of surface water pollution, which can deteriorate the surface water quality. The major sources of pollutants in urban snow are traffic, atmospheric deposition, de-icing salt and anti-skidding materials and urban littering. The pollutants of interest in snow and snowmelt are solids, heavy metals, chlorides, organic pollutants, microplastics and nutrients.

Degradation of macroplastics to microplastics upon exposure to sunlight

Jonathan Svedin who studied the master's engineering program Natural Resources Engineering with specialization on Environment and Water at Luleå University of Technology has now completed his master's degree. He has conducted a laboratory study investigating the extent to which different types of plastic debris are degraded due to UV light.

Dissertation Sofia Löfgren - Architecture

23 Oct. 2020 10:00 – 13:00 , E632 or online with Zoom:

Considering landscape in practices of transport planning

Erik Karlsson new Chairman of DRIZZLE Board

During the board meeting on August 24, Erik Karlsson was elected new chairman of the DRIZZLE board. He takes over after Pär Weihed, pro vice chancellor at Luleå University of Technology.

DRIZZLE's Annual General Meeting 2020

DRIZZLE's General Meeting took place on August 24 this year - digitally due to covid-19. The day began with a short presentation of parts of the field studies conducted within DRIZZLE. Thereafter, the new DRIZZLE doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows and professors introduced themselves to the participants. This was followed by project presentations.

Webinar: The role of renewable energy in post COVID-19 public spaces

27 Aug. 2020 14:00 – 15:30 , Online:

This event is hosted by the Journal of Public Space in collaboration with the Chinese University of Hong Kong

New funding for Water Research School

For the past four years, Stormwater&Sewers, together with DRICKS, VA-kluster Mälardalen, VA-teknik Södra and Sweden Water Research, has run a Water Research School funded by FORMAS. The Water Research School gathers PhD students from all higher education institutions participating in the Swedish Water research cluster initiative for colleges and universities, with at present more than 60 PhD students enrolled.

Sensitivity analysis of pluvial flood modelling tools for dense urban areas

Johanna Eriksson has now finalised her masters’ thesis work. She has carried out a project related to flood modelling at the Department of Sustainable Waste and Water in the City of Gothenburg.

New Swedish Water report values blue-green infrastructure

Stormwater systems are increasingly being supplemented or replaced by different types of blue-green infrastructure (BGI). The main purpose is often stormwater management - to reduce flows and treat stormwater. But BGI can also provide many other benefits that are not directly related to the technical function, such as positive effects on health, recreation, energy savings, microclimate and biodiversity.

Ivan Mantilla latest DRIZZLE addition

In June 2020, Ivan Mantilla joined DRIZZLE as PhD student.

Interpolation of probing data for groundwater modelling

Frida Agerberg who has studied the master´s programme Natural Resource Engineering specializing in environment and water recently published her master’s thesis “Data interpolation for groundwater modelling - How choice of interpolation method and sample size affect the modelling results” that she had worked on during the spring semester 2020.

GreenNano final conference will be postponed

Due to the current circumstances, we have decided not to run the GreenNano final conference on November 11-12, 2020 as previously planned. Instead, we plan to arrange the final conference in late spring 2021 or in the autumn of 2021.

In the news: Corona rendering wastewater treatment in the summer cottage an environmental culprit?

The increased number of vacation in the summer cottage this year might cause problems for many older on-site wastewater treatment plants. Inga Herrmann, researcher at LTU within resource efficient sewage systems, explains how the sewer facilities in the summer cottage can be rendered more economical and environmentally friendly.

In the media: New "VA-guiden" (Water Guide) expert

Inga Herrmann has been appointed new member of the Water Guide's expert panel for small wastewater systems. "Ask the expert" is part of the Water Guide's support for those working with small-scale wastewater systems at public agencies. The editors make the question anonymous and distribute it to the appropriate expert. The answer is then reconciled and published in the category "expert responses".

Annual Water Research School seminar 2020 goes digital

The annual Water Research School seminar 2020 was held the 11th of June this year. Due to the prevailing pandemic, we could not meet in Gothenburg as planned. Instead, we had a half-day meeting in Zoom.

Better understanding of the varying prestanda of metal treatment in bioretention

On June 3, 2020, Katharina Lange presented her licentiate thesis entitled "Total and dissolved metal treatment in stormwater bioretention". The seminar took place at Luleå University of Technology (LTU) with Danielle Dagenais from the University of Montreal, Canada as discussion leader and Maria Viklander, LTU, as examiner.

In the media: Engineering students have designed this year's running tracks

One of the students who produced one of the new rounds of the year Filip Åstrand, who is ready for the third year to become a civil engineer in architecture at Luleå University of Technology.

Advisor for a celebrated exhibition about Kiruna

Jennie Sjöholm, a researcher in the subject of architecture at Luleå University of Technology, has worked as an external advisor for the popular exhibition "Kiruna Forever".

Swedish Water Award for best master's thesis

Emelie Hedlund Nilsson, former student at Luleå University of Technology Master Programme in Natural Resources Engineering, wins the Swedish Water Award for best master's thesis in urban water engineering. The winner is awarded SEK 25,000.

Vision for Storheden City

Several researchers from Luleå University of Technology have participated in the vision developed to develop the large shopping area Storheden outside Luleå. Responsible architect was Björn Ekelund with his firm Warm in the Winter.

High pressure on on-site wastewater systems this corona summer

Many will spend this year's vacation in a summer house to avoid the ravages of the coronavirus. This, in turn, will increase the pressure on on-site wastewater facilities that belong to a summer house. Researcher Inga Herrmann at Luleå University of Technology has studied these wastewater systems a little closer and held a lecture about her research at Vetenskapens hus in Luleå.

Workshop - Snow dumps

For many municipalities in Sweden, large decentralized snow dumps for storing urban snow are an important part of their snow management in winter. However, the large snow dumps cause an enormous transport of snow every year. Also, meltwater from snow dumps contains similar pollutants as stormwater and often ends up untreated in our lakes and watercourses.

Does climate influence the content of indicator bacteria in stormwater?

Stormwater that originates from rain and snowmelt is an important component in the transport of pollutants to receiving waters that can be used for drinking water production and for water-based recreation. In Helen Galfi's recently published PhD thesis, potential sources and transport pathways of microbiological pollutants as well as other pollutants such as metals have been studied in Östersund and in laboratory experiments.

Multifunctional surfaces for rain and snow

Can integrated snow and stormwater systems in urban environments, multifunctional areas, be a way to avoid large snow deposits and polluted melt water?

Water Research School course on advanced level, part 2

24 Nov. 2020 00:00 – 26 Nov. 2020 00:00 :

The National Water Research School, a collaboration between Stormwater&Sewers, DRICKS, VA-kluster Mälardalen, VA-teknik Södra and Sweden Water Research, arranges a course on wastewater treatment this fall. The course "Wastewater" is open to all members of the Swedish Water and Wastewater Association.

Water Research School course on advanced level, part 1

23 Sep. 2020 00:00 – 25 Sep. 2020 00:00 :

The National Water Research School, a collaboration between Stormwater&Sewers, DRICKS, VA-kluster Mälardalen, VA-teknik Södra and Sweden Water Research, arranges a course on wastewater treatment this fall. The course "Wastewater" is open to all members of the Swedish Water and Wastewater Association.

Project on spatial planning development granted

In stage 1 of the Formas call ”Planning for Transformation”, Maria Viklander, Luleå University of Technology, together with Östersund Municipality and Malmö City’s water company VA SYD, was granted funding to further develop the project “Achieving sustainable stormwater management in existing development” and submit a larger project application in the stage 2 call in autumn.

New research method improves understanding of metal treatment and environmental impact of stormwater

PhD student Katharina Lange tested a new method to investigate the metal treatment performance of stormwater bioretention systems.

Published master's thesis on the impact of grate inlets on flood simulation models

Daniel Lundqvist has studied the master´s programme Natural Resource Engineering specializing in environment and water. During the spring semester 2019, he wrote his master’s thesis ”Sensitivity analysis of grate inlet representation and a comparison of two coupled hydraulic models for urban flood simulation”.

New PhD at Architecture

Margareta Westin started her PhD studies in architecture at Luleå University of Technology in april 2020.

Newly appointed PhD student

The Urban Water research group was strengthened with Nikita Razguliaev as a PhD

"I would like to work on sustainable construction and climate issues"

Name: Petronella Skoglund
Age: 20 years
Hometown: Gothenburg
Programme: Master Programme in Architectural Engineering

New PhD at Urban Water Engineering

Ali Beryani was employed as PhD student in Urban Water Engineering at Luleå University of Technology in March 2020. His research focuses on sustainable stormwater management and treatment using bioretention systems.

A new postdoc

Kalpana Gopinath strengthens the research group at Urban Water Engineering at Luleå University of Technology as a post-doc since February 2020.

New staff

Mashreki Sami joined Luleå University of Technology on 17th of February 2020 as a PhD student in Urban Water Engineering

Master thesis work on microplastics

During the spring term 2020, Jonathan Svedin is doing his thesis work in one of the sub-projects of VA technology at Luleå University of Technology.

Advanced stormwater treatment in focus for new PhD student

Saida Kaykhaii started her PhD studies in February 2020. Her main field of research is advanced stormwater treatment focusing on membrane technology.

New PhD student at Urban Water Engineering

On February 3, 2020, Rasmus Klapp started his a PhD studies in the field of Urban Water Engineering at Luleå university of Technology

Published:22 October 2013
Updated: 17 October 2016
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