Head:
Address:
Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT)
Institute for Water and Environment
- Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management -
Kaiserstrasse 12
76131 Karlsruhe
Phone: +49 (0)721 - 608-44418
Email: wasserbau∂iwu.kit.edu
Visiting address:
The challenges facing water managers and engineers nowadays are manifold, complex, and require cross disciplinary approaches. These challenges include the safety of hydraulic natural and built systems, ageing infrastructures, pollution, guarantee of energy and food security, sustainable development and safety of urban environment, ecological feedbacks and an uncertain future.
Our group develops research towards engineering solutions for the design, the planning and the implementation of sustainable water infrastructures prepared for global change. We investigate the mechanics of flowing water and its interaction with key elements of a river basin such as sediments, dissolved matter, gases, living organisms and people. More specifically, the group is committed to develop research on four main topics: sustainable and secure water for supply, food and energy; adaptive and multi-functional hydraulic systems; healthy rivers; and geophysical processes in rivers and lakes.
As part of her current research project, Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) in Mediterranean-Climate Regions: Drivers, Enablers, Barriers, and Lessons from Real-World Implementation, Dr. Abby Ortega visited the Future Water Institute at the University of Cape Town from 15–17 September. In addition to giving a seminar presentation, she visited an NbS research and innovation site that includes a plant nursery, a locally managed urban garden, and a decentralised NbS water treatment and reuse system for irrigation and edible crops. As Cape Town is located in a Mediterranean-climate region, the visit also provided an opportunity to conduct field observations and semi-structured interviews, offering valuable insights into NbS implementation in practice.
From 8–10 September, the workshop Climate Change and Mental Health: Comparative Risk Pathways, Vulnerability, and Resilience, organised by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Academy of Science of South Africa, took place in Pretoria, South Africa. Dr. Abby Ortega from our institute participated in one of the panel discussions, presenting Nature-based Solutions and Mental Health: Exploring the Resilience-Building Potential of Urban Green Spaces. The three-day workshop brought together researchers from diverse fields and culminated in a joint policy brief translating scientific evidence into actionable recommendations for integrating mental health into climate change policies.
On 09.-11.09.2026 the 25th YP Meeting of German-speaking Institutes for Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management took place, which was hosted by the Institute for Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management at University Duisburg-Essen this year.
During the poster session Daniel Beetz presented the work at IWU-WB on overload behavior of bridges in extreme flood events. This versatile session was a perfect basis for engaging discussions. Besides, Ruhrverband and Emschergenossenschaft / Lippeverband supported the meeting by providing insights into different local hydraulic structures such as the Baldeney weir with its fish lift, which was investigated in ethohydraulic experiments at IWU-WB during its planning phase, and the restoration of the River Emscher with its revitalized confluence and the pump station Oberhausen.
We would like to thank this year’s organizing committee for the great meeting and all participants for the motivating and enriching discussions.
From 16–20 August 2026, the International Symposium on Ecohydraulics (ISE 2026) took place at EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland. Our institute was represented by Dr. Davide Vanzo and Dr. Jiangtao Yang. As a member of the Ecohydraulics Community leadership team, Davide chaired sessions on ecomorphodynamics and sediment transport and presented research on floodplain vegetation and in-channel habitat availability. Jiangtao presented his work on the physical degradation of large wood during fluvial transport and a wood-shaped sensor for detecting wood motion. The symposium was a great opportunity to share research, exchange ideas, reconnect with colleagues, and build new connections.
Rivers are key connectors between inland processes and coastal systems, transporting water, sediments, nutrients and pollutants from source to sea. This seminar will focus on how satellite observations can be used to monitor the spatiotemporal dynamics of river systems, with particular attention to planform morphology and suspended sediment transport. Using the Loire River in France as a representative case, He will illustrate how remote sensing enables tracking of channel evolution, sediment pathways, and variability across scales, as well as to depict potential drivers.
The seminar video is online now!
Link to the seminar PDF file
On 31 July 2026, Tim Jakobs was awarded his doctorate for his pioneering research entitled “Investigations into the Resistance Parameterization of Natural Surfaces under Shallow Overland Flow.” We congratulate Tim on this outstanding scientific achievement!
As part of his dissertation, Mr Jakobs developed an innovative experimental setup for the precise in-situ measurement of hydraulic parameters of surface runoff on natural terrain resulting from heavy rainfall. The quality and reliability of the measurements are comparable to those obtained from conventional hydraulic laboratory experiments. Through more than 1,000 runoff experiments conducted on grassland, together with an accompanying 3D simulation study, he analyzed the complex flow interactions with vegetation, as well as the influence of irregular runoff distribution caused by micro-scale surface variations.
For the first time, the results provide robust, depth-dependent flow-resistance coefficients for specific grassland classes. These coefficients comprehensively represent natural processes across a wide range of flow conditions and will have practical applications in 2D flow models used to produce heavy rainfall hazard maps.
