WATCH Workshop in Aachen

On November 13, 2019, the Yangtze Ecological Environmental Protection Co., Ltd. (YEEC) of the China Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC) and the Aquaroot Ltd. from Beijing visited the Institute for Environmental Engineering of RWTH Aachen University. The Chinese and German teams capitalized on the opportunity provided by the joint-research platform WATCH and successfully held a workshop on river basin governance and management.

Firstly, Prof. Wintgens, Head of the Institute for Environmental Engineering (ISA) of RWTH Aachen University, welcomed the delegation and introduced ISA’s relevant research topics. Mr. Feng Zhao, YEEC Chairman of the Board, introduced YEEC and CTGC. He presented the main environmental risks to the Yangtze River Basin, the company’s major on-going projects, and a grand vision for future development.

Subsequently, Prof. Firk and Dr. Yao from ISA gave reports to the delegation on "Organization, policy, and mechanisms of river basin governance and management", and “Development of municipal sewage sludge treatment, utilization and disposal in Germany”. The two sides had an active discussion on the content of the reports, and the Chinese delegation indicated that Germany's experience in developing this field is very beneficial to China. In addition, Dr. Yao introduced the formation and development of the WATCH platform. Mr. Zhao hoped that further cooperation with the German counterpart could be carried out under the WATCH platform in the future. The two sides had in-depth discussions on the possibility of cooperation.

In the afternoon, the delegation visited the Wastewater Treatment Plant (wwtp) Aachen Soers. Mr. Zobel, the plant manager, gave the visitors a detailed introduction to the development, current status, and prospects of the wastewater treatment plant, especially on the rainwater treatment measures. He also showcased the EU`s largest municipal wastewater ozonation to the guests.

WATCH workshop at ISA of RWTH Aachen University

Visiting the wwtp Soers in Aachen