Urban Groundwater Protection: Investigating Possible Wastewater Contamination in Berlin

A funded student geoscience research group (X-Student Research Group, SoSe 2026) investigating whether Berlin's urban groundwater is contaminated by wastewater from leaky private or public sewer systems. Using numerous historical street emergency wells (piston pumps), the team samples near-surface groundwater in a model region in southwest Berlin in cooperation with the Leibniz Institute for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB); field parameters (temperature, conductivity, pH, oxygen) are measured and samples prepared for chemical analysis, enabling possible contamination patterns to be mapped. The project combines fieldwork, environmental analytics, and data evaluation and begins in April with field sampling. Participation can optionally be in English.