In the BaSaR project (Building and Renovation as a Source of Pollutants in the Urban Environment), on behalf of the German Environment Agency (UBA) together with the University of Applied Sciences of Eastern Switzerland (OST) and the laboratory of Berliner Wasserbetriebe, KWB investigated how façade and roof building materials can affect water quality. For this purpose, two newly constructed areas of similar size and typical construction in Berlin were investigated. For a period of about 1.5 years, stormwater runoff from façades, roofs and the overall area (storm sewer) from each area was sampled and analysed for organic micropollutants and heavy metals contained in the building materials used at both sites. Additionally, the materials’ release behaviour was determined in laboratory leaching tests, with substance discharges modelled using COMLEAM software.
Recently, the final report was published by UBA along with a press release. This supplements the previously published guideline (2021) with fact sheets summarising concrete measures to avoid or reduce pollution in stormwater runoff from buildings.
We’ve also recently published the results in an open-access article entitled "Emissions from Building Materials - A Threat to the Environment?" in the journal Water. The dataset of the measurement results has been made freely available on Zenodo in the KWB channel.
Through this work, we’re continuing to make important contributions to cleaner stormwater runoff.
Direct links to the PDFs:
