Water is the basic element for life and landscape processes. The Water Research Group deals with the society’s need for clean and safe drinking water, with contamination of ground water, rivers, lakes, and fjords from public and industrial activity, and with ecological issues connected to water.

The professions comprise surface water, ground water, treatment of drinking water and sewage water, water contamination, ecology, microbiology, biotechnology, and mathematical modeling of water flow and processes.

Research disciplines

The members of the water research group are from the Department of Environmental and Health Studies and the Department of Process-, Energy-, and Environmental Technology. Research topics are limnology, hydrogeology, hydrology, drinking water, sewage water and sludge treatment, bioenergy, extraction of phosphorus from sewage sludge, fish and fisheries, and ecotoxicology.

Collaboration and network

List of partners
  • University of Oslo
  • Norwegian University of Life Sciences                    
  • University of Bergen, 
  • University of Agder 
  • University of Stavanger 
  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology 
  • Hedemark University College
  • Swedish Agricultural University 
  • Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain
  • Ministry of Climate and Environment
  • The Norwegian Environmental Directorate
  • The Noregian Institute of Marine Research
  • The Norwegian Institute of Public Health
  • The Norwegian Veterinary Institute 
  • The Norwegian Polar Institute
  • The Norwegian Public Roads Administration
  • Statkraft
  • NORAD
  • Norwegian Institute for Water Research 
  • Norwegian Institute for Nature Research 
  • Norwegian Institute for Air Research

Current Research

Projects
  • EU project MEAT (Microcystin Exposure Associated Toxicity)-project: Seventh Framework Programme, Marie Curie actions. Coordinator: Prof. Daniel Dietrich, University of Konstanz/Germany. Partners: Cawthron Institute, Nelson; Dr. Susan Wood, New Zealand.Catholic University, Cordoba, Argentina. Instituto Nacional del Agua, Cordoba, Argentina; Silvana halc, Marcarena Seleme. Telemark University College, Norway/ Synne Kleiven, Hans Utkilen, Mona Sæbø, Andrew Jenkins, Niranjan Nitin Parulekar.
  • NILS Science and Sustainability project (EEA): Health risks of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins in Norway and Spain. Coordinator: Prof. Antonio Quesada, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain. Partner: Telemark University College, Norway/ Synne Kleiven, Hans Utkilen, Mona Sæbø, Andrew Jenkins, Niranjan Nitin Parulekar
  • Biological treatment of industrial waste water. Rune Bakke (USN), Shuai Wang (USN), Carlos Dinamarca (USN), Gang Xin (Biowater) and Jon Hovland (Tel-Tek).
  • Corporation with the fertilizer producer YARA. Carlos Dinamarca (USN). Research team: Masterstudents at USN.
  • Effects of wildfire on lakes. Espen Lydersen (USN)
  • Mercury in aquatic food chains. Espen Lydersen (USN)
  • Multiple effects of road water runoffs. Espen Lydersen (USN)
  • Guest editior for special issue of the journal Ambio about results from 50 years monitoring of fresh water resources in Sweden. Espen Lydersen (USN)
  • Hydroacoustic monitoring of fish movements in Tokkeåi/Bandak. Jan Heggenes (USN). Esben Moland, Espen Moland Olsen, Morten Stickler (Statkraft), Jostein Kristiansen (Statkraft)
  • Genetic population structures of river mussels. Jan Heggenes (USN) and Knut Røed (NMBU)
  • Spawning ground for large trout in river Tokkeåi. Jan Heggenes (USN) and Jostein Kristiansen (Statkraft)
  • Habitat conditions and fish populations in river Farriselva. Roger Roseth (Bioforsk) and Jan Heggenes (USN)
  • Landscape ecology and genetic structure in Babine-Morice steelhead: Jan Heggenes (USN), Eric Taylor (UBC), and Mark Beere (BCEnvironment)
  • River regulations in Tokkeåi. Morten Kraabøl (NINA), Jan Heggenes (USN), Åge Brabrand (LFI), Svein J. Saltveit (LFI), and Stein Ivar Johnsen (NINA)
  • Habitat improvements in river Usteåne, Geilo. Jan Heggenes (USN), Åge Brabrand (LFI), and Bjørn Otto Dønnum (ECO)
  • Reconstruction of antique and prehistoric landscapes, Tegea, Greece/ Harald Klempe (TUC), Knut Ødegård (UiO), and Hege Bakke Alisøy (UiB)
  • Ground water drinking water supply, Hagadrag, Bø in Telemark/ Harald Klempe (USN) and master students at USN.
  • WaSO-projects: Water and Society – Institutional Capacity-Building in Water Management and Climate Change Adaptation in Selected Countries in Asia and Africa. This is a five-year project involving eleven partner universities from Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Norway. The project has been funded by the Norwegian Programme for Capacity Development in Higher Education and Research for Development – NORHED. Norwegian partners are NMBU, UiB and HSN. Coordinator for USN is Tone Jøran Oredalen. Project web-site: www.wasoproject.org

Finished PhD Projects

PhD projects

 

Group leaders

Members