The Institute focuses on "Water in Environmental Protection" in teaching, research and in the public domain. The waste-water and waste management team deals with collection and draining of waste water and rain water in urban areas as well as with anthropogenic influences on water quality and the necessary measures of treatment. Our waste-water lab performs chemical and physical analyses of waste water and carries out experiments on scaled designs. The water supply and soil water team deals with water usage (water supply for urban areas, agriculture and wetlands), water control (drainage in agriculture, prevention of erosion, protection against floods, debris flow and avalanches) as well as with water protection (maintenance and regeneration of waters and wetlands, soil protection, sewage sludge). Furthermore the Institute is working in the field of hydrology in teaching and in research as well. Two experimental basins are managed in an urban as well as in a rural region (Pöllau).