U.S. Army and DVGW strengthen partnership during municipal water infrastructure visit
The event marked the 10th professional exchange between PHCE and the DVGW since late 2013, highlighting a long-standing partnership focused on environmental safety and public health.
"Because legal requirements and technical standards differ between the United States and Germany, these visits are an invaluable opportunity to learn from one another," Neuschwander said. "This regular dialogue helps bridge the gap between our two systems and ultimately strengthens German American cooperation."
Led by Michael Kollete, project manager with Stadtwerke Trier, the tour gave the PHCE team a firsthand look at the regional drinking-water infrastructure. The Irsch and Kylltal waterworks serve about 160,000 residents in the greater Trier area.
At the Riveris Reservoir, which holds 4.6 million cubic meters of water, the group went inside the dam's inspection gallery to see how the system uses gravity to generate clean, renewable energy.
"It was incredible to see how Stadtwerke Trier harnesses gravity across six kilometers of steep terrain — it is actually very similar to ancient Roman engineering principles," said Michael Bates, an environmental technician with PHCE. "Using that natural energy to power downstream treatment processes while aiming for carbon-neutral operations is a brilliant piece of engineering."
From the reservoir, water flows to the Irsch Waterworks, which treats roughly 40,000 cubic meters of water a day using ultrafiltration, remineralization and ultraviolet disinfection.
The facility's ultrafiltration systems caught the attention of the PHCE laboratory staff, who routinely test water safety across military installations in Europe.
"Seeing how clean water is produced on this scale directly connects to what we do in the lab every day," said Ann Larson, a PHCE laboratory analyst. "We looked at potential contamination risks and the various ways municipal plants filter them out. In the lab, we see a lot of data and this visit really helped connect the numbers to the actual physical process."
The plant also uses digital smart-grid controls to coordinate its heavy pumping schedules with the availability of local renewable energy.
Bettina Eckels, an environmental engineer with PHCE, noted how these technologies play a vital role in keeping public infrastructure resilient.
"It was impressive to see how modern treatment technology, digital automation and green energy management can work together to make a municipal water supply reliable and future-ready," Eckels said.
The exchange highlighted a shared interest in modern monitoring technologies and sustainable water management. In Germany, PHCE works to ensure high-quality drinking water and modern infrastructure at U.S. Army installations.
"Our relationship with the DVGW is a major asset as we work to maintain and modernize water systems on our installations here in Germany," said Maj. Niedbala, chief of environmental health engineering at PHCE. "We are very grateful to Stadtwerke Trier, especially Mr. Kollete, for hosting us, and to the DVGW for their continued support. These visits are a great way to learn from new, innovative approaches to water security."
Public Health Command Europe provides comprehensive public health capabilities that protect, promote, and sustain the health and military readiness of U.S. Joint Forces, Department of War civilians and their families across the U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command areas of responsibility. Through environmental health engineering, occupational health, laboratory sciences, veterinary services and preventive medicine programs, PHCE identifies, assesses and mitigates environmental and biological health threats across the theater.
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