Mysterious contamination Foam pollutes the River Ergolz near Füllinsdorf BL
Wastewater from a sewage treatment plant formed foam on the Ergolz near Füllinsdorf BL on Saturday. A section of several hundred meters was affected.
18.04.2026, 17:09
SDA
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- Several hundred meters of the Ergolz near Füllinsdorf BL were covered in foam on Saturday.
- The foam had entered the river via the discharge of treated wastewater from the Ergolz 2 WWTP.
- It is not yet clear whether the foam contains harmful substances.
The foam entered the river via the discharge of treated wastewater from the Ergolz 2 WWTP, the Canton of Basel-Landschaft's Department of Construction and Environmental Protection announced on Saturday. Investigations had already been carried out on Friday due to anomalies in the inflow to this plant.
Fish had not been harmed by Saturday afternoon, explained a spokeswoman for the Environment Directorate at the request of Keystone-SDA. It was not yet clear at that time whether the foam contained any harmful substances. Nor was it clear whether the foam had entered the Ergolz due to misconduct. The cause of the incident is now being investigated, the spokeswoman added.
Outflow from the sewage treatment plant is being diverted
As an immediate measure, the authorities diverted the outflow from the Füllinsdorf wastewater treatment plant to the Rhine WWTP. As a result, the foam-forming substances are broken down in another plant.
Operations at the Füllinsdorf plant are expected to return to normal on Sunday night. The measures could then be lifted on Sunday morning.
