Switzerland - DROPSTONE Advisory Services

Switzerland Services

Dropstone supports public authorities, utility services, engineering firms and project owners in Switzerland in understanding, protecting and developing the subsurface and groundwater resources.

Active primarily in French-speaking Switzerland, we collaborate on an ongoing basis with the cantonal services of Geneva, Vaud and Valais, as well as with the Geneva Industrial Services (SIG). Our role: to provide independent, rigorous and directly applicable technical expertise for authorities and project holders.

Key Capabilities

Areas of Expertise

Applied hydrogeology and groundwater management

We support our clients through all stages of aquifer management :

Analysis and interpretation of geological and hydrogeological data
Assessment of the impact of construction projects on groundwater
Technical advisory support to authorities on regulatory procedures
Design and supervision of exploration, monitoring and abstraction boreholes
Pumping tests, sampling and water quality analysis
Establishment and management of groundwater monitoring networks
Groundwater flow modelling and available resource assessment

REFERENCE

Working in close partnership with international organizations and national authorities, Dropstone combines field-based coordination, institutional strengthening, and targeted capacity development to support sustainable service delivery and protect critical infrastructure in disaster-prone settings.

Support to environmental authorities

Comprehensive capabilities mapping to administration requirements:

REFERENCE

In collaboration with GESDEC, Dropstone contributes to the development of tools for processing construction permit applications and subsurface planning in the canton of Geneva.

Exploration geophysics

Our geophysical methodologies include:

REFERENCE

Dropstone recently conductied a shallow quaternary aquifer prospection project in the Geneva basin, combining 3D ERT-IP imaging with geological data to optimise groundwater resource targeting.

Geothermal energy and the energy transition

The exploitation of the subsurface for energy purposes is a growing challenge for Swiss communities. Dropstone provides scientific and operational expertise to assess and support geothermal projects:

REFERENCE

Since 2016, Dropstone has been a partner of the Geneva Industrial Services (SIG) within the cantonal GEothermies.ch programme. Our work has improved knowledge of several groundwater bodies in the Geneva basin, reduced uncertainties related to their exploitation and contributed to identifying favourable areas for geothermal development.