Infrastructure makes up critical physical and technological systems in the built environment, or the “sinews” of the city (Tarr 1984). With industrialization in Europe and North America, cities developed infrastructure that utilized new energy sources to facilitate commerce and exploit natural resources. Over several centuries, municipalities increasingly undertook central roles in financing, planning, constructing, and […]
This entry is also posted on the Sustainable Cities International blog, which gives updates of work from SCI’s Affiliated Researchers and interns working with member cities throughout the world. A quiet evolution is taking place in how we use and move water within cities throughout the world. In Los Cabos, Mexico, where I am working […]
Water infrastructure is typically about pipes and bills. Most cities have dedicated departments that manage water distribution, sewage, and stormwater systems. Today, however, new designs for more sustainable urban development are re-considering how we deliver these services for residents. Rather than provide and manage water through centralized services, what are the opportunities and challenges associated […]
An excerpt from a recently published journal article on governance of urban stormwater systems in future cities…. San Francisco provides a relevant example to understand governance changes related to future stormwater systems. The San Francisco Bay Area has a total population of over 7 million people in nine counties and is dominated by San Francisco Estuary, […]
Treating water in a home or a building may be relevant in a few situations. First, in communities without sufficient capital to build water treatment facilities, residents are forced to drink bottled water. This happens thorughout the world, from the farmlands of East Africa to the rural communities of California. Second, many in the sustainability […]
Water infrastructure is typically about pipes and bills. Most cities have dedicated departments that manage water distribution, sewage, and stormwater systems. Today, however, new designs for more sustainable urban development are re-considering how we deliver these services for residents. Rather than provide and manage water through centralized services, what are the opportunities and challenges associated […]
Arsenic is a naturally-occurring element that can leach into groundwater and surface water from rocks and minerals. In most areas, natural levels of arsenic in water are less than 1 ppb, though some communities, particularly in the Western U.S., have recorded natural arsenic levels in water sources over 10 ppb1. Arsenic can have both acute […]
Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection uses electromagnetic radiation to kill microorganisms such as protozoans, bacteria, and viruses damaging their genetic material (DNA and RNA). While UV radiation applications for treatment are a century old, date to, improved cost-effectiveness and concerns over conventional disinfection methods have increased the popularity of UV disinfection in recent decades. In the U.S., […]
The cover image for this post comes from FreshHome.com and is just fantastic and quite fitting for a blog post on Point-of-Use treatment, so I had to use it and give all the attribution in the world possible. A variety of physical and chemical point-of-use (POU) treatments exist1. The most prevalent treatment approach in homes […]
Direct potable reuse (DPR) involves processes where “purified municipal wastewater is introduced into a water treatment plant intake or directly into the water distribution system.”1 As populations increase and treatment technologies improve, direct potable reuse may become an economically viable or even preferred option to meet growing global water demand. Water reuse takes many forms. […]