The Effect of Disinfection on Treated Water
Water scarcity is a problem that faces many regions of the country, and as treated water is considered as an option for drinking water, the quality of water going to the public for consumption will be, obviously, under scrutiny. In September of this year, Yanyan Zhang, a civil engineering Assistant Professor at New Mexico State University, received a three-year grant from the US Department of Health & Human Services/National Institutes of Health, “to evaluate if commonly used disinfection processes are effective in keeping the water supply pathogen-free and safe.”[1] According to Zhang, the processes used for disinfecting water (chlorination, ozonation […]
Water Systems and Earthquake Preparedness in Seattle
On Friday, November 30th, at 8:29 a.m., Anchorage, Alaska was struck with a magnitude 7.0 earthquake. The quake occurred just prior to the release of a three-year study by Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) that states that if hit with a magnitude 7 earthquake or greater, Seattle and suburbs such as Bothell, Woodinville, Kirkland, Redmond, and Bellevue would lose all water pressure within 24 hours and “would need at least two months to entirely restore water service.”[1] On average, SPU’s pipes are 70 years old, and the impact of an earthquake would be substantial to the major transmission pipelines that transport […]
San Diego and the Colorado River Drought Plan
At a time when concerns over the water levels of the Colorado are ever-increasing, this month saw the approval by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California of the Colorado River Drought Plan. They join Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming in approving a plan to share the necessary reductions in water take should the level of water at Lakes Mead and Powell fall below a certain level. Although a large percentage of water comes from the Colorado River, San Diego seems secure in their share of water, likely a result of Arizona vs. California (1968), which determined that […]
40 Million Potentially Unable to Afford Water
In October, WaterFilterData.org published a report that examines water utility prices and found that over the past eight years, the cost of water has risen three times more than that of inflation for a family of four, a 57 percent increase. At this current rate, projections show that by 2022, “nearly one-third of American households will be unable to afford their monthly water bill.”[1] The report highlights a number of factors contributing to this increase, the first being costs associated with aging infrastructure. Much of the country’s water infrastructure is a product of the WWII era and estimates are upwards […]
What’s New At SW?
Sid Singh – Chief Operating Officer Sid Singh is the COO of Sustainable Water and brings 20 years of finance and development experience with a specific focus on sustainable infrastructure for the last 10 years. Select recent projects include clean energy power plants for public and private hosts, distributed energy management systems for commercial customers, and a dedicated finance facility for a series of hydroponic greenhouse farms. As a developer, Sid has lead teams to design, build, own, and operate sustainable infrastructure facilities characterized by the use of existing proven technologies, high quality technology and construction partners, and contractual, long-term off-take […]