{"id":12983,"date":"2015-06-30t19:46:43","date_gmt":"2015-06-30t19:46:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dpetrov.2create.studio\/planet\/wordpress\/innovative-ideas-both-big-and-small-to-solve-the-drought-crisis\/"},"modified":"2023-03-07t19:39:43","modified_gmt":"2023-03-07t19:39:43","slug":"innovative-ideas-both-big-and-small-to-solve-the-drought-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/innovative-ideas-both-big-and-small-to-solve-the-drought-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"innovative ideas, both big and small, to solve the drought crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

as a golden state native, i won\u2019t get offended if you call californians shallow. it\u2019s true; our water supplies are quickly dwindling.<\/span><\/p>\n

as an area of the country critical to the agricultural sector of the u.s., the drought has become an increasingly important issue to californians \u2014 and the country as a whole. water use and availability is also a huge issue in arid regions of the world, as well as in areas that don\u2019t have widely available water infrastructure.<\/p>\n

in response to the crisis, i explored some of the innovative ways people are finding clean, potable water. here\u2019s what i found:<\/p>\n

water catchment<\/strong><\/h2>\n

perhaps the easiest way to get access to water is to harvest whatever forms of condensation and precipitation are available in the surrounding environment \u2014 without, of course, pumping from underground resources. typically this means local rainwater catchment in the form of drains, canals, stormwater collection ponds, and reservoirs. some savvy homeowners even collect condensate from their air conditioning units using nothing more than a bucket and reuse that water in the garden.<\/p>\n

one really cool innovation in the realm of water catchment is warka water<\/a>, an invention by italian industrial designers arturo vittori and andreas vogler. these 30-foot-tall, vase-shaped towers named after a fig tree native to ethiopia integrate biomimicry through its design to extract gallons of water pulled literally out of the air.<\/p>\n

water reuse\/recycling<\/strong><\/p>\n

another way to increase access to water is to simply recycle water. and yes, the thought of bathing in \u2014 much less drinking \u2014 what used to be in someone\u2019s toilet might ick you out at first, but we already have incredible technology that can be used to treat water of any quality. for example, singapore has a water management strategy that involves high-grade reclaimed water, produced from treated used water, which is then purified further using advanced membrane technologies and ultraviolet disinfection. this means that singapore\u2019s reverse osmosis reclaimed newater is ultra clean and safe to drink<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(source: newater visitor centre<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

most cities, however, don\u2019t have extensive wastewater recycling facilities. what the typical homeowner can do, however, is install a gray water system<\/a> that takes used water from sinks, showers and washing machines and puts it to use for toilet flushing or irrigation. since the water would become dirty and be flushed away anyway, it makes sense to reuse old water instead of using perfectly clean water for these purposes.<\/p>\n

energy-efficient desalination<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"reverse<\/a><\/p>\n

a view across a reverse osmosis desalination plant. (source:<\/span> james grellier)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

many cities across the west coast and eastern seaboard have turned to desalination \u2014 getting the salt out of water taken from the ocean \u2014 as a source of water. the current process of treating seawater is reverse osmosis, which uses polymer membranes to filter saltwater. however, this process requires a lot of water pressure, which therefore uses a lot of energy. to address this issue, some scientists have started working on graphene membrane technology, which are thinner and more porous versions of today\u2019s reverse-osmosis filters. as mit news writes<\/a>, the key to energy efficient membrane filtering is having very precise control over the size of the holes in the graphene sheet in order to hit the \u201csweet spot\u201d where salt molecules are blocked but water molecules can pass through. the pressure needed to push water molecules through these membranes is much lower, meaning energy requirements are lower, too.<\/p>\n

reducing water use\/increasing efficiency<\/strong><\/h2>\n

finally, it\u2019s important to make the distinction between the goal of increasing water availability and conserving water through use reductions. while the former is absolutely crucial, especially in arid regions of the world, conservation-focused strategies are the easiest \u2014 and perhaps most cost-effective \u2014 ways for individuals to get involved in drought solutions. some common fixes are to switch out old fixtures with low-flow showerheads, high efficiency toilets and aerators on faucets. for california readers, dropcountr<\/a> is an app that connects people and their utilities by presenting information on their current water consumption, showing them if their usage is above average, and helping them set a reasonable water budget.<\/p>\n