As populations surge across the American West, ensuring adequate water supplies presents an escalating challenge for municipalities. Aurora, Colorado, provides a model for sustainably securing a city’s long-term water needs despite rapid expansion. Aurora taps into renewable underground water sources through the innovative Prairie Waters Project while promoting conservation and responsible growth. Rapid Growth Strains […]
As urban populations swell around the globe, an overlooked byproduct of our modern sewage systems is accumulating at an astonishing pace – wastewater sludge. This problematic solid waste is highly nutrient-rich yet challenging to manage sustainably. But innovative resource recovery techniques are now transforming sludge from an environmental liability into a circular economic asset supplying […]
As China’s capital Beijing continues its unprecedented urban expansion, the city’s environmental and public health demands grow in turn. With over 20 million residents, Beijing generates staggering volumes of sewage and wastewater that must be treated and discharged responsibly. At the forefront of Beijing’s wastewater infrastructure stands the Beixiaohe Treatment Plant – an engineering marvel […]
Access to safe, clean drinking water is a basic necessity that billions around the world still lack. Contaminated water continues to spread life-threatening diseases like cholera, dysentery and diarrheal infections – a leading cause of childhood mortality in developing nations. While large-scale sanitization infrastructure has expanded, many remote and impoverished communities remain without reliable water […]
From the gas pump to the synthetic fertilizers that help feed the world, petroleum products facilitate almost every aspect of modern life. But this ubiquitous fossil fuel comes with an overlooked and mounting environmental toll – for every barrel of crude oil extracted, an astounding 10 barrels of salty, contaminated wastewater called “produced water” surfaces […]
As we flush our toilets and run our sinks daily, wastewater gurgles into an unseen underworld of aging pipes, pumps, and treatment plants. This intricate infrastructure forms the backbone of our nation’s sanitation, collecting sewage from homes and buildings to process over 34 billion gallons daily. Yet cracking pipes, overflowing sewers, and outdated plants plague […]
Water treatment company H2O Innovation Inc. recently announced the acquisition of Itasca Systems Inc. in a $24 million deal. Itasca Systems provides specialized water systems engineering and technical services related to membrane filtration and other treatment technologies. This strategic purchase allows Canadian cleantech leader H2O Innovation to expand its engineering and system design capabilities in […]
Tucked away in a quiet corner of Arlington County lies an unassuming complex of buildings that play a vital role in maintaining the health and cleanliness of our waterways. The Arlington Waste Water Treatment Plant has been operating since 1959 to treat sewage from Arlington County and discharge clean water back into the environment. On […]
The Eastern Water Reclamation Facility (EWRF) is a crucial wastewater treatment plant providing significant water reuse and environmental services to the Orlando, Florida, region. Owned and operated by the Orange County Utilities Department, EWRF commenced operations in 1986 to help meet increasing wastewater infrastructure demands stemming from rapid Orlando metro population growth through the second […]
As water scarcity intensifies globally, innovative technologies are needed to ensure adequate supply and optimize treatment. Water processes based on osmosis, the natural diffusion of water across a semi-permeable membrane, have generated growing interest for their efficiency, reliability, and environmental sustainability. Engineered osmosis methods like forward osmosis (FO) and pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) utilize optimized membranes […]