• Collecting rainwater could save U.S. residents $90 million a year

    Simply collecting rainwater could save U.S. residents millions of dollars each year on their water bills and drastically cut down on water consumption; a new study by the Natural Resources Defense Council examined the potential cost-savings in eight U.S. cities and found that residents could collectively save $90 million or more annually

  • Groundwaterin some parts of U.S. susceptible to radium contamination

    A recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study found that groundwater in aquifers on the East Coast and in the Central United States has the highest risk of contamination from radium, a naturally occurring radioactive element and known carcinogen

  • GAO: critical infrastructure operators need more coherent regulations

    A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that the bulk of U.S. critical infrastructure is inadequately protected as operators lack a coherent set of guidelines

  • Protecting U.S. water supplies

    Aside from possible cyberatacks on water utilities, security officials are worried that terrorists could contaminate water supplies with volatile chemicals that can poison thousands of individuals and even cause explosions; DHS warned local water utilities of “backpressure” — a simple tactic terrorists could use to introduce a chemical or biological agent into the water supply and spread it over long distances without immediate detection

  • DHS investigates attacks on New Jersey water supply

    DHS agents and local authorities in New Jersey are investigating a series of attacks on the West Milford water system; since July there have been more than fifteen attacks on local water and sewage facilities that in some instances have resulted in sewage flooding the street or losses in service all together

  • Solar UV disinfects drinking water

    More than 800 million people around the world lack access to clean water; the water available for people to drink in many developing countries has not been treated to remove contaminants, including pathogenic microorganisms; half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by people who are sickened by the water they drink; Purdue University researchers have invented a water-disinfection system that uses the sun’s ultraviolet radiation to inactivate waterborne pathogens

  • Global water market could hit $800 billion by 2035

    Analysts are predicting that the global market for water could grow dramatically over the next two decades, with some projecting a $1 trillion market in 2020; “Water is the fastest growing market at the moment, with a size of $500 billion globally,” said Harri Kerminen, the president and CEO of Finnish chemical firm Kemira

  • Maintaining water quality

    Scientists at Kansas State University and seven other collaborating institutions were recently awarded $3.3 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to conduct a-large scale study of how stream organisms influence water quality across North America

  • Cyber attacks on U.S. are becoming more lethal

    The head of the U.S. Cyber Command said that cyber attacks on the United States are escalating from large-scale theft and disruption of computer operations to more lethal attacks that destroy systems and physical equipment

  • Saltwater intrusion threatens South Florida’s water supplies

    South Florida’s water supply is becoming increasingly endangered by saltwater that is steadily seeping in from the ocean and contaminating supplies; despite the best efforts of local communities to stop the problem, saltwater intrusion is spreading

  • AI helps identify leaky pipes, prevent flooding

    Engineers have pioneered new methods for detecting leaky pipes and identifying flood risks with technologies normally used for computer game graphics and Artificial Intelligence; these techniques could help to identify water supply and flooding problems more quickly than ever before

  • Wastewater recycling adds to greenhouse gas emissions

    New research shows that wastewater recycling processes may generate more greenhouse gases than traditional water-treatment processes; still, there are good reasons to continue keep wastewater recycling among the water-resource tools for urban areas

  • Bacteria--Energy Producers of the Future?

    A lot of the water we use daily goes to waste — whether it goes down drains, sewers, or toilets, much of it ends up at a wastewater treatment plant where it undergoes rigorous cleaning before it flows back to the environment; researchers are looking at processes which would turn wastewater into energy

  • New desalination technology to help solve world's water shortage

    Over one-third of the world’s population already lives in areas struggling to keep up with the demand for fresh water. By 2025, that number will nearly double; a new study argues that seawater desalination should play an important role in helping combat worldwide fresh water shortages once conservation, reuse, and other methods have been exhausted

  • Protecting water utilities from terrorist attacks and contaminants

    In 1993, a cryptosporidiosis outbreak in Milwaukee contaminated the city’s water supplies, hastened the deaths of dozens of citizens, made more than 400,000 residents ill, and cost more than $96 million in medical expenses and lost productivity; Sandia’s CANARY software protects water utilities from terrorist attacks and contaminants