Infrastructure

Making Flood-Prone Areas in New Jersey More Resilient to Climate Change
State and federal programs that enable the acquisition of flood-prone properties from willing homeowners at fair market value and then clear the land represent powerful first steps toward resilience.
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Fast Reactor Technology Is an American Clean, Green and Secure Energy Option
Pivotal partnerships between industry and national laboratories steer advances that will help combat climate change. Companies in the nuclear industry work closely with national labs and the DOE Fast Reactor Program to develop next-generation nuclear reactors.
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Scientists Map Loss of Groundwater Storage Around the World
Global water resources are stretched by climate change and human population growth, and farms and cities are increasingly turning to groundwater to fill their needs. Unfortunately, the pumping of groundwater can cause the ground surface above to sink. A new study maps, for the first time, the permanent loss of aquifer storage capacity occurring globally.
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Protecting Critical Infrastructure During Uncertain Times
Throughout November, the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) will commemorate Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month. The timing of this year’s monthlong spotlight on our nation’s critical infrastructure is especially significant. Between ongoing severe weather events affecting the nation (and our neighbors to the south), a resurgence of COVID-19, the looming threat of a government shutdown, and more, now is the time to turn research into action.
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Innovative Way to Predict Saltwater Intrusion into Groundwater
Working closely with local conservation group, researchers develop new model to predict climate-change driven saltwater intrusion that is transferable to other vulnerable coastal communities.
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Engineers Develop an Efficient Process to Make Fuel from Carbon Dioxide
The approach directly converts the greenhouse gas into formate, a solid fuel that can be stored indefinitely and could be used to heat homes or power industries.
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Biden’s $8 Billion Quest to Solve America’s Groundwater Crisis
A looming depletion of groundwater across the U.S. has drawn nationwide attention in recent years, as local officials in states from Kansas to Arizona struggle to manage dwindling water resources even as homes and farms get thirstier. With little fanfare, the administration is using infrastructure funding to revive dormant plans for pipelines and reservoirs in rural areas across the U.S. West.
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EPA Cancels Certain Cyber Regulations for Water Utilities
Following growing concerns about the cybersecurity of the U.S. water infrastructure, the EPA announced this week it will no longer require cybersecurity audits of water utility facilities through sanitary surveys.
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States Working to Safeguard America’s Most Important River
Political leaders in the Mississippi River area are looking to form a multistate compact to manage threats from climate change, water pollution and drought-affected regions elsewhere. Twenty million people drink from the Mississippi River and its tributaries every day, and the river has led to more than 350,000 jobs and generates more than $21 billion in annual tourism, fishing and recreation spending.
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Ethiopia's Dam Dispute Could Escalate
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam conflict has lasted for more than a decade without a resolution. Some experts warn that any further delays in settling the outstanding issues could have dire consequences.
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Residents Unprepared for Wildland Fires, Face Barriers in Implementing Prevention Measures
Individual and social factors contribute to lack of preparedness, despite many available residential wildfire mitigation and educational programs.
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Rising Seas Tighten Vise on Miami Even for People Who Are Not Flooded
In coming decades, four out of five residents of Florida’s Miami-Dade County area may face disruption or displacement, whether they live in flood zones or not – and indirect pressures on many areas could outweigh direct inundation.
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Fueling the Future of Fusion Energy
Long considered the ultimate source of clean energy, nuclear fusion promises abundant electrical power without greenhouse gas emissions or long-lasting radioactive waste. The process has fueled the core of the sun for more than four billion years – with billons more to go. Nore scientists are joining the global pursuit of harnessing that reaction.
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Modular Dam Design Could Accelerate the Adoption of Renewable Energy
Researchers have developed a new modular steel buttress dam system designed to resolve energy storage issues hindering the integration of renewable resources into the energy mix. The m-Presa modular steel buttress dam system cut dam construction costs by one-third and reduce construction schedules by half.
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Finland: Pipeline Leak Likely Caused by 'External Activity'
Damage to an underwater gas pipeline and telecommunications cable connecting Finland and Estonia may have been a deliberate act, according to Finnish authorities.
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