Advances in reverse osmosis membrane technology are convincing more and more cities to invest in cleaning their own used water instead of piping it in from far-off reservoirs.
"A non-profit organization called the Affordable Desalination Collaboration formed in the state of California as a public/private venture that has funding from some of the municipalities like Orange County, West Basin, and the city of Santa Cruz. It also has funding from the state of California's Department of Water Resources, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and then some of the industrial companies."
"For example, when the Santa Barbara seawater R.O. system was built in the early 90s, it cost about four times what it currently costs to desalt seawater-seawater desalting costs only 25 percent of what it did just 15 years ago. So, we found out very quickly that the technology has improved and is more energy efficient..."
"...osmotic pressure represents a potential source of energy. That was postulated in the 1970s by the originators of the reverse osmosis concept but at that time the technology didn't exist to capture that osmotic pressure and turn it into power. Today, because of technological improvements, it is conceivable that we will be able to capture the osmotic pressure from seawater and make it a source of power."
Read the full story: Reverse Osmosis and Toray Membrane USA: Can Desalination Finally Solve Water Scarcity?
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Malls are becoming the midtowns of the future
Mall and office park redevelopments are a generational opportunity to create new nodes of urbanity.
NYC breaks ground on anti-flooding infrastructure project
New York City's new system will reduce stormwater flows to local sewers by 90%.
One Kentucky town’s secret to affordable housing
The Smoketown Community Land Trust has already built seven affordable homes for community members.
Houston gains petal-shaped cooling infrastructure to make streets more ‘delightful’
The city has installed the pavilions along 15 blocks in Houston.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority