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."
FULL STORY: Reverse Osmosis and Toray Membrane USA: Can Desalination Finally Solve Water Scarcity?
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.
San Diego Votes to Rein in “Towering” ADUs
City council voted to limit the number of units in accessory buildings to six — after confronting backyard developments of up to 100 units behind a single family home.
Texas Legislature’s Surprising Pro-Housing Swing
Smaller homes on smaller lots, office to apartment conversions, and 40% less say for NIMBYs, vote state lawmakers.
Even Edmonton Wants Single Staircase Buildings
Canada's second most affordable major city joins those angling to nix the requirement for two staircases in multi-family buildings.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Borough of Carlisle
Smith Gee Studio
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)