All posts tagged: water supply

Trent’s freshwater research driven by expertise and collaboration

Trent’s freshwater research driven by expertise and collaboration

Published by skeptic

Trent University in Ontario is engaged in a range of studies focused on addressing local and global freshwater issues, including microplastics, carbon cycling, and pollution. Freshwater resources are essential for sustaining life, supporting ecosystems, and providing human needs. Yet, these vital systems all across the globe are increasingly threatened by climate change, pollution, habitat loss, invasive species, and the list goes on. It might feel like the physical scale of these resources makes these challenges unmanageable, but you just need to look to Canada – one of the world’s largest countries and regarded as a leader in freshwater resource management – to be inspired and optimistic. Specifically, Trent University in Peterborough and Durham GTA, Ontario, is showcasing leadership in the field of freshwater research with its depth and breadth of knowledge, unique resources, and collaborative approach to understanding and informing solutions. Trent’s top researchers are leaders in water research Trent University boasts a diverse group of over 30 experts involved in and dedicated to freshwater and environmental research. This distinguished collection of experts consists of …

Can green wastewater infrastructure reduce emissions?

Can green wastewater infrastructure reduce emissions?

Published by skeptic

Researchers have shown a transition to green wastewater treatment approaches in the US that leverages the potential of carbon financing. Switching to green wastewater infrastructure could save a staggering $15.6bn and just under 30 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions over 40 years. The comprehensive findings from Colorado State University were highlighted in a paper in Nature Communications Earth and Environment in a first-of-its-kind study. It explores the potential economic trade-offs of switching to green infrastructure and technology solutions that go beyond existing grey-water treatment practices. Built off data collected at over 22,000 facilities, the report provides comprehensive baseline metrics and explores the relationship among emissions, costs and water treatment capabilities for utility operators and decision-makers. Developing potential solutions for green wastewater infrastructure Braden Limb, the paper’s first author and a PhD student in the Department of Systems Engineering, explained: “These findings draw a line in the sand that shows the potential for adopting green wastewater approaches in this space—both in terms of money saved and total emissions reduced. “It is a starting point to understand …

Testing environmental water to monitor the spread of COVID-19

Testing environmental water to monitor the spread of COVID-19

Published by skeptic

To better understand COVID-19’s spread during the pandemic, public health officials expanded environmental water surveillance. Environmental water surveillance tracks SARS-CoV-2 levels and health risks among most people, but it misses people who live without shelter, a population particularly vulnerable to severe infection. To fill this information gap, researchers have tested flood-control waterways near unsheltered encampments, finding similar transmission patterns as in the broader community and identifying previously unseen viral mutations. The research is published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. The limitations of testing untreated environmental water In recent years, testing untreated environmental water for SARS-CoV-2 incidence and dominant viral variants, as well as other pathogens, has been vital to helping public health officials determine infectious disease transmission in local communities. Despite this, this monitoring only captures information on viruses shed from human waste in buildings that are connected to local sewage infrastructure. Beyond the pandemic’s impact on human health, it also exacerbated socioeconomic difficulties. It increased the number of people experiencing homelessness and living in open-air encampments without access to indoor bathrooms. To understand …

£1m boost for wildlife and water quality improvements

£1m boost for wildlife and water quality improvements

Published by skeptic

Work on a project to restore wetland habitat will boost wildlife and biodiversity and support water quality improvements at Billingham Beck and Thorpe Beck, which are tributaries of the River Tees. The £1m project, led by the Environment Agency in partnership with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and National Highways, will be complete by the autumn and will show significant wildlife and water quality improvements. It’s part of the £30m Tees Tidelands Programme, a groundbreaking set of projects officially launched in November. The programme will help the River Tees Estuary adapt to climate change, restore valuable habitat for internationally important wildlife, and reconnect the river’s tributaries. Vicky Ward, Natural England’s Tees Estuary Recovering Nature Project Manager, explained: “The Tees Tidelands programme is an incredible contribution to the Tees Estuary and will significantly reduce flood risks for local communities and industries.” Exciting project will bring ‘much-needed boost’ for wildlife and water quality improvements Paul Eckersley, the Environment Agency’s project manager, said: “This exciting project will bring a much-needed boost to biodiversity and water quality after decades of modification …

Removing PFAS chemicals from water through electrocatalysis

Removing PFAS chemicals from water through electrocatalysis

Published by skeptic

Scientists from the University of Rochester have pioneered an innovative electrochemical process to remove PFAS chemicals from water. The researchers’ electrocatalysis approach has been demonstrated to be effective at remedying pollution caused by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as ‘forever chemicals‘. PFAS chemicals have been widely used in various products such as clothing, food packaging, and firefighting foams, posing significant environmental and health risks due to their persistence in the environment. This novel approach to removing PFAS chemicals could herald a new era in environmental remediation efforts, ensuring a safer and healthier future for communities worldwide. Targeting PFAS contamination Led by Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering Astrid Müller, the research team focused on addressing the contamination caused by Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), a type of PFAS extensively used in stain-resistant products. Despite being banned in many parts of the world due to its detrimental effects on human and animal health, PFOS remains prevalent in the environment, particularly in water supplies. Innovative nanocatalysts To overcome this significant environmental issue, Müller and her team developed nanocatalysts …

The Man Working to Keep the Water On in Gaza

The Man Working to Keep the Water On in Gaza

Published by skeptic

Numbers are one way to make the destruction of war legible: number of hostages, number of children killed, number of buildings destroyed, number of aid trucks that made it across the Egyptian border. For Marwan Bardawil, who lives in Gaza, the unit of peril he tracks is cubic meters per hour. Bardawil is a water engineer with the Palestinian Water Authority overseeing Gaza. And these days he is measuring, in cubic meters per hour, the quantity of water flowing through the pipes that, in prewar time, carried 10 percent of Gazans’ drinking water—pipes that are controlled by Israel. Right now, with other water sources dwindling, those pipes are Gaza’s lifeline. “The people are really in need of each drop of water,” he told me. For the past week, I’ve been checking in with Bardawil every day as he struggles to find clean sources of water. (You can hear our phone conversations on this week’s episode of Radio Atlantic). In the best of times, Bardawil’s job is difficult. Gaza sits between a desert and the Mediterranean …

Gaza’s Last Catholic Parish – The Atlantic

Gaza’s Last Catholic Parish – The Atlantic

Published by skeptic

It’s just past 1 a.m. on October 12, the fourth day of Israel’s assault on Gaza, and my friend Rami is awake, texting me from a pew in the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, where he and his family are sheltering from air strikes. He tells me their apartment building was hit last night, their home completely demolished. Now he, his wife, and their two kids are sleeping on mattresses in the church hall, alongside almost 200 other Gazans evacuated or displaced from their homes. Because Rami fears for his safety, I’m using only his first name here. There are about 40 kids in the church, Rami says, and the adults are trying to keep them busy and distracted even as the sounds of rockets rattle the building. They’ve been playing soccer in the hall, because going outside is not an option. The adults have been praying, he says, and checking their phones for more news. He wants to come up with an activity for tomorrow that would entertain the kids without using power, …