One Type of Water: Potentially Drinkable: Fid-Bau Portal

One Type of Water: Potentially Drinkable

Sedlak, David L.

Over the past century, provision of drinking water has operated on a simple premise: find the cleanest possible source of water, treat it, distribute it, and make sure it never stops flowing. Although this approach has yielded substantial public health and economic benefits, its viability has been challenged by severe droughts in Texas and California, where water shortages are raising the prospect of a US city running out of water. Happily, the drought in Texas is over (for now). The responses to these challenges that are being pursued by water‐stressed cities are distinctly different from those used during previous droughts when water shortages were met with bulldozers, cement trucks, and drill rigs. In an era when new sources of pristine, imported water are unavailable, engineers are turning to technologies that can convert any and all water into drinking water. But advanced water treatment alone will not solve our water supply challenges. If we hope to provide a safe and reliable water supply for US cities, fundamental changes in the way that water professionals manage water resources will be required.