For the cities that are learning from Chicagoβs example, Bernstein argues, recent storms furnish an important lesson: Bottling rainstorms is really hard. βIf I was one of these other cities that have been convinced a deep tunnel system would make the difference, Iβd be pretty angry by now,Θ he says, βbecause putting big money and expertise behind the large structured system ended up delaying by decades action that might have [been] taken earlier to figure out how to make more use of the surface of the region."
While engineersβ penchant for megaprojects endures, some American cities are preaching deterrence. If Chicago built a bathtub, Philadelphia is trying to transform itself into a sponge with park space, street trees, and permeable pavement. The city is spending $2.4 billion to implement the nationβs largest green infrastructure plan, an experiment that positions it as the anti-Chicago. The city thinks keeping water out of the system will save billions of dollars compared to a rejected tunnel proposalβand that green initiatives will produce positive externalities, like improving air quality and creating verdant streets.
A very interesting video on how wastewater is turned into clean water at a typical sewage treatment plant ...
Most sewage treatment is biological (natural bacteria) encouraged by heat and stirring up of the sewage. Then there is screening. Chemicals are used very sparingly in sewage treatment, due to the the risk of chlorine disinfection byproducts, which cause cancer.
A 100 year flood is one that has a 1% chance of happening in any particular year. That is the level of risk that the government declares as within a flood plain, and requires flood insurance to purchase a government backed mortgage.
You might think that a 100 year flood occurs every one hundred years or your guaranteed a single flood every 100 years but that’s not how probability works. A 100 year flood only has a 63.3% chance of happening at least once each century.
The formula for probability over time is:
C = Chance in percent of winning T = The number of times your running the probability P = Percent chance of winning over time
(1 - (1-C) ) ^ T = P
(1- (1 - 0.01) ) ^ 20 = 0.182 or 18.2% flood risk over 20 years.
A 100 year flood plain has a 63.3% chance of flooding over 100 years, 86.6% chance over 200 years, and 95.0% chance over 300 years.
Whether you’re at home on a municipal water supply system that’s had a problem, out backpacking with a broken water filter, or trying to provide for your family after a natural disaster, making water safe to drink is a skill that can quite literally make the difference between life and death.
I was thinking the other day how careless I can be with water …
I rent and my landlord pays for the water, 💦 obstinately through my rent payment. The landlord sometimes complains how high the water bill is 💸 and suggests his tenants do more to save water. But water is cheap and plentiful, and I honestly I don’t think that much about it when I wash dishes or take a shower. But I probably should.
Water is not free to produce and it certainly is not free dispose of. Waste-water treatment is particularly energy intensive, and like many towns, there is a mixture of energy-intensive sewage pumps and gravity that take waste-water down to the treatment plant and heat and mechanically disturb it purify of many of the worse contaminates before dumping it into the Hudson River.
I am certainly a lot more careful about my water use when camping, as I am usually limited to the six gallons I have in the two three-gallon containers I have. I can usually re-fill them every few days, but that water has to used for all cooking and cleaning purposes. I often use paper plates and bowls, and try to avoid as many dishes as possible, but some cleaning is always necessary. But conservation is the name of the game in the wilderness — even when I’m washing dishes, I’m trying to minimize water use as much as possible by scrubbing them out with paper towels, rising and soaping them with as little water as possible.
When I own my own land, and an off-grid place, water conservation will be the name of the game, especially if I don’t have an always-on water pump. βΈ There is nothing wrong with using a water tank up on the second floor and using gravity for flow. That’s the most energy efficient way to go, although you gain muscle yourself by hauling water upstairs. But if you filling the water by hand, you much more likely to conserve it. And conservation is the name of game. If I had a septic system, I would make sure to keep food waste separated out in the sink for compost, and used toilet paper in a wastebasket for incineration in a burn barrel. As who wants to pay to have their tank pumped, with all the solids ultimately going to a landfill?
Conservation is important, but it’s not really part of the modern suburban experience. I’m sure the landlord wishes I did more, and I probably should try harder, but all the incentives are wrong when you have easily pumped and pressurized water as your disposal.
