...centralized urban water systems throughout the world are now under significant stress from increasing population density, water-resource competition, changing precipitation patterns, and new sources of pollutants, such as endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Even without these pressures, centralized water is, by design, a fracture-critical system—one that is susceptible “to complete and sudden collapse should any part of it fail,” writes Thomas Fisher, Assoc. AIA... — Architect Magazine
"Faced with an excessive price tag, municipalities may welcome decentralized water as the only feasible choice for future water delivery. Architects should therefore develop more expertise related to these net-zero water systems, as they will have direct implications for building design, construction, and operation."
For more on health issues related to the ecology of urban environments, check out these articles:
6 Comments
Republicans will make hay over the flint crisis. They see huge opportunity to privatize the public water system, drive it into ruin and sell bottled water and filters. Easy to scare the public now, easy to make big bucks tomorrow.
The real question is why no one is doing the right thing and laying in surface lines and reconnecting homes in flint temporarily while they plan to replace the cities water infrastructure. It's a serious crisis and handing out bottled water is a joke. FEMA showing the same leadership as New Orleans
The real issue is not how to fix it but who's going to get the contract.
Meanwhile the Indian Point nuclear plant had a (another) serious leak that got seriously under reported. Over 40 years old (same vintage as the Fukushima plants) and 30 miles from NYC.
It's never about doing the right thing, it's always about money.
The first question that needs to be asked -and honestly answered -is why the entire situation was risk managed into this dire situation. We can all point fingers at wallets, but frankly there are far more lucrative markets out there than decentralized infrastructure. And if it is just about infrastructure for profit, why is this the "test market?"
^ Austerity played to the extreme.
That's a tactic or outcome at best.
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