A
Quest for Even Safer Drinking Water published today in the NY Times
emphasizes the problems with the national water infrastructure. The proposals I
laid out for Autonomous Infrastructure just 2 days ago would address this head
on. How’s that for timely? J
“Still, millions of individual cases of waterborne
diseases occur annually and related
hospitalization costs approach $1 billion each year. … 164
waterborne disease outbreaks, almost entirely from protozoan cysts of the
parasite Cryptosporidium.”
“Water drawn from the faucet is markedly different from the water that leaves the system’s treatment facility. ‘The ecology,’ Dr. Pace said, ‘is the distribution system. … My fear is that we’re increasing the likelihood of engineered environments contributing to antibiotic resistance’”
My proposal for Pipe-Free Water Distribution fits this need perfectly, and would readily enable the proposal for UV processing:
“begin zapping tap water with ultraviolet light to inactivate
organisms like Cryptosporidium that resist chlorine-based treatments. The water
supply system remains a deteriorating, mostly subterranean infrastructure so
complex that in many municipalities officials
can’t even say where all the pipes are laid.”
“And many scientists fear that the use of chlorine can result in the
growth of resistant and sometimes harmful microorganisms, including Legionella,
the cause of Legionnaires’ disease and Pontiac fever, and the nontuberculous
mycobacteria, which can infect the lungs, skin and other organs.
“Mycobacteria are common inhabitants in drinking water systems, and
researchers are particularly interested in the
estimated 20,000 infections they cause annually.”
When we talk more about Sustainable Communities I’ll lay out proposals for other aspects, including research, monitoring, and other water related issues.
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