Climate change, disease, and other threats imperil the world’s clean water, but solutions are at hand. Researchers at the Stanford Program on Water, Health & Development are focusing on ways to make water supplies more resilient and sustainable through better infrastructure, treatment and management. Learn about some of these promising projects below.
As climate change alters the water cycle and demand for water continues to increase, innovative solutions are needed to keep faucets from running dry. Wastewater is a valuable resource that can be used to build resilience to water scarcity. Megan Mauter is leading a team that aims to repurpose 90% of wastewater through innovative treatment technologies, and work towards creating a circular water economy. Read Q&A with Megan Mauter.
Another solution to water scarcity solution is desalination - converting seawater into freshwater, but this process has been difficult to perfect. Will Tarpeh and his team have designed desalination technology that is more environmentally benign and profitable. Learn more.
Whereas all water infrastructure has a finite life span, good management can prevent the premature failure of pumps, pipes and other assets. Dan Smith is leading a study on the impacts of a preventative water pump maintenance service in Uganda, where regular technician visits and a customer hotline gives communities more reliable access to safe drinking water sources.
Understanding how diseases spread is critical for building resilience to outbreaks. Prompted by the COVID-19 outbreak, Alexandria Boehm is studying how viruses spread through the environment, particularly through wastewater. Boehm is identifying traits that determine a virus’s ability to survive, knowledge that can inform outbreak response strategies in the future. Read a Q&A with Alexandria Boehm
Ensuring providing reliable access to sanitation and safe clean water services are is also keys to stopping the spread of illness. Jenna Davis and her team worked to develop and test deploy a device that cleans water at the collection sitepoint of collection. The technology has no moving parts and does not require electricity or behavior change from the users, making it an effective and reliable robust way to ensure access to safe drinking water. Learn more about the project.
A single economic shock, such as losing a job or falling ill, can send a family into poverty. Having safe and reliable access to water is key for building resilience to such shocks. James Winter found that when women in Zambia had access to piped water in the home, they had more time for growing gardens and working to earn an income. Read a Q&A with James Winter.
Christine Pu is researching how access to roads and irrigation infrastructure builds economic resilience by expanding opportunities for subsistence agriculture and allowing households to grow more lucrative crops. This work focuses on the connections between extreme poverty, infrastructure and climate. Read more about the project.
Having important products like like fertilizer and disinfectant available locally on a reliable basis is critical for household and community resilience. Anna Kogler is developing technology that can convert wastewater into these two useful products, which gives communities a new source of income and makes them more self-sufficient while also improving sanitation.
Credits:
Photos from waterdotorg and California Department of Water Resrouces