Drinking Water Features

  1. Managing Growth Under Water Constraints: What Utilities Can Learn From Industrial Water Users 9/14/2026

    As communities and industries compete for finite water supplies, utilities are looking for strategies that support economic growth while reducing pressure on existing resources.

  2. What Utilities Don't Know About GAC Reuse For PFAS 9/9/2026

    For utilities building PFAS treatment systems, thermal reactivation of spent granular activated carbon (GAC) may sound like the obvious answer. However, service provider availability and location, specific media acceptance criteria including quantity thresholds, restrictions on GAC type and condition, and regulatory uncertainty can all determine whether reuse is a viable option. 

  3. Beyond Water-Stress Scores: Assessing Infrastructure Resilience At The Asset Level 9/9/2026

    Water-stress screening can identify where an infrastructure asset deserves closer attention. Assessing resilience requires further steps: understanding the asset’s water profile, the reliability and security of its supply, the pressure it places on local resources, and whether adaptation can keep it operational and economically viable over time.

  4. Colorado River Conservation Depends On The Delivery System 9/8/2026

    The Department of the Interior issued the 2027-2028 Operating Guidelines, calling for Lower Basin deliveries to drop by 1.25 million acre-feet annually in 2027 and 2028, with a minimum of 700,000 acre-feet of additional voluntary conservation over those two years. While temporary reductions are a start, water districts and water professionals should also consider delivery upgrades and on-farm improvements in agricultural areas that prepare growers for a new reality with less water.

  5. The Cost Of Waiting: Utilities Face A Narrowing PFAS Compliance Window 9/4/2026
    For years, the water industry's PFAS conversation centered on monitoring, testing, and regulatory anticipation. Today, that phase is largely over.
  6. PFAS Funding Is Flowing — But Does The Water Sector Have Enough People To Deliver It? 9/4/2026

    For several years, the PFAS conversation has centered on treatment options, testing, and funding. Those factors still matter, but they are no longer the primary constraint. Most utilities already understand the treatment routes available to them; the real challenge now is moving from technical possibility to operational performance, and that depends entirely on people.

  7. Sunscreen For Lakes And Dams: Could A Thin Floating Layer Of Nanomaterial Shield Water From Evaporation? 9/3/2026

    Water stored in dams and reservoirs for humans to use often evaporates, especially in hot regions like southern Africa. Rising temperatures speed evaporation up, leaving less water for people, farming and industry. Daniel Kwasi Kpeglo has just completed a PhD in physics. He explains his laboratory research into a new design – a thin nanomaterial floating cover that could be placed over lakes and dams like a blanket, reducing evaporation by limiting the amount of infrared heat from the sun that reaches the water. He also outlines what hurdles need to be cleared for the design to be tested in the real world.

  8. Many Cities Buried Urban Streams. Here's How To Bring Them Back 9/1/2026

    As many cities developed, streams that once flowed on the surface were buried underground to make way for growing infrastructure. However, as heavier rainfall, extreme weather and aging infrastructure place growing pressure on cities, these buried streams could become part of the solution. Restoring streams to the surface — a practice known as stream daylighting — can help manage stormwater, restore habitats, and create greener, more walkable public spaces.

  9. Advanced Water Treatment Strategies Help Data Centers Manage Cooling Water At Industrial Scale 8/25/2026
    Data centers are evolving into industrial-scale thermal-management facilities as artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), cloud platforms, and accelerated computing increase rack power density. Modern AI racks can exceed 50–120 kW per rack, creating substantially higher heat-rejection requirements than conventional enterprise infrastructure. ASHRAE's (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) AI Data Center Energy Performance Framework identifies liquid cooling as an important architecture for these high-density environments.
  10. D.C. Circuit Upholds EPA's Hazardous Substance Designation For PFOA, PFOS 8/24/2026

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently rejected industry challenges to the EPA's designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA, leaving the agency's April 2024 rule fully intact. While the case centered on the EPA's authority to make the designation, its practical significance for water utilities is simpler: the liability concerns that have accompanied the rule since its adoption remain unresolved.