![]() Instead of dumping waste back into the ocean, Smith’s method would allow us to recycle an entire city’s potentially hazardous waste into clean drinkable water. Imagine the entire city of Los Angeles with a population of approximately 3.8 million and the amount of waste that it produces per day. The gas is then consumed by microbial fuel cells that produce electricity. Special microbes purify the water by consuming the waste particles and transforming them into energy in the form of methane gas. With California’s increased population during a record breaking drought, Adam Smith has developed a method to recycle wastewater byproducts by converting it into fresh water and useable energy. Understanding where our water comes from and where it is going is an important step in understanding how to survive drought years. Therefore, cities, states, and citizens should not look to a short‐term solution, but should think long-term conservation. Sanders says “the current drought situation us one of the driest and hottest season, it could end soon or it could last a long time.” Southern California last experienced one in 1985 that lasted for six years, while others in the distant past have lasted much longer. “More people means that there are more demands, at the same time that factors such as drought and higher temperatures have resulted in less supply” says Sanders.ĭroughts are cyclical. In late 2015, the city of Los Angeles implemented “Shade Balls” to its reservoirs to assist in controlling water quality as well as save 300 million gallons of water per year from evaporation.Ī large residential population has also stressed the water supply. A significant amount of water can be lost in the water delivery systems. When water moves from the Colorado River or the Sierras, through an aqueduct to Southern California, water can leak out of the aqueduct into the ground or is simply evaporated. “Water has always flowed into the ocean, but what we’re realizing now is that we need to capture it” says Kelly Sanders, Assistant Professor at the USC Viterbi Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.Īnother reason that our sources are running low is due to water leaks and evaporation in the water transport system. The river was restructured as a drainage system water that was once useable began to be diverted into the ocean and the city lost a source of its drinking water. At one time, the Los Angeles River used to be a main source of the city’s water however, in 1940 the city was concerned about flooding and needed a way to properly drain excess water. This represents a significant issue regarding infrastructure. However, when rain does occur, with no significant way to collect that water and reuse it, about 80% of rainfall gets dumped into the ocean. ![]() With California experiencing warmer fall and winter temperatures and less rain, snowpack levels are 5% less than what is considered normal.
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