All posts by RainBankAdmin

Infrastructure

Would You Drink Poop Water?

From Poop to Potable

Bill Gates challenged a group of engineers to come up with an affordable way to get rid of disease-spreading sewage in developing countries where getting rid of waste is too costly.  The engineers rose to the occasion and developed a process called Omniprocessor, which makes drinking water from sewage.

Gates says “The water tasted as good as any I’ve had out of a bottle. And having studied the engineering behind it, I would happily drink it every day. It’s that safe.”

Watch as Bill Gates gets Jimmy Fallon to drink water made from poop.

Infrastructure

Innovative Use of Water to Help Power Portland

Portland_and_Mt_HoodLights partly powered by drinking water?

As infrastructure ages, clever solutions are being invented to create sustainable energy systems. A new method adopted in Portland, OR captures energy as water flows through the city’s pipes, creating hydropower without the negative environmental effects.

According to an article in Fast Company, small turbines in the pipes spin in the flowing water, sending that energy into a generator. The power is sent into the grid, and although it isn’t enough energy to run a city, the pipes could potentially power individual buildings like a library or school, or help offset an energy bill.  An interesting feature is that the system can generate electricity at any time of day, regardless of weather, since water is always flowing through the pipes.

Greater potential may be California, where a large chunk of energy usage goes into the water supply. With these pipes, utilities might generate some of their own much-needed power.

Click here to read the full article.

Portland and Mt. Hood from Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository courtesy of Amateria1121

Professional Development

ARCSA Professional Development for Rainwater Harvesting Professionals – February 2015

Color PencilsRainBank is ARCSA’s Northwest Regional Representative and will share and promote ARCSA’s mission to promote sustainable rainwater harvesting practices to help solve potable, non-potable, stormwater and energy challenges throughout the world.

Here are some upcoming ARCSA education opportunities that would benefit rainwater harvesting industry professionals at varying levels of professional development.  Subscribe to RainBank’s blog (check box below) to receive more notifications, or subscribe directly to ARCSA’s newsletter.

  • Urban Soil Water Summit
    2/24/2015 » 2/25/2015
    Location: Los Angeles, California    Time: 7:30 am pst to 7:30 pm pst This is a member only event, please click for more info about ARCSA membership

“Color Pencils Isolated On White Background” courtesy of cbenjasuwan / www.freedigitalphotos.net