Increasing population and extensive urbanization have strained resources around the world, promoting water scarcity and solid waste accumulation. Addressing the issues of access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation in developing countries is challenging due to limited technological and financial resources. Therefore, it is imperative that durable, low-cost, and sustainable technologies are developed to help alleviate these problems. At the same time, the production of solid waste has increased and includes waste tires, which pose a health and environmental hazard. Although efforts have been made to develop new markets for recycled scrap tires, a vast majority are still being stockpiled or landfiled. This study aims to evaluate a water treatment system that addresses the problem of access to safe drinking water and sanitation, while providing a new market for recycled scrap tires. The system, termed ECOL-Mem, utilizes commercially available porous rubber tubing (PRT), which is marketed for drip irrigation purposes. To our knowledge, this is the first time this product has been used in a water treatment system. The PRT is manufactured through a hot extrusion process and contains 65% recycled crumb rubber and a binder (e.g. polyethylene). The proposed configuration simulates a hollow fiber membrane filtration system driven by a vacuum that operates inside-out. The system was first tested using clean water to obtain intrinsic characteristics. It was then tested using bentonite and sludge solutions that simulated impaired source water. For the case of a bentonite solution containing 700 mg/L, 20L of permeate could be obtained in one hour while the total solids removal remained around 20%. In order to improve the water quality, a flocculation-enhanced filtration phase was explored. The flocculant is chitin, a biopolymer that can be derived from waste shellfish. Upon addition of the chitin, between 60% and 70% of total solids removal could be obtained for different feed waters. Although optimization is needed, the PRT system has shown promising results, while providing a technology that targets the needs of developing countries in the areas of safe drinking water, basic sanitation, and solid waste recycling.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Carleton University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 425-456). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

En el presente artículo analizo el lugar que ocupa el conocimiento en la producción de nuevas relaciones sociales y configuraciones institucionales en el contexto de una crisis hídrica en las sierras chicas de Córdoba, Argentina. Basándome en un abordaje etnográfico, analizo la manera en que la información (tanto de origen científico como no científico) sobre ciertos hechos y fenómenos relativos al estado de situación de la crisis oficia como conocimiento en diferentes —pero complementarias— maneras, al ser, por un lado, apropiada y utilizada como base de las estrategias de visibilización de diferentes agrupaciones y organizaciones no gubernamentales, y por otro, fundamento de las intervenciones activas sobre la crisis por estas agrupaciones, creando así relaciones de cohesión, pero también de conflicto. Mostraré cómo estas relaciones se imbrican en un proceso de creación de nuevas configuraciones institucionales en el cual una campaña electoral, las preocupaciones y acciones concretas de los habitantes en torno al ambiente, y el conocimiento sobre los «procesos naturales», entre otras dinámicas, son considerados como parte constitutiva de un proceso más general de producción de la sociedad. / This article analyses the role of knowledge in the production of new social relations and institutional configurations in the context of a water crisis in Sierras Chicas, Córdoba, Argentina. Based on an ethnographic approach; it analyses the way in which factual information of scientific and non-scientific origin, operates as knowledge in two different but complementary ways: on the one hand, it is appropriated and used as the basis of visibility strategies by different groups and non-governmental organizations; on the other hand, it works as the ground for active interventions on the water crisis, generating both cohesive and conflictual relations. The article shows how these relations become embedded in the process of creation of knew institutional arrangements, in which an electoral campaign, the concerns and actions of the inhabitants regarding environmental problems, and the knowledge about «natural processes», among other dynamics, are considered part of a more general process of production of society.

Though some have the opportunity to access water conveniently, getting a small amount of water may be tough and exhausting for others. In this paper, I will discuss on the right to water, which is explicitly expressed by a UN resolution as a human right. Sever water crisis, or drought, has been far beyond a lack of precipitation, but a phenomenon, occurring through a set of human activities, and interferences. My initial aim is to find out how and in what ways some human activities in Iran, interfered environment in a way that affected precipitation level and led to water crisis. And the second, is to show how unethical these activities may be, as they have been simply avoidable. Therefore, the Iranian governmental organizations (like municipalities) are ethically responsible to provide the required water, since the right to water is called a basic human right by UN. These facts obliges them to hinder these activities to secure this basic need. On this way, I make use of Nussbaum's capability approach to show, depriving the citizens from one of their basic rights (the right to water), through influencing climatic order (in a way that decreases precipitation level or depletes water resources), is considered a moral issue, therefore, it is binding for the state to take measures responsively to stop and control it in the future.

The main objective of this study was to determine water access and use characteristics of household in Dar es Salaam in order to determine how the integrated urban water management (IUWM) approach can be applied in solving the water crisis in the city as well as other challenges of urban water supply and sanitation. A limited household water access and use survey was carried out in all three districts of Dar es Salaam. It was found that some of the principles of IUWM such “fit for purpose use” are already being practiced informally at household level, although this is not recognized in planning by Water Authorities. The study also shows that practices geared at saving and efficient use of water are well entrenched in households; with even those with access to sufficient amounts of water practicing it. At the user level, there do not appear to be any obstacles to adoption of IUWM. The potential for IUWM application is therefore shown to exist and recommendations are made for immediate measures such as incorporation of the various water sources in use in households into the formal system as well as improvements to methods of water saving, ground water extraction and rain water harvesting. Recommendations are also provided for wider adaptation of the entire city water management system to IUWM with emphasis on context driven solutions.

In August of 2022, the Pearl River in Mississippi flooded and caused damage to the water treatment plant that serves Jackson, Mississippi. Jackson residents are familiar with water insecurity as there has been an ongoing water crisis for decades. The temporary closure of the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant brought national attention and with it, an influx of funding and donations. This article uses the City of Jackson as a case study to learn from community-based organizations (CBO) representatives to understand different types of preparedness and response actions by using Organizational Learning as the primary motivating theory. This project uses 16 semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted between September 2023 and February 2024. All participants held a department director or CEO position within a CBO, and data was analyzed to document their responses and how they reacted in the wake of sudden-onset and chronic hazards and disasters. Numerous representatives shared their organization’s experiences responding to events spanning as far back as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and as recently as the winter freeze of January 2024. The positions that many Jackson CBOs and their representatives occupy undoubtedly make them excellent contributors to learn from and better understand community-based disaster preparedness and response. / Master of Science / In August of 2022, the Pearl River in Mississippi flooded and caused damage to the water treatment plant that serves Jackson, Mississippi. Jackson residents are familiar with water insecurity as there has been an ongoing water crisis for decades. The temporary closure of the O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Plant brought national attention and with it, an influx of funding and donations. This article uses the City of Jackson as a case study to learn from community-based organizations (CBO) representatives to understand different types of preparedness and response actions by using Organizational Learning as the primary motivating theory. CBO is defined as an organization that has a physical building within Hinds County, is not a government organization, and can include faith-based and nonprofit organizations that offer free or low-cost services to Jackson residents or other CBOs. This could include churches, food pantries, and organizations that offer financial assistance to other organizations or residents. Organizational Learning is a theory that outlines how an individual notices a success or failure in the organizations ability to provide services during a disaster, communicates that with the team, the team decides whether or not to make changes to routines or to the organizations’ future goals. This project uses 16 semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted between September 2023 and February 2024. All participants held a department director or CEO position within a CBO, and data was analyzed to document their responses and how they reacted in the wake of sudden-onset and chronic hazards and disasters. Numerous representatives shared their organization’s experiences responding to events spanning as far back as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and as recently as the winter freeze of January 2024. The positions that many Jackson CBOs and their representatives occupy undoubtedly make them excellent contributors to learn from and better understand community-based disaster preparedness and response.

As waterborne disease originating in potable water plumbing systems (such as Legionnaires' Disease and Nontuberculous Mycobacterial (NTM) infections) continue to increase, it is important to better understand the cause(s), responsible parties and interventions to prevent disease. This dissertation begins with a literature review characterizing the propensity of building (premise) plumbing to enhance or diminish opportunistic pathogen growth, including Legionella. It then holistically examines the problem at the field, bench and pilot scale by first discovering problems with lead and Legionella in Flint, MI, during an event popularly referred to as the Flint Water Crisis in 2014-2016. Four years were then spent simulating critical factors hypothesized to have triggered the Legionella outbreak in residences and in a large hospital in Flint. In parallel with that work, pilot scale rigs were operated for several years, to examine the important role of water heater system design and operation on energy efficiency, hot water delivery, and Legionella. The first chapter literature review is entitled "Critical Review of the Propensity of Premise Plumbing Pipe Materials to Enhance or Diminish the Growth of Legionella and Other Opportunistic Pathogens." It examines the complex environments found in premise systems, focusing primarily on the role of pipe materials. The effects of metallic (copper, iron) and plastic pipe materials on opportunistic pathogens and Legionella include their effect on nutrient availability, disinfectant levels, and the composition of the broader microbiome. Design, configuration, and operation are also examined in terms of their potential for influencing opportunistic pathogens. This chapter demonstrates that pipe materials have the potential to stimulate or inhibit pathogen growth, dependent on circumstance and water chemistry. This chapter will be submitted to the journal Pathogens. The field study in this work first predicted, discovered and then exposed problems with lead and Legionella in Flint, Michigan. A citizen science project that sampled Flint water in August 2015, demonstrated a city-wide problem with water lead exceeding the EPA limit of 15 µg/L after corrosion control was interrupted. Follow-up sampling events between August 2015 and August 2017 demonstrated that the switch back to the original water source and addition of enhanced corrosion control in October 2015, dramatically reduced lead, copper and iron levels flowing into consumer homes. Entitled "Evaluating Water Lead Levels During the Flint Water Crisis," this work was published in Environmental Science and Technology in 2018. After our Virginia Tech team's work helped expose a Legionnaires' disease outbreak that killed twelve people and sickened nearly one hundred individuals, the started to explore possible links between corrosion control, plumbing materials and disinfection that could help explain the trajectory of disease in Flint and elsewhere. Three separate experiments were performed using bench-scale simulated glass water heaters. Two of the studies attempted to simulate what occurred in Flint homes before, during and after the water crisis in relation to factors that either encouraged or discouraged Legionella growth, while the third examined the more benign Blacksburg tap water and a broader range of influential plumbing conditions. The first study entitled "Copper Pipe, Lack of Corrosion Control, and Uncontrolled pH Influenced the Trajectory of the Flint Legionnaires' Disease Outbreak," determined that the very low pH levels in summer 2015 and interruption of phosphate corrosion control, could cause explosive growth of Legionella in PEX plumbing held at warm temperature, without disinfectant and with constant mixing. Under the same conditions copper pipe had antimicrobial properties that markedly reduced Legionella in our experiments. This work has been submitted for review to Environmental Science and Technology. The second companion study conducted at a higher pH, without mixing and with trace chlorine, found 2.5 log10 lower levels of Legionella compared to the worst-case conditions in the aforementioned study, demonstrating the importance of mixing and traces of chlorine. Higher levels of disinfectant and the presence of copper pipe also enhanced control of Legionella. This manuscript is titled "Interactive Effects of Copper Pipe, Stagnation, Corrosion Control, and Disinfectant Residual Influenced Reduction of Legionella pneumophila during Simulations of the Flint Water Crisis," and it has been published in Pathogens. The third simulated glass water heater study examined the disinfection of opportunistic pathogens in the presence of six different premise plumbing materials or conditions in Blacksburg tap water. Generally speaking, all of the premise plumbing materials reduced disinfection of opportunistic pathogens compared to a control condition with glass surfaces. Chlorine decay was catalyzed by iron pipe, warmer temperature and the presence of organic matter, increasing the persistence of Legionella. Magnesium anodes in particular, encouraged much higher Legionella growth compared to all other materials. This work titled "Chlorine and Chloramine Disinfection of Legionella spp., L. pneumophila, and Acanthamoeba Under Warm Water Premise Plumbing Conditions," has been submitted to Microorganisms. Results of a six-year pilot study titled "Elucidating the Role of Water Heater System Configuration in Energy Efficiency, Consumer Comfort and Legionella Proliferation," examined different types of residential-sized water heater systems with plastic pipes including: a standard tank system with water stagnant between uses, a recirculating tank system with flowing water between uses, and an on-demand system which only heated water and had flow during use. Considering the volume of water in each tank between 38 and 47 ° C as a measure of Legionella growth risk, with a heater setpoint at 48 °C (118 °F) the recirculating system had 90% of its volume at risk daily compared to only 24% of the standard system volume. The on-demand system used a minimum of 10% less energy than the standard tank, and 50% less energy than the recirculating tank, and had one tenth of the volume at risk of growing Legionella than either tank system. In fact, it was only by contriving a system to keep distal lines artificially warmed to above room temperature, that Legionella growth could occur in the on-demand system, whereas it rose to 107 L. pneumophila MPN per liter in a normally operating recirculating system. On the other hand, the on-demand heaters were repeatedly subject to mechanical malfunction during the study, and had difficulty delivering water at the desired temperature and flow rates versus traditional tank systems. This manuscript will be submitted to Water Research. / Doctor of Philosophy / Recent water crises in Flint, Michigan and Legionnaires' Disease outbreaks in Flint, New York City, and Quincy, Illinois have demonstrated the need to better understand the cause(s), responsible parties, and interventions required to prevent waterborne diseases. As waterborne disease originating in building plumbing systems (premise plumbing), such as Legionnaires' Disease and Nontuberculous Mycobacterial infections, continue to increase each year, the burden on healthcare systems and impact on public health also grows. In this dissertation, a literature review, a field study of water in Flint, small-scale laboratory studies, and residential-sized water heater systems were examined to study interactions between water chemistry, premise plumbing, and disease-causing opportunistic pathogens (OPs) with a focus on Legionella, the OP which causes Legionnaires' Disease. The first chapter literature review is entitled "Critical Review of the Propensity of Premise Plumbing Pipe Materials to Enhance or Diminish the Growth of Legionella and Other Opportunistic Pathogens." It examines the complex environments found in premise systems, and the important role of pipe material selection. The effects of metallic (copper, iron) and plastic pipe materials on opportunistic pathogens and Legionella include their impact on nutrient availability, disinfectant levels, and the composition of the broader microbiome. Design, configuration, and operation of plumbing systems are also examined in terms of their potential for influencing growth of opportunistic pathogens. This chapter demonstrates that pipe materials have the potential to stimulate or inhibit pathogen growth, dependent on circumstance and water chemistry. The field study in this work exposed problems with lead and Legionella in Flint, Michigan, during an event known in the popular press as the Flint Water Crisis 2014-2016. In August 2015, a citizen science sampling campaign demonstrated a citywide lead in water problem. After a federal emergency was declared, follow-up sampling events between August 2015 and August 2017 demonstrated that the switch back to the original water source, enhanced disinfection, and corrosion control under federal direction had reduced lead levels to half of the EPA limit. Additionally, the pipe material installed between each home and the water main (service lines) affected levels of lead and copper in water, with the lowest lead concentrations measured in homes with copper service lines. After our teams' work in Flint helped expose a Legionnaires' disease outbreak that killed twelve people and sickened nearly one hundred other individuals, we started to explore possible links between corrosion control, plumbing materials, and disinfection that could affect the trajectory of disease in Flint and elsewhere. Three follow-up studies, using small glass bottles to simulate water heaters, provided more specific comparisons between water conditions in premise plumbing and OP occurrence. Two studies expanded on phosphate corrosion control, chlorine (disinfectant) decay, and pH-related research questions, which arose during the Flint water crisis field study. The first determined that properly treated drinking water and some mixing could inhibit Legionella growth in copper pipes. The second study found that without mixing, copper could be antimicrobial and reduce Legionella growth even if the water chemistry was slightly altered with higher pH. The third simulated water heater study examined the reduction of OPs using a chlorine or chlorine plus ammonia disinfectant to reduce Legionella in the presence of six different plumbing conditions. The reduction of Legionella with chlorine was inhibited when carbon was increased and in the presence of a magnesium anode rod, a necessary water heater component. A six-year study using a residential-sized water heater system holistically examined three different types of water heater systems with plastic pipes: one using a standard water heater tank with water stagnant between uses, one using a water heater tank connected to a recirculating pump to provide constantly flowing water, and one tankless (on-demand) heater which only heated water and provided flow during use. Using temperature as an indicator of risk for Legionella growth, the recirculating system at a temperature setpoint of 48 °C (118 °F) would be at high risk for Legionella growth (water volume at 38-47 °C or 100-117 °F) in 90% of the tank volume each day, whereas the standard system would only be at high risk in 24% of the tank each day. The on-demand system provided the safest alternative for hot water distribution with virtually undetectable levels of Legionella risk when the pipes were kept at room temperature as per normal operation. The on-demand system also used at least 50% less energy than the recirculating system and 10% less energy than the standard system; however, we were not successful in finding a reliable on-demand system that could also provide hot water at the desired temperature and flow rate.

[pt] A água é o recurso natural de maior importância para a continuidade da vida humanasaudável. Dessa forma, é imperativo prestar atenção em como este recurso é gerenciado diante da ocorrência de diversas crises hídricas e da iminência demuitas outras. Figurando como um bem-público através de normativas nacionais e internacionais, a gestão da água e a distribuição dela com qualidade e igualdade recai sob a responsabilidade de um Estado garantidor de direitos. No entanto, a realidade é outra. É possível observar diversos esforços em direção a privatizar e mercantilizar cada vez mais este recurso, consequentemente limitando-o e excluindo seu acesso às populações mais vulneráveis. Grandes indústrias, principalmente do ramo alimentício desempenham um papel importante nesta dinâmica. Esta pesquisa se propõe a analisar esta dinâmica sob uma vertente do Direito Internacional, olhando para casos específicos dos Estados Unidos e do Brasil, grandes potências mundiais do agronegócio. Um olhar jurídico será utilizado para observar especialmente a condição brasileira e discutir possibilidades de agência diante de cenário tão complexo. / [en] Water is the most important natural resource for the continuation of healthy human life. Thus, it is imperative to pay attention to how this resource is managed in the face of various water crises and the imminent threat of many others. As a public good, regulated by national and international norms, the management of water and its distribution with quality and equality falls under the responsibility of a state that guarantees rights. However, reality tells a different story. Various efforts towards increasingly privatizing and commodifying this resource can be observed, consequently limiting, and excluding its access to the most vulnerable populations. Large industries, especially in the food sector, play a significant role in this dynamic. This research aims to analyse this dynamic from the perspective of International Law, looking at specific cases in the United States and Brazil, major global agribusiness powers. A legal perspective will be used to particularly observe the Brazilian condition and discuss possibilities for agency in such a complex scenario.

A análise das notícias publicadas pelo jornal Folha de S. Paulo sobre a crise hídrica que atingiu a região metropolitana de São Paulo nos anos de 2014 e 2015, se dá com o objetivo de identificar qual o discurso ambiental da Folha. Por meio de um levantamento das notícias publicadas entre 2013 e 2016, para observar também a cobertura da temática nos anós pré e pós crise, e utilizando como ferramentas metodológicas a Análise de Enquadramento e a Análise Crítica Do Discurso, coletando dados de quando, por quem e em qual caderno a notícia é classificada, foi possível identificar o viés trazido pelo discurso do jornal frente à temática. Observa-se que o jornal faz um discurso voltado ao utilitarismo dos recursos ambientais, colocando-o a disposição para ser utilizado pela sociedade humana, ao evidenciar como causas da crise hídrica a falta de chuvas e excessivo consumo humano domicilar, negligenciando outros aspectos como políticas públicas para ampliação da coleta de água e expansão dos reservatórios, conscientização da população, proteção das matas ciliares das bacias, entre outros fatores que contribuem para uma compreensão total da problemática ambiental. Essa abordagem culpabilizadora do consumo e dados pluviométricos, protege os gestores das bacias e agências de distribuição de água por não terem capacidade de prever o baixo índice de chuvas. Portanto, o jornal não faz uma cobertura que possibilite ao leitor compreender a complexidade do abastecimento de água da região metropolitana de São Paulo para além de um serviço prestado pelo ambiente para a sociedade. É necessário que os meios de comunicação superem essa visão utilitarista do ambiente natural, debatendo-o como parte integrante, e essencial, da sociedade humana, para que a população também tenha a compreensão que o ambiente natural é importante para sua sobrevivência. / The analysis of the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper on the water crisis that hit a metropolitan region of São Paulo in the years 2014 and 2015, was aimed at identifying the environmental discourse of the journal. Through a survey of the news, between 2013 and 2016, to see also coverage of the issue in the pre and post-crisis annals, and the use of the Critical Discourse Analysis and Framing Analysis, collecting data from when, by whom and in which category it is news, it was possible to identify the content brought by the discourse of the newspaper about the theme. The Folha de S. Paulo discourse is aimed at the utility of environmental resources, making itself available to be used by human society, by showing the causes of the water crisis are low rainfall values and excessive domiciliary use, neglecting others aspects such as public policies for the expansion of water collection and the expansion of reservoirs, awareness of the population, protection of watersheds of the basins, among other factors that contribute to a total understanding of the environmental problem. This guilty approach to consumption and pluviometric data protects managers on the ideia that they can\'t predict the low rainfall. Therefore, the newspaper does not make a coverage that allows the reader to understand the complexity of water supply in the metropolitan region of São Paulo as well as a service provided by the environment to society. It is necessary for the media to overcome this utilitarian view of the natural environment, debating it as an integral and essential part of human society, so that the population also has a correct understanding of the natural environment for its survival.

O aumento das regiões de escassez de água ao redor do mundo traz à tona questionamentos acerca de como a sociedade moderna utiliza a água e de que forma isso afetará a disponibilidade hídrica futura. Os resultados políticos, que têm influência significativa no agravamento destes eventos, são moldados por estratégias que refletem as preferências políticas dos atores envolvidos na gestão da água. Exemplos dessas estratégias são: a gestão da oferta, a gestão da demanda e o water soft path. A gestão da oferta é caracterizada pela dependência quase sistemática da busca por novas fontes de água. Enquanto a água estiver disponível para ser alocada, mesmo de locais distantes, há pouca discussão sobre medidas alternativas. A política de coalizão existe quando pessoas de dentro e fora do governo se mobilizam e interagem para traduzir suas crenças e ideias em ações concretas. Estas interações podem resultar em mudança ou na continuidade política. A pesquisa visou responder à questão de quais coalizões são identificadas no subsistema de gestão da água na crise hídrica da RMSP e quais abordagens de gestão essas utilizam. Para isso, valeu-se do Modelo de Coalizões de Defesa como ferramenta teórica, bem como de ferramentas computacionais de análise de redes sociais e de frequência de palavras como ferramentas metodológicas. Esse trabalho explorou a reafirmação da coalizão político-tecnocrática ao longo do período da crise hídrica. Essa coalizão foi articulada em torno do governo do Estado e de técnicos e gestores da Companhia Estadual de Saneamento; de forma que eles conseguiram centralizar as decisões em um grupo restrito de atores políticos e traduzir suas ideias em planos de obras emergenciais, guiados pelo paradigma da gestão da oferta. / The increase of water scarcity regions around the world raises questions about how modern society uses water and how this could affect future water availability. Political outcomes, which ones have a significant influence on the aggravation of these events, are shaped by strategies that reflect the political preferences of stakeholders involved in water management. Examples of these strategies are: supply management, demand management and water soft path. Supply- side management is characterized by the dependence from new water sources exploration. While water is available to be allocated, even from distant locations, there is few discussions about alternative measures. Coalition policy exists when people inside and outside the government mobilize and interact to translate their beliefs and ideas into concrete actions. These interactions can result in change or political continuity. The present research aims to answer the follow question: which policy coalitions could be identified into water policy subsystem during the water crisis in São Paulo Metropolitan Area? In order to achieve this goal, we applied The Advocacy Coalition Framework as theoretical tool and computational network analysis and word frequency as methodology. This work explores the politic-technocrat coalition continuity during water crisis. This coalition is articulated around State Government and State Sanitary Company, so they can translate their ideas in contingence plans underpinning by water supply paradigm.