Water remains an essential element for life that plays a central and critical role in all aspects of our national and global economies and environment. We are entering an era of immense water-related threats due to climate change and human actions bringing floods, droughts, reduced water availability, and degraded water quality that threaten communities, nations, and global sociopolitical and economic security.   This presentation covers water futures from a macro level as regions, governments, and industries prepare for and manage increasing water-related threats utilizing traditional and emergent technologies to resolve these issues and provide water and sanitation that address the needs of all. It also will cover water futures from at a more personal and community level featuring technological advances and rediscovery of appropriate technology of the past to forge a water-secure future.

1. Global Future of Water
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Mark Goldstein, International Research Center
markg@researchedge.com, http://www.researchedge.com/
Business Partner for Sustainability Partners
https://www.sustainability.partners/
Slide Deck Online at http://www.slideshare.net/markgirc
© 2017 - International Research Center

2. Global Future of Water
Water remains an essential element for life that plays a central and critical role
in all aspects of our national and global economies and environment. We are
entering an era of immense water-related threats due to climate change and
human actions bringing floods, droughts, reduced water availability, and
degraded water quality that threaten communities, nations, and global
sociopolitical and economic security.
This talk will cover water futures from a macro level as regions, governments,
and industries prepare for and manage increasing water-related threats
utilizing traditional and emergent technologies to resolve these issues and
provide water and sanitation that address the needs of all. It also will cover
water futures from at a more personal and community level featuring
technological advances and rediscovery of appropriate technology of the past
to forge a water-secure future.
“Anything else you’re interested in is not going to happen if you can’t breathe
the air and drink the water. Don’t sit this one out. Do something. You are by
accident of fate alive at an absolutely critical moment in the history of our
planet.” - Carl Sagan

3. The world’s water
resources
Glaciers,
Snow &
permafrost
1.725%
Ground
water
0.075%
Lakes,
swamps &
rivers
0.025%
Oceans
97.5%
It’s a Blue Planet, but…
Source: World Bank

4. https://water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle-kids.html

5. Source: Matteo Farinella - The Water Cycle (2012)
https://matteofarinella.wordpress.com/2012/09/23/the-water-cycle/

6. Land, Water and Energy Nexus Main Linkages
Source: OECD (http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/environment/the-land-water-energy-nexus_9789264279360-en)

7. Source: FutureStructure Water, Waste & Energy Systems 6/14

8. John Snow (1813-1858) was an English physician and a
leader in the adoption of anesthesia and medical
hygiene. He is considered one of the fathers of modern
epidemiology, in part because of his work in tracing the
source of a cholera outbreak in Soho, London, in 1854.
His findings inspired fundamental changes in the water
and waste systems of London, which led to similar
changes in other cities, and a significant improvement
in general public health around the world.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Snow
John Snow Traces 1854 London Cholera Outbreak

9. The Municipal Water Cycle

11. http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

12. Source: OECD
Projected Water Withdrawals by Sector

13. Source: WHO-UNICEF 2017
Drinking Water

14. UN Sustainable Development Goal for Water
http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

15. Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation & Hygiene
Source: WHO-UNICEF 2017

16. Top Fears for Americans

17. Source: Climate Reality Project

18. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty)
Harvey is the worst rainfall event
ever in the continental U.S. More
than 50 inches of rain deluged
parts of Houston. The amount of
water that poured from the sky is
difficult to conceptualize. By
some estimates, 19 trillion
gallons of water fell in five days.
That's roughly a million gallons
of water for every person in
southeastern Texas.
This was a disaster foretold. In the 1990s, climate scientist Wallace Broecker said that the
Earth's climate was "an angry beast" and that by dumping massive quantities of CO2 into
the atmosphere, we were "poking it with sticks" – and nobody could say how the beast
would react. That's where we are today. Harvey is the third 500-year flood to hit the Houston
area in the past three years. Ten years ago, most scientists thought we might see three feet
of sea-level rise by 2100. Now, estimates by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration say the worst-case might be eight feet by 2100, while former NASA scientist
James Hansen argues that it could be 10 feet or more. The larger reality is, we're moving
into an era of unknown impacts, where it is impossible to say how fast our world will
change, or how bad it will get.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/hurricane-harvey-houston-flood-is-climate-change-warning-w500596

20. • Climate change will lead to more precipitation - but also to more
evaporation
• Precipitation will probably increase in some areas and decline in others.
• Changing precipitation patterns will affect how much water can be
captured.
• The drier the climate, the more sensitive is the local hydrology.
• High-latitude regions may see more runoff due to greater precipitation.
• The effects on the tropics are harder to predict.
• Reservoirs and wells would be affected.
• New patterns of runoff and evaporation will also affect natural
ecosystems.
• Rising seas could invade coastal freshwater supplies.
• Reduced water supplies would place additional stress on people,
agriculture, and the environment.
• Conflicts could be sparked by the additional pressures.
• Improved water resource management can help to reduce vulnerabilities.
Source: Green Resistance (https://greenresistance.wordpress.com/)
20
Water and Climate Change

21. Source: Hybrid Sankey Diagram from U.S. DOE 2014

22. Water Use for Energy Technologies
, from OECD

23. Ecosystem Impacts of Electric Power Generation
Source: UNEP (2016) Green Energy Choices: The Benefits, Risks, and Trade-Offs
of Low-Carbon Technologies for Electricity Production Report (2016)
https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/green-energy-choices-benefits-risks-and-
trade-offs-low-carbon-technologies
Species-Years
Affected per TWh

24. Arizona’s Water Sources
Colorado
36%
Other Surface
20%
Groundwater
39%
Effluent
5%
Colorado Other Surface Groundwater Effluent
Source: Arizona Dept. of Water Resources

25. Arizona Water Banking
9 Million Acre
Feet (MAF)
banked statewide
3.8 Million Acre
Feet (MAF) by
CAP
1 Million Acre
Feet (MAF) by
SRP
Source: ASU Morrison Institute 2017

26. Source: Phoenix Business Journal 10/29/17

28. Global Future of Water
Water Sensing and Smarts

29. A successful Kickstarter project with over $2.76 million in funding,
the SCiO pocket molecular sensor lets users scan and obtain
information about the chemical makeup of materials and physical
objects. Once an item is scanned, the chemical makeup is
compared against items in a cloud-based database, and the
information about the item is sent back to a smartphone. The device
is capable of scanning food (for nutritional information), medicines,
plants (for health purposes), oils, plastics, wood and more. The
device works by shining a light on an object and using a
spectrometer to analyze the properties of the light reflected back.
Source: Network World
SCiO Pocket Molecular Sensor
https://www.consumerphysics.com/myscio/

30. http://weliveupnorth.com/plant-monitor/

31. Arable's Pulsepod Collects Hyperlocal Weather & Crop Data
http://www.arable.com/

32. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Potential Applications

34. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2014/09/04/cities-of-the-future-what-do-they-look-
like-how-do-we-build-them-and-whats-their-impact/
Cities of the Future: What Do They Look Like, How
Do We Build Them and What's Their Impact?

36. http://www.aquamatix.net/

37. Source: The New York Times 9/25/10

38. Global Future of Water
Appropriate Water Technology

39. http://www.climate.gov/news-features/features/floridas-fragile-oasis

40. The Thermal Hydraulic Engine from Deluge, Inc. represents a breakthrough technology that
can perform the work of similar engines at a fraction of the operating costs while releasing
no emissions into the air. Also known as the Natural Energy (NE) Engine, this patented,
innovative engine employs alternative heat sources such as solar, geothermal, and waste
heat energy, as well as fuels like natural gas, to convert hot water into mechanical power
without combustion. Under development by Deluge since 1996, the NE Engine has been use-
tested in numerous applications including oil and gas pumping, water pumping,
desalination, electricity generation, compression, and air handling, and can operate as
effectively in third-world countries as in highly industrialized countries. Initially conceived
as a replacement for the internal combustion engine, the NE Engine has attracted the
attention of many who want to use this pioneering, clean, and cost-effective technology as a
way to lower production costs. The technology’s cost effective and environmentally-
innocuous features make it an attractive power source for most any application, including
pumping water for desalination processes. http://delugeinc.com/DESALINATION.html
The Natural Energy Engine as a Low-Cost
Power Source for Reverse Osmosis Desalination

41. Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT)
Systems Concept
http://fullcircle.asu.edu/research/asu-engineering-research-center-newt/

42. Deka R&D Slingshot Water Purification Machine
Ensuring access to clean water is one of the greatest challenges faced by under-
developed countries. Existing approaches to water purification require expertise
in system design, operation and maintenance. Deka R&D, led by genius inventor
Dean Kamen, the creator of the Segway transporter, has designed Slingshot, a
simple vapor compression water purification machine that transforms any source
water into safe drinking water producing roughly 30 liters of water an hour using
no more energy than required by a standard handheld hair dryer. A partnership
with Coca-Cola will bring Slingshot to communities in need of clean water in rural
parts of Latin America and Africa. http://www.dekaresearch.com/water.shtml

43. https://energy.gov/eere/articles/energy-department-
launches-15-million-tackle-solar-desalination

44. High-Voltage Water Purification
For Water Recycling or Point-of-Use Applications
Scientists at NASA's Glenn Research Center have discovered a unique water
purification method that can be used for water recycling or point-of-use
applications. Eliminating costly consumables like chemicals or ultraviolet lamps,
and relying on only electrical energy, this technology uses plasma-generated
reactive species to decompose organic contaminants, ranging from submicron
particles to water soluble organics like glycol, ethanol, and industrial dyes. This
technology has multiple applications, including the treatment of water for
industrial, agricultural, healthcare, oil and gas extraction, sewer and storm water,
livestock, and pharmaceutical uses.
Benefits:
• Environmentally friendly: Does not introduce
toxic chemicals into liquids
• Readily available: Provides clean water on-
demand
• Accessible: Accommodates large-volume,
high-throughput applications and works with
in-volume and in-line water feed systems
• Simple: Operates without filters, which can
often become fouled or punctured
• Durable: Housed in a self-contained unit
• Highly antiseptic: Attacks and destroys
microbes
Applications:
• Wastewater treatment
• Pharmaceutical and food and
beverage water treatment
• Pretreatment of contaminants
• Point-of-use drinking water
• Groundwater treatment
• EPA Superfund site cleanup
• Hydraulic fracturing water reuse
https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/LEW-TOPS-21

45. https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/5-
innovative-ways-people-in-the-developing-world-p/
http://www.unicef.org/ http://www.wsp.org/

46. LifeStraw water filters from Vestergaard
convert contaminated water into clean,
safe drinking water. The easy-to-use filters
are a vital tool for some of the 780 million
people who don’t have ready access to
safe drinking water. This leaves them at
risk for diarrheal disease, which kills more
than 1.5 million people every year. Safe
drinking water is especially important for
vulnerable groups, such as children under
five, pregnant women and people living
with HIV. LifeStraw water filters also
prevent cryptosporidiosis, a major cause
of diarrheal illness in people living with
HIV and children under five. LifeStraw
Guinea Worm is a plastic pipe with a
stainless steel mesh that filters out Guinea
worm larvae from contaminated water. It
has been a vital tool in global efforts, led
by The Carter Center, to eradicate Guinea
worm disease. Each product in the
LifeStraw portfolio is designed for a
specific situation where safe water is
needed but not readily available.
http://www.vestergaard.com/our-products/lifestraw

47. Self-Propelled Microscopic
Carbon-Capturing Motors
May Reduce Carbon Dioxide
Levels in Oceans
Nanoengineers at the University of
California, San Diego have designed
enzyme-functionalized micromotors
the size of red blood cells that rapidly
zoom around in water, remove carbon
dioxide, and convert it into a usable
solid form, calcium carbonate.
The CO2 sequestration proof-of-
concept study represents a promising
route to mitigate the buildup of carbon
dioxide, a major greenhouse gas in
the environment, said the researchers.
Source: Laboratory for Nanobioelectronics, UC San Diego Jacobs School of
Engineering, See http://joewang.ucsd.edu/ & http://www.kurzweilai.net/these-self-propelled-
microscopic-carbon-capturing-motors-may-reduce-carbon-dioxide-levels-in-oceans

48. The WarkaWater gathers water from fog and condensation. It was invented by an
Italian firm and three of them are shown here in an Ethiopian village. WarkaWater,
which is named after an Ethiopian fig tree, is composed of a 30-foot bamboo
frame containing a fog-harvesting nylon net that can be easily lowered for repairs
and to allow communities to measure the water level. It produces up to 26 gallons
of drinkable water a day, enough for a family of seven. Source: NPR 5/14
(YouTube Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjGVRuN9akM)

49. New research by scientists at Rice University demonstrated that forests of carbon
nanotubes can be made to harvest water molecules from arid desert air and store
them for future use. The invention called “hygroscopic scaffold” mimics
the Stenocara beetle, which survives in the desert by stretching its wings to
capture and drink water molecules from the early morning fog and has
a superhydrophobic (water-repelling) bottom and a hydrophilic (water loving) top
The water is stored until released either by squeezing the reusable scaffold or
until it slowly evaporates back into the atmosphere. If it becomes possible to grow
nanotube forests on a large scale, the invention could become an efficient,
effective water-collection device because it does not require an external energy
source. http://news.rice.edu/2014/06/11/nanotube-forests-drink-water-from-arid-air-2/
Nanotube Forests Drink Water from Arid Air
Superhydrophobic (water-repelling) Side Hydrophilic (water-loving) Side

50. This proof-of-concept device, built at MIT, demonstrates a new system for extracting drinking water from
the air. The sequence of images at right shows how droplets of water accumulate over time as the inside
temperature increases while exposed to the sun.
Photo: MIT, http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2017/04/water-harvester-could-collect-moisture-desert-air

51. Cynthia Koenig, a young social entrepreneur from New York, learned that
millions of girls and women around the world spend hours each day
collecting water from distant sources. She decided to create the
WaterWheel, a new way to help people in poor communities collect,
transport, store, and use water receiving a $100,000 Grand Challenges
Canada prize. The WaterWheel allows people to roll water in a 50-liter
container versus carrying it in 5 gallon (19 liter) jugs which can save
women 35 hours per week in water transport time, as well as prevent the
physical strain that comes from balancing 40 pounds of water on top of
their heads for hours each day. (http://wellowater.org/)

52. The UK-based startup Skipping
Rocks Lab has invented their
first product ‘Ooho’: an edible
water bottle that you can literally
just eat the packaging of the
water after drinking it or just
consume the whole thing at
once. This means no more
stacks of empty water bottles in
your room after a night of heavy
partying. On a more serious
note, their goal is to make
packaging waste disappear. The
packaging is made from
seaweed extract and it’s
completely biodegradable.
https://www.snapmunk.com/awe
some-alert-sustainable-
packaging-edible-water-bottle/

53. Uisce beatha is the name for
whiskey in Irish. The equivalent in
Scottish Gaelic is rendered uisge-
beatha. The word "whisky" (as
spelt in Scotland) or "whiskey"
(as spelt in Ireland and America)
itself is simply an anglicized
version of this phrase, stemming
from a mispronunciation of the
word uisce in Ireland or uisge in
Scotland. The phrase uisce
beatha, literally "water of life,"
was the name given by Irish
monks of the early Middle Ages to
distilled alcohol. It is simply a
translation of the Latin aqua vitae.
Source:Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uisce_beatha)
Photo by Mark Goldstein,
International Research Center of
an old Irish whiskey jug on
display in the Athlone Castle
Museum, Ireland taken in 2009

54. https://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2017/10/detecting-
lead-and-tumors-3m-announces-winning-young-scientists
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4WM3arrBgo

55. Pranav Agarwal has built a solar-powered floating surface aerator that can be installed in water
bodies to prevent water stagnation and mosquito breeding. The device produces ripples by
generating air bubbles at regular intervals. It automatically switches on when it comes in contact
with water and an alarm alerts if the water body dries up or someone tries to remove the device
from water. The device is cost effective and being solar powered, it is energy independent and
maintenance-free. If this device is improved upon and ubiquitously installed, the world will soon be
free from mosquito borne diseases. YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42HqsWmc5cE

56. The Nebia Shower System at $499 is
a revolutionary shower technology
10x more immersive for you and
70% more sustainable for the planet.
https://www.indiegogo.com/products/the-nebia-shower-system
The Nebia Shower System

57. http://aquadam.net/

58. Texas Man Uses Massive Inflatable Dam to Save House
Randy Wagner in Rosharon, Texas used a product he found online to protect his family’s
home and property during flooding in 2016. In a desperate attempt to protect his home from
the flood waters, he drove all the way to Louisiana to pick up a product he found online, an
Aqua Dam. With the help of a couple of friends, he installed the Aqua Dam’s 400 feet of
materials and waited for the water to come. As the water built up around his home, the dam
held it all back. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/texas-man-uses-massive-inflatable-dam-save-house-spmg-media
http://aquadam.net/

59. ASU’s FutureH2O https://futureh2o.asu.edu/

60. http://www.unwater.org/publications/world
-water-development-report-2017/

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Contact: Mark Goldstein, International Research Center, Business Partner
for Sustainability Partners at 602-470-0389 or markg@researchedge.com
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