The use of brackish water is not a new phenomenon for Texas. It was first identified as a supply strategy in the 2007 State Water Plan, and by that point, 80 desalination plants were already operating around the state. However, there has been a consistent debate about the pros and cons of its …
Water Utilities Infrastructure Management Planning for USA “Megadrought”
NASA is now predicting a "megadrought" as early as 2050 that might last 30 or more years and devastate the Southwest and Central Plains, worse than anything in the last 1000 years. This is mere speculation at this point but could be a very imposing reality if things follow their current …
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Portland’s New Water Pipes Are Delivering Water and Hydroelectricity
Portland, Oregon has unveiled a new project for 2015: turning water into electricity. This is not uncommon and hydroelectricity is not a new concept, but Portland has done something very unique. They have created a new system that generates electricity inside a stretch of the city …
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Infrastructure Management Outlook on The Economist’s Urbanization 1950 to 2050
The Economist Magazine published a very interesting interactive timeline showing city size and growth from 1950-2030. You can play the whole sequence or move the slider to individual years and study trends and comparisons. You can click on individual cities and see the growth trend. …
Asset Management Impacts of Kansas’ Smarter Infrastructure Dream
Kansas City is just one of many cities who are looking at incorporating new "smart" technology into its core infrastructure. The technology itself is innovative and has the potential to really improve things, but the concern is that the cost is too high. Fortune Magazine examines the idea in …
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Infrastructure Investment in Washington D.C.
The effects of the White House's new infrastructure investment plans are already being seen in D.C. as Vice President Biden visited a river tunnel project on Friday the 16th. This project is worth 2.6 billion dollars and is expected to take two decades to complete - a 13-mile network of tunnels …
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10 Emerging Infrastructure Trends for 2015 (KPMG)
KPMG Global Infrastructure published an annual 'Foresight' trends report on the world infrastructure markets. At 11 pages of large type and images, it is a quick but interesting read. The 10 trends that KPMG identify for 2015 are: Governments take action to unclog the infrastructure project …
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Infrastructure Management Reflections on Water Crises as Top Global Risk
Water Crisis is the Top Global Risk says the Word Economic Forum in its updated 2015 Global Risk Assessment. The assessment has also changed the grouping of Water Crisis from an environmental risk to social risk, providing much wider implications to the risk. Brett Walton of Circle of …
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Infrastructure Asset Management Impacts of Nuclear Fusion Reactors
There is a very interesting article in The Australian newspaper regarding the work that Lockheed Martin the US Defence contractor is doing with small nuclear fusion reactors. What used to be the stuff of science fiction appears to be getting closer to reality - although the Australian newspaper …
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Infrastructure Asset Management – Challenges of Shrinking Cities
The postindustrial phenomenon of shrinking cities is a topic of considerable importance to infrastructure asset managers. The prediction of future demand is a core component of infrastructure asset management, and along with understanding levels of service, this guides the development planning …
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Infrastructure Innovation – Crowd Sourcing Your Urban Utilization Data
Fortune Magazine has a very interesting article on "Improve Urban Infrastructure? There's an app for that." Using crowdsourced GIS and other data from fitness applications such as Strava, city governments can track usage of city cycleways, footpaths, and tracks. This data can be …
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Biker Bar in Florida, Welcome to the Scooter Zone
This lighthearted image popped up on my Facebook wall this afternoon, and it made me smile. Welcome to the future - coming to a Western Country near you. The demographics profiles make it almost inevitable. If you are interested in the subject we have published a number of previous blog …
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