Cape Town’s water crisis is now big news globally, though it has been exercising the minds of the four million city dwellers since this time last year. As I write this blog (26th Feb 2018) ‘Day Zero’ is now July 9th
Improving water supply to the residents of Freetown – Philippa Jefferis, Sierra Leone
It is estimated that 54% of the world’s population now lives in urban areas and that proportion is expected to increase to 66% by 2050. That fact, and the predicted global population growth could mean another 2.5 billion people to
Beyond the urban: water efficiency and community participation in remote communities – Cara Beal, Australia
Some remote Australian communities have access to drinking water for only nine hours a day for part of the year, but these households can still use up to ten times the average of urban households. Many communities in the Torres
Ice stupas – India – ech2o newsletter snippet
The lack of water from Himalayan melt ice is causing serious issues in the high plateaus of Ladakh in India. Ice stupas, invented by Sonam Wangchuk, take advantage of winter streams to provide a source of water in May and
How low can I go? – Safa El Jamal, UK
It was 10 years when I awoke from an accidental nap in the middle of my climate change lecture. As I readjusted to my surroundings, I discovered that my lecturer was having a rant about the global water situation. I
Composting toilets in Bronx zoo – USA – ech2o newsletter snippet
Thanks to Warren Liebold who works in water for New York City Council for this next bit. The photos are ten years old but still sorta charming. The Bronx Zoo had an early 20th Century comfort station near one of
The iconic Brooklyn water towers – USA – ech2o newsletter snippet
I’ve been meaning to include these in the newsletter ever since Warren Liebold sent us a make your own Brooklyn water tower kit a couple of years ago which now has pride of place in the ech2o office… I assumed
The Pooh Ponds of Broome – Chris Hassell, Australia
As a bird-nerd I can appreciate the water nerdery of this site, and Cath in particular. But I have never heard her mention birds when rabbiting on about sewage. Rather it’s all Wastewater Treatment Plants and mega-litres of water and
World drought situation – worldwide – ech2o newsletter snippet
Virtually every day there is news about drought in some area of the world. While I was looking for a good image to show this, I chanced upon this interesting blog from summer 2015 about seven recent major droughts . I
Why plants need water – Samantha Mbire, UK
All living things need water to stay alive, and plants are living things! Plants, however, need much more water than many living things because plants use more water than animals. A few weeks ago I went on a trip to