In 2017, California’s State Water Resources Control Board adopted a drinking water standard for the regulation of 1,2,3-Trichloropropane (TCP) at a maximum contaminant level of 5 parts per trillion. In a January 2021 presentation at a webinar sponsored by the American Ground Water Trust, Hydrowonk argued that addressing TCP groundwater contamination will cost at least $4 billion. Many of the challenges occur in Economically Disadvantage Communities that lack institutional capacity to develop, fund and operate projects.
Author Archives: Rodney T. Smith
COVID-19 Will Change the Water Industry, a Trilogy: Engage in Strategic Planning, Risk Assessment and Learning
COVID-19 has destroyed the water industry’s economic model (see COVID-19 Will Change the Water Industry, a Trilogy: The Industry’s Economic Model Is Dead) and provides a natural experiment of the impact of economic activity on the environment requiring an enhanced role for improved science (see COVID-19 Will Change the Water Industry, a Trilogy: Enhanced Role for Improved Science). What does all this mean for planning and decision-making?
COVID-19 Will Change the Water Industry, a Trilogy: Enhanced Role for Improved Science
Look at the skies. Are you enjoying the best air quality of your life? Hydrowonk is.
COVID-19 is a natural experiment of the impact of economic activity on the environment. Will the water industry take advantage of this generational opportunity? If so, how?
It is time to abandon how science is used in the water industry today and embrace science using 21st century technology. By integrating improved science into regulatory structures, our industry can improve the management of water resources and the environment.
COVID-19 Will Change the Water Industry, a Trilogy: The Industry’s Economic Model Is Dead
The COVID-19 pandemic is (hopefully) once in a lifetime disrupter of our lives. The public health establishment has been shattered and is being rebuilt on the fly. The economy is in shambles. We are learning about supply chains and interconnectedness of economic activity. Who is immune? No one.
Hydrowonk’s COVID-19 trilogy shares reflections on the pandemic’s implications for the water industry’s historic economic model, the role of science, and planning. I confess that very few of these ideas were constantly on my mind until recently, although some were simmering.