Northeastern University
Northeastern University is a university that is part of the pulse of the water sector. Here we bring together everything it publishes on Smart Water Magazine: its news, its blogs and the events it takes part in.
What made the Texas flash flood so deadly and how AI could improve forecasting
The deluge that surged through Central Texas over the Fourth of July weekend devastated the hill country and shocked the world with its intensity and loss of life. The Guadalupe River at Kerrville rose from 1.73 feet to 34.29 feet in three hours on July 4, according to a river gauge maintained by the federal government. The […]
Researchers find brewing tea removes heavy metals from water
Good news for tea lovers: That daily brew might be purifying the water, too. In a new study, Northwestern University researchers demonstrated that brewing tea naturally adsorbs heavy metals like lead and cadmium, effectively filtering dangerous contaminants out of drinks. Heavy metal ions stick to, or adsorb to, the surface of the tea leaves, where they […]
The largest body of water west of the Mississippi disappeared 130 years ago. Now it’s back
The San Joaquin Valley of California, despite supplying a significant percentage of the country's food, is nevertheless a dry, arid place. Fresno, at the heart of the valley, receives just over 10 inches of rain a year on average, according to the National Weather Service, and sometimes as little as 3. And yet, until the late 19th […]
AI will play a bigger role in predicting weather and climate disasters in the US in 2024
Hurricane Idalia and the Hawaii firestorm were the most notable weather disasters in the U.S. in 2023, but they were far from the only ones. In 2023, 25 weather or climate disasters caused at least $1 billion in losses and the deaths of 482 people, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. In 2024, […]
The short-term rain forecast system is broken. Can AI do a better job of predicting deadly floods?
The floods that killed 20 people in Waverly, Tennessee, and the surrounding area came with little warning. Meteorologists predicted 2 to 3 inches of rain. But 21 inches fell within the course of that August day in 2021, sweeping away cars, houses, businesses, pets and people, including 7-month-old twins. “They were not prepared at all. As a […]
Q&A: Researcher discusses work to solve America’s groundwater crisis
Beneath the roadways and sidewalks we traverse every day are underground reservoirs that supply a substantial chunk of nation's overall water needs. These groundwater aquifers once sustained America's cities and farmland. Now, according to a New York Times investigation, they could be drying up for good. Aquifers—geologic formations of layered rock or sediment that filter and […]
EPA rule on PFAS is a step, but doesn’t address ‘regrettable substitutions’
The Environmental Protection Agency will require utilities to monitor the levels of toxic chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in water systems, in what amounts to the first action the federal government has taken to set limits on PFAS pollution, according to a new regulation proposed by the agency on Tuesday. Found in everything from […]
Using AI to unlock the mystery of El Nino’s impact on droughts and floods
For centuries, fishermen in Peru have noticed a connection between warmer than usual ocean waters—what is now known as the El Niño phenomenon—and droughts and floods on land. But making accurate hydrologic predictions about El Niño's impact on regional weather patterns—and even understanding the complex El Niño phenomenon itself—has stymied climate scientists for decades. It was believed […]
2022 was a historic year for climate change policies. What’s next for 2023?
2022 was a landmark year for climate change action—and repercussions. President Biden signed the historic Inflation Reduction Act to boost clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the midst of the hottest August on record for North America and Europe. Following a summer of historic flooding that put one-third of Pakistan under water, the United Nations […]