Purdue University
Purdue 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.
Report offers guidance to public drinking water system staff to mitigate impact of wildfires
Wildfires increasingly threaten public drinking water systems, but guidance on how to address damage to these systems from a wildfire has been insufficient, conflicting or inaccurate. A new publication offers the first comprehensive guidance for public drinking water system staff, outlining the decision-making process for testing and recovering water distribution systems after a wildfire. This guidance […]
U.S. policy aimed at reducing greenhouse gases also would improve water quality
A climate policy that raises the price of carbon-intensive products across the entire U.S. economy would yield a side benefit of reducing nitrate groundwater contamination throughout the Mississippi River Basin. The Gulf of Mexico, an important U.S. fishery, also would see modest benefits from the nitrate reductions. These were among the conclusions of a recent […]
How to apply lessons from Colorado’s costliest wildfire to drinking water systems
Wildfire damage to drinking water systems can significantly delay a community's economic recovery. The costliest disaster in Colorado's history, the Marshall Fire of 2021, resulted in more than $2 billion in losses. Six drinking water systems were directly in the fire's path. While communities and governments nationwide have been facing the impact of these disasters […]
Answers to faster recovery from a wildfire are in the water
The more frequent wildfire disasters become, the less time communities will have to recover from each catastrophe. But it can take months for a town's water to be safe to drink again after a wildfire. That's why Andrew Whelton, a Purdue University professor of civil engineering and environmental and ecological engineering, has been regularly showing […]
Some US cities will be harder hit by changes in water quality
Purdue University researchers Andrew J. Whelton, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental and Ecological Engineering, and Caitlin R. Proctor, Postdoctoral Researcher, are working on a field study on the impact of a pandemic shutdown on buildings and stagnant water. Amid the current health crisis, many countries and states have gone into lockdown, forcing many businesses […]
Water quality could change in buildings closed down during COVID-19 pandemic
While restaurants, gyms, schools and other buildings are closed indefinitely to prevent the spread of COVID-19, water left sitting in pipes could change in quality. It’s possible that water left sitting for long periods of time could contain excessive amounts of heavy metals and pathogens concentrated in pipes nationwide, say researchers who have begun a […]
More accurate climate change model reveals bleaker outlook on electricity, water use
By 2030, global warming alone could push Chicago to generate 12% more electricity per person each month of the summer. If the city generated any less electricity, it would be risking a power shortage that may require drastic measures to avoid rolling blackouts, according to projections from a model designed by Purdue University researchers. That […]
Your home’s water quality could vary by the room – and the season
Is the water in your home actually safe, given that water utility companies in the U.S. aren’t required by law to monitor the water that specifically enters a building at its service line? A study has found that the water quality of a home can differ in each room and change between seasons, challenging the […]
Technology shown to reduce cancer-causing contaminants in water receives millions in funding
The same chemical concerns found at hundreds of military training sites around the United States are now being raised at airports. It is an issue that is in the spotlight through the upcoming movie “Dark Waters.” The compounds of concern are called poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). They include perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and […]