For an alternative to Netflix’s offerings some winter evening, you might try another form of internet entertainment: searching “water infrastructure” on Google. If you work in the water quality field, you’ll probably find lots to learn from the 40 million hits that pop up!
I spent a few hours surfing this ocean the other day, and I can recommend a few sites that I wandered into. Many are not directly related to Vermont, but I found lots of ideas and examples that might, in fact, be applicable to the Green Mountains.
I can’t help but think that DPW administrators, facility operators, town managers, legislators, and state agency staff would get some important context from these sites, and might be able to apply other regions’ solutions to our own. If you read these and encounter something you think might interest Vermont colleagues or policymakers, please forward the link to them!
We plan to offer additional winter-evening internet entertainment suggestions in coming blog posts.
Please note that GMWEA does not necessarily endorse any policies or positions stated in the following articles or by the organizations posting them.
The Conversation
Launched in 2014, The Conversation is “an independent source of news and views from the academic and research community.” Its contributors and curators are “professional editors [who] work with university and research institute experts to unlock their knowledge for use by the wider public.”
The site considers an enormous variety of topics and developments – political, social, economic, environmental — from around the world. But with drinking water and wastewater management increasingly seen as among the most pressing issues, The Conversation offers a number of big-picture water-related features at https://theconversation.com/us/topics/water-infrastructure-27794
Typical articles: “More Than Just Drains: Recreating Living Streams Through the Suburbs”; “What’s Critical About Critical Infrastructure?”; “How to Achieve Sustainable Clean Water for Everyone.” Reading these has provided me with some persuasive talking points for my next conversation with my Statehouse representatives.
WaterWorld
WaterWorld publishes three magazines intended to be “online news and technology sources serving engineers, managers, and consultants in the water/wastewater industry worldwide.” They provide “daily international business and industry-related news, current issue articles, and access to years of searchable editorial archives.”
Representative articles found at http://www.waterworld.com/topics/w/water-infrastructure.html include (among many, many more) “Will We See Water Infrastructure Funding in 2018?”; “EPA Provides $485,000 to Improve Water Infrastructure in Bartlett, Illinois”; “NY Governor Announces Water Infrastructure Improvement Grants.”
I found that even news about other localities’ ways of coping with water infrastructure needs can be very instructive for our little state.
For prognostications about what’s around the corner, I went to
“Eight Water Trends to Watch in 2018,” written by the president of the market research firm Bluefield, addresses likely priority concerns facing water quality management. Of particular interest to equipment and service providers, it details trends likely to create opportunities for growth and profitability in the sector.
If you visit these and find information you’d like to share with the GMWEA community, or know of other sites of particular value, please let us know! Post comments and suggestions here.
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