The water crisis: How California overcomes the drought | David Sedlak | TEDxMarin

Professor David Sedlak presents a solution based approach to the worsening Water Crisis on the West Coast
Author, Professor and Director of the Institute for Environmental Science and Engineering at UC Berkeley,
Professor Sedlak has developed cost-effective, safe, and sustainable systems to manage water resources, with emphasis on local sources of water, by water reuse- using municipal wastewater effluent to sustain aquatic ecosystems and augment drinking water supplies-and the treatment and use of urban runoff to contaminated groundwater from industrial sites as water supplies.
In 1996 he developed simple methods for measuring steroid hormones in wastewater. Since then, he and his students have studied the fate of hormones, pharmaceuticals, toxic disinfection byproducts and other chemicals as well as remediating contaminated soil and groundwater by in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) and advanced oxidation processes.
He also is the author of “Water 4.0”, a book offering insight into current water issues by understanding the history of urban water systems.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@erichansen8978]

Important words on the drought for all of us.

[@kermitefrog64]

There is another video on TED that talks about the changes happening in Tucson to use the water more effective. The speaker had learned some techniques from a farmer in Africa and what was learned helps to use water in a much better way.

[@joel1964.]

It's time for everyone to come together and rethink the way you build your home.

[@Jasonthehammer]

Gray System- water your lawn from a gray water system using bath/shower and laundry water.

[@rampooni8122]

But I hear Aquifers cannot be replenished since it takes hundreds of years

[@keyboarddancers7751]

Shhh! Nobody wants to talk about that!

[@pickles7734]

It depends on the soil. Some sandy areas just a couple of years, in others more claylike, it takes decades and a lot of water to press the water downward.

[@davidwootton683]

Thankyou for sharing this interesting video with us. A few things were not mentioned that I feel have a bearing on the problems we all face. Saving water at home, in industry, and expanding areas that cannot sustain more water usage. Actually it is not a bad thing to be aware that the Earth's climate does change over time. If people also paid more for water. Wastage, water, food, resources. We also have to look at how many people can the Earth sustain. Kind regards, and greetings from Africa.

[@katelynbrady1803]

Human (municipal) consumption accounts for approx. 2% of usage. Agriculture for 80%. "use-it-or-lose" water rights legislation is part of the problem. Primarily the problem is ineffective irrigation methods, like flooding fields and destroying soil quality with vast monocultures. Crop rotations should be legislated. Water subsidies should only be used as incentives for farms utilizing sustainable irrigation practices, and someone needs to provide oversight. Big Agro is the problem. Groundwater is poorly regulated. Large corporations have been successful in their marketing campaigns to convince individuals that they are the problem. Conserve, yes. But don't forget there are those that see paper as more valuable than human life and the longevity of natural ecosystems.

[@HopeisAnger]

@@katelynbrady1803 I'm not trying to start a fight, but everything you suggest would require a functional government. So that's not happening. Do you have any suggestions on what we can do as individuals? Preferably before our government makes those should be illegal.

[@devendra1956]

Water play's vital role in daily life, agriculture, industry & economy also. Our country government ( India) never works on it. This year Bengaluru & many other cities are facing water shortage and many others are in pipeline. South East Asia region receives maximum rain throughout the year but facing acute shortage. Half of the world population leaves in 5 country's. Many citizens doesn't receives enough water for daily. use.

[@kunuthursrinivas]

The quantity of water is constant on the planet Earth. Essentially, the most of the rainwater is derived from clouds which in turn from evaporation of water from seas and oceans and least from terrestrial origin due to evaporation from lakes, rivers and ponds and transpiration from vegetation. However, sea/ocean water evaporation is highly energy intensive process since it is highly salt laden. Whereas, transpiration from vegetation results in water vapour coversion to cloud formation using less energy. Therefore, wisdom lies in greening the land surface of the Earth and global networking of water bodies to offset desertification and floods across the world. This measure eventually lead to restore peace, progress and prosperity of all living resources as it drives out hunger on Earth forever.

[@tempelhoff1]

Smart ideas, but first water smart urban design for water reuse

[@godstolemybikejones2813]

Desalinization plants are powered by solar and renewable energy credits, they are not energy intensive and can be powered independent of the energy grid. Once it is treated & recycled, it becomes a continuous renewable loop.

[@johnnyllooddte3415]

youre sorta insane

[@byronbuck1762]

Not remotely true. They are very energy intensive. It makes zero sense to desalinate seawater to drinking water standards to pour on useless lawns

[@randyroller3332]

Simple solution take water from the Mississippi river and pump it to continual divide or to the grand Cayman it will all go west from there or pump it from the Columbia river before it dumps into the ocean

[@richardtorz2164]

I am happy lake mead levels went down and exposed American small towns and pueblo history sunk underwater. I am extremely happy that experts are sure that lake mead will most likely never reach those levels again and cover St Thomas and many of the towns devastated by the hoover project. i am sure California isn't too happy about water never returning to those levels again at lake mead, but cannot control nature taking back what belongs to it, dry land.

[@jeffrusteen6808]

Not only greywater was left out. By far the biggest user in California is agriculture. They are becoming more efficient. They have also been very efficient at making some farmers fantastically wealthy using State and Federally subsidized water nearly free. We surely can't live without farmers. California is the food basket of the United States and must be maintained. That said, there's a lot of room for improvement. Professor Sedlak needs to alter his talks, if he has not already done so. And he needs a redo at TED.

[@davidfoye141]

We can melt the ice in the ARCTIC MELTION STATION

[@randyroller3332]

Use old oil pipeline or natural gas pipeline. Use your head

[@mtadams2009]

So then they should have no issues now. Good luck.

[@eddiegonzales3417]

What drought

[@coolrocknroll]

Everyone is saying the same thing - give up meat and dairy and you'll be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. A meat based diet uses at least 20 times more water than a plant based diet. Most people know this but are too stubborn, selfish and egotistical to change. People hate feeling they're being dictated too, even tho they're not. It's simply common sense. People say they want a future for their children but fail to put their money where there mouth is. It's very simple. Go vegan, live at least 10 years longer and you'll be in less trouble with the Gods when you die too. Do it!

[@gopalakrishnasn5311]

If everyone becomes vegetarian, there could be food crisis and also may lead to large scale unemployment as meat and allied industries collapse.

[@rosa578]

@@gopalakrishnasn5311 I honestly hope to god you're being sarcastic

[@ghanmy]

veges and fruits need more water than cows and chickens. have you never been in a farm

[@coolrocknroll]

Putori & Omak what do those animals eat? Fresh air? Water is wasted growing crops to fatten those animals.

[@coolrocknroll]

@Emily H are you a child? Surely you know that the ‘overpopulation of animals’ is because they’re bred into existence to be enslaved, tortured and murdered for ‘food’ which humans think they need. Btw protein is easy to get, it’s in beans of all description. If you are a child you owe it to yourself to watch ‘Dominion’. There is no future for ‘humanity’ so long as meat and dairy are still available. Look for Joey Carbstrong and Earthling Ed here on youtube. I hope you see the light and encourage others to change.

[@kirkmarch4713]

Quit giving SOCals water to NESTLE Inc for Free! Its not rocket science guys, WTF? OOOPW Bad example Rocket Science would mean we didn't go to the moon.

[@kirkmarch4713]

Where is all the water? Washington State. Its not that duficult to figue it out... Washington it rains 172 inches a year! Build a pipeline from Washington to L.A. take the pressure off Colorado River, BOOM! Solved

[@byronbuck1762]

More like 30-40 inches a year and half of Washington is desert. It’s also uneconomic. That plan was shelved 60 years ago

[@kirkmarch4713]

@@byronbuck1762 oh you mean 60 years ago before they had computers and other modern pipeline techniques... 60 years ago water was free now it's two bucks a gallon...

[@byronbuck1762]

@@kirkmarch4713 I have an ongoing 35 years of water resource management at the executive level on CA. Pipelines such as you dream about have overall gotten more expensive, even with modern tunnel boring machines. The fiscal reality is that by the time you got the water to dry states it would be too expensive for anything but high-revenue industrial users and inside residential use. White Elephant.

[@kirkmarch4713]

I have a engineering and planning background.... And believe the political barriers facing importation of water from anywhere other than what is currently seasonally flooded (wherever that land may be) is going to be politically unpalatable... SNAFU in red tape. Technology like Graphene filtration systems solar powered offer hope recovering polluted water sheds.... We developing the Colorado River removing the silt from existing dams to be used in local agriculture. I have so many solutions it's ridiculous. Acute environmental concerns will soon pressure California water resources even more... The gridlock has to end now something has to be done..

[@kirkmarch4713]

You are aware of how the Salton seed was formed correct? A break in the levy on the Colorado River flooded the area. There are new canals being developed as we speak to provide water ways directly to the pacific ocean. Topography all the way to death valley is only a few feet above sea level but most of it is below sea level. A canal system to Salton Sea using low and high tide forces? Just a thought haven't really researched that too much.

[@richardtorz2164]

I am happy lake mead levels went down and exposed American small towns and pueblo history sunk underwater. I am extremely happy that experts are sure that lake mead will most likely never reach those levels again and cover St Thomas and many of the towns devastated by the hoover project. i am sure California isn't too happy about water never returning to those levels again at lake mead, but cannot control nature taking back what belongs to it, dry land.

[@richardtorz2164]

I am happy lake mead levels went down and exposed American small towns and pueblo history sunk underwater. I am extremely happy that experts are sure that lake mead will most likely never reach those levels again and cover St Thomas and many of the towns devastated by the hoover project. i am sure California isn't too happy about water never returning to those levels again at lake mead, but cannot control nature taking back what belongs to it, dry land.