Southeastern Wisconsin has its share of problems related to water, but that also means it has opportunities for researchers, engineers and businesses. Here are a few common problems in this region and elsewhere that require solutions:
- Municipal wastewater treatment: Increasing efficiency, removing pharmaceuticals and phosphates, reducing chemicals used in treatment, removing PCBs from sewer pipes, utilizing sewage sludge
- Industrial wastewater treatment: disposing of or using liquid farm manure, recovering metals from industrial waste, water cleaning and reuse in aquaculture
- Storm-water treatment: disinfecting storm-water runoff, limiting sewer overflows, removing road salt from storm water, treating and containing storm water
- Water process issues: increasing efficiency in beer brewing and water heating, reducing energy use in the production of electricity
- Water quality treatment: removing pharmaceuticals and phosphates, developing real-time sensors of life forms, removing radium from groundwater, desalinization
- Residential quality use: increasing water heating efficiency, filtering water in the home, removing phosphates from well water
- Quality of life issues: limiting growth of algae in lakes, removing PCBs from lakes and rivers
—source: “Water Summit White Paper” by Sammis B. White, July 14, 2008
