Water Conservation

In countries such as India, a great deal of toxic dye waste from the textile industry is released into waterways, harming people and the environment. A new wood-derived filtration media could remove much of that dye from wastewater streams.

Soil moisture sensors can help farmers save water, by letting them know when their crops actually need to be watered. A new sensor could be particularly helpful, as it incorporates a special material which makes it highly sensitive to moisture.

It’s a cruel irony that 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered in undrinkable water. Scientists have now modeled the feasibility of a hypothetical system that can capture water vapor from ocean air and condense it into drinking water, at a large scale.

You don't need the full force of the water for every second that you're in the shower, but turning it up and down at the taps can be tricky. That's where the Reva shower head comes in, as it automatically reduces the flow whenever you step back.

While greenhouses produce wastewater, microalgae-growing operations require a source of water – which is scarce in many regions. A new project aims to address both problems, by growing water-purifying algae in readily available greenhouse runoff.

While solar farms are a source of green energy, many people don't like the fact that they occupy land which could be otherwise utilized. A new project is exploring an alternative, by placing solar panels over canals that will benefit from the shade.

The James Dyson Award is an international competition to encourage students to get creative to solve the world's pressing problems. The national finalists have been announced for 2021, showcasing ideas that help people and the environment.

Besides laundry-washing and lawn-sprinkling, the daily washing of hair uses up a lot of water. L’Oréal's new Water Saver system is designed to help, by reportedly reducing the amount of water used in hair-washing by up to 80 percent.

One of the keys to reducing your household water usage lies in knowing how much water you use for what purposes. Debuting at CES 2021, the Pleco Smart Water Watch is designed to provide you with that information.

The UK Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has issued a warning: large areas of England will face significant risk of drought due to climate change, and water companies need to find billions of extra liters per day by 2050 to keep up.

Given the scarcity of fresh water in many regions, it does seem a bit crazy to be flushing the stuff down the toilet. And while a few coastal areas use seawater instead, doing so is problematic in its own way – new research, however, may change that.

Recycling almost all your shower water and half of what you use in your washing machine, Hydraloop lets you re-use about 85% of your domestic water, significantly dropping your water usage for a unit cost of around US$4,000.