Tag Archives: Clean Water

Sustainable Innovations in Train Stations

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The growing urgency around climate change and energy consumption has prompted a significant response from the rail industry over the past decade. It has responded with major initiatives around the globe. For example, in Germany, national rail company Deutsche Bahn has replaced tens of thousands of incandescent lights with LEDs. In the United Kingdom, rail managers have upgraded existing lines, like the HS1, to run entirely on renewable energy.

Another major change is that train stations themselves are becoming more eco-friendly and energy-efficient. These are some of the most significant changes transit authorities have made to reduce the environmental impact of train stations and cut down on emissions caused by rail travel and freight.

Green Innovations at a New Bay Area Rapid Transit Station

In 2017, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) officially opened a new station in Fremont, in California’s East Bay. The new Warm Springs/South Fremont Station was billed as BART’s most sustainable station yet, built with several eco-friendly features “baked in” to the station design.

Among other features, the new Fremont station includes solar panels on the station’s roof, charging stations for electric vehicles and biological water filtration systems called “bioswales.”

Bioswales are stormwater runoff management systems made out of native grasses, pebbles, shrubs, swan hill oak trees and similar landscaping elements. These systems pull in and filter rainwater that would typically run off roofs and paved surfaces, carrying pollutants with them to local waterways.

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At the new station, rainwater is captured in an underground surge basin after being filtered through the bioswale system. The water there can then be used in the station itself or slowly released in a way that won’t overwhelm local drainage areas.

The station isn’t the only BART initiative that aims to improve the eco-friendliness of Bay Area transit. In 2013, the system announced that it would use more than 1,300 tons of recycled waste tires to reduce vibration on an extension project near Fremont.

The project, which used shredded tires in place of gravel, is one recent example of how used car parts can be recycled and put to use.

Hong Kong Rail Station Features Garden Roof

Other, more recent projects have also used landscaping and natural design elements to improve sustainability.

For example, the new Hong Kong West Kowloon railway station, which opened in September 2018, features a curved “green roof” dotted with more than 700 trees.

Built to function as both a public space and transit hub, the station is also remarkably sustainable. The green roofscape, in addition to being aesthetically pleasing, also captures and filters rainwater, much like the Fremont station in California.

Deutsche Bahn’s “Green Station” Initiative

Germany has been a world leader in the adoption of green tech and transportation practices. One of the best examples of this has been the “Green Station” initiative led by Deutsche Bahn, the private railway company owned by the German federal government.

The project made headlines in the mid-2010s when the company produced the world’s first zero-carbon train station in Kerpen-Horrem, in western Germany.

This was an early example of how modern stations are compatible with eco-friendly design decisions. For example, the station in Kerpen-Horrem has an energy-efficient lighting system that uses a combination of LEDs, natural light and light-reflecting architecture to provide consistent illumination to the station with minimal energy consumption.

deutsche-bahn-energy-efficiencyEntlang eines Solarparks in Baiersdorf – ein Zug der Baureihe ET 442 unterwegs als S-Bahn

Since then, Deutsche Bahn has continued to make major strides in sustainable railway management and design, powering 33 of the company’s stations with entirely renewable energy and aiming for a companywide target of 100% carbon neutrality by 2050.

Reinventing Train Stations to Improve Sustainability

These new train stations show how transit providers are rethinking design to improve sustainability. Innovations like solar power arrays, electric charging stations and biofilters can all make a structure significantly more sustainable — and they’re becoming more common in station design.

The Importance of Maintaining Your Water Conditioner

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Access to clean water is a fundamental human right according to the United Nations. However, trying to get clean water straight to your home might prove to be a challenge. So to overcome that, you’ve had a water tank and conditioner installed on the rooftop of your house.

But just like any other household appliance that you have, you should periodically maintain your water conditioner as well. To further convince you why you should do it, here are some of the reasons why maintaining your water conditioner is important:

1. Any of the various parts of your water conditioner could eventually wear out over time

There could eventually come a time when your water conditioner might suddenly malfunction, thus compromising your previously clean water supply. But instead of needing to replace your entire water conditioner with a brand-new one, you might want to check first if any of its parts have worn down over time. Maybe you’ll only need to change an O-ring or the conditioner valve – and save money in the process.

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2. Keeping your water conditioner in tip-top shape ensures that unwanted chemicals are always removed from your water supply

The groundwater in your area generally isn’t safe to drink as it contains various contaminants including, but not limited to, chlorine, ammonia, and chloroform. If you haven’t maintained your water conditioner since you had it installed, anyone in your family might resort to drinking water straight from the tap and then fall ill after experiencing the effects that its various contaminants can bring to them.

Thus, you should always make sure to do periodic maintenance of your water conditioner so that the water running all throughout your house is safe for everyone to drink from.

3. A well-maintained water conditioner helps prevent hard minerals from building up in your plumbing

Even if the groundwater in your area has been treated so that it doesn’t have many contaminants, it may still contain large traces of hard minerals that can accumulate in your plumbing over time. This buildup of hard minerals can cause your water flow rate to decrease, and having a malfunctioning water conditioner wouldn’t do any wonders to your plumbing either.

Regularly maintain your water conditioner so that no hard minerals damage your plumbing.

Aside from either fixing your house’s plumbing on your own or asking for the help of a plumber to get rid of those hard mineral clogs for you, you should also check your water conditioner and ensure that it’s functioning properly. Don’t forget to regularly maintain your water conditioner so that no hard minerals damage your plumbing.

4. Periodically maintaining your water conditioner helps avoid the occurrence of scaling

Another adverse effect that hard minerals in groundwater can bring – aside from causing plumbing clogs as already mentioned above – is scaling. If you’ve noticed that your kitchen sink and bathroom drains, as well as the head of your shower, have turned brown, that’s scaling right there. You can remove the hard minerals deposited on your drains and shower head by thoroughly scrubbing them. But as long as your water conditioner isn’t working as it should, you have to expect the same scaling to happen repeatedly.

You should therefore periodically maintain your water conditioner so that your drains and shower head always look good as new – no matter how much water passes through them.

Conclusion

Clean water can sometimes be hard to come by, most especially if groundwater in your area is scarce during certain times of the day. Thus, having a rooftop water tank and conditioning system installed so that you and your family won’t run out of clean water to use is one of the wisest decisions that you could ever make.

You wouldn’t want to leave your water conditioner unchecked though as it can put you and your family’s health at risk. Instead, you should maintain your water conditioner. It’s entirely up to you if you want to maintain your water conditioner yourself or hire the services of a professional when needed.

5 Reasons to Get a Countertop Water Filter in Your House

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There is nothing like the convenience of fresh clean healthy water right at your tap and this is why countertop water filters are more popular than ever with today’s cash- and time-pressed homes. Not only are these cost-effective appliances a great option for the home, but those who must travel often can also take advantage of fresh clean water anywhere on the globe.

The water filtration device will provide clean water for drinking, washing and all kinds of hygienic uses. Sources of good clean water are getting harder to find and more costly each year. The filtration system works to remove fluoride, chlorine, lead, pesticides and other minerals and contaminants from the water from the city mains. This keeps you and those in your home freshly supplied with clan healthy water.

If you are interested in learning more about countertop water filters, visit https://waterfilterbase.com/best-countertop-water-filter/ and get information on the latest models that will work for your home. In the following sections we will take a look at a few more good reasons to have a countertop filtration system in your house:

1. Better Tasting Water

The water from the city mains is tired and exhausted from a long trip by the time it arrives at your kitchen sink. Just take a taste and you will find out all about the minerals, chemicals and other contaminants it picked up on the way. One of the primary functions of the countertop filtration system is to carefully pull these unpleasant tasting flavors and pollutants from the water.

Fluoride and chlorine are important for keeping our water supplies clean, but in the home they are not as welcome. These chemicals can irritate the skin and eyes and make the drinking water taste funny. This can lead to spending a king’s ransom in bottled water or even worse, drinking less water during the day.

But, filtration systems breathe fresh life into the kitchen tap water. They also remove the burdens of chemicals and toxins and leave clean fresh tasting water for hydration purposes.

2. Healthier Water Sources

Better tasting water will encourage more hydration which is already good for the health. But, removing all those harmful chemicals and other unnatural compounds will also keep these pollutants from accumulating in your body and affecting good health. Whether the water in your local area is pretty clean or little rusty, your countertop filtration system can ensure your health is protected.

3. Saves Cash

Once people realize that regular city water might not be as healthy as they thought, they are faced with some decisions. Some people will prefer buying bottled water as this seems like a cheaper choice initially.

But if you plan on drinking water for the rest of your life, why not procure a constant source rather than buying bottles for the foreseeable future? Sure the cost is higher initially, but after a year or two, of buying water bottles you will have spent the same amount or more.

4. Better for the Family

Children almost more than anyone else need a constant source of fresh clean water to keep themselves hydrated. Plenty of water in the system is essential for good hydration, elimination of toxins and brain development as well.

Unfiltered water can cause health issues to begin at a young age. In addition to removing harmful chemicals and minerals, some of these water filters can add healthy minerals to the water supply boosting nutritional value.

5. Easier Installation

There are many water filters that can provide the same health and purification benefits that a countertop system will, but these have some setbacks. Whole house filters will ensure that the entire home is supplied with filtered water and then under the sink options can address the needs of one source of water.

But, in addition to being more expensive, these filtration systems requires intermediate to professional DIY skills to install effectively. Furthermore, the countertop option can be packed up and carried with you to visit grandma or to your big conference in Buenos Aires.

Conclusion

The list of benefits continues from here. Filtration systems reduce the levels of plastic bottles being bought and discarded. The countertop option doesn’t require as much maintenance as some of the other options and doesn’t occupy your faucet either. So, have a drink to your health, from your very own cost-effective countertop water filtration system.

How Does Water Filtration Work?

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The reality is that drinking water has contaminants, and that’s something you have to address to ensure the safety of your family. The good thing is you can address this by simply investing in a good water filtration system. The following will help you understand how one would work.

water-filtration-systems

Microfiltration Goes First

Okay, there are many water filtration systems out there to choose from. Some of these systems are whole-house systems you can have installed and will filter all of the water going into your home. The drawback is that these systems will have to be uninstalled if you decide to move to a new home.

Those who value portability may want to consider smaller water filtration that you can take with you wherever you go. Whatever you choose, the internal process of each water system normally starts with microfiltration. A reliable water filter system is going to have a complex filtration system with millions of pores to destroy potential contaminants like parasites, cysts, bacteria, herbicides, pesticides, and heavy metals, just to name a few things.

The microscopic pores do not allow pathogens and contaminants to pass through. Those contaminants become trapped within the filter. Of course, this is the reason your filters are going to have to be replaced sooner or later. The amount of times you replace your filter depends on how often the filter is used and the construction of the filter itself.

Adsorption is Key

The second step water filters take to ensure that your water is as clean as possible is adsorption. This is a process where an ionic barrier is formed to help the microscopic porous filter work more effectively.

The truth is some contaminants are a little smaller than the tiny pores of the porous filter. These contaminants could make their way out of the first stage without this second stage. The barrier seems to be strong enough to make contaminants like submicron viruses stop in their tracks. It also helps stop iodine or chlorine, both of which are quite common in tap water.

You should remember that the metals that could be in your water such as cadmium, copper, lead, and mercury are also extracted at this point. These questionable heavy metals are extracted through an Ion exchange process, thanks to the electronically charged barrier formed within the filter. Remember that all filters are not this sophisticated, so make sure you find out if the filter you are considering removes heavy metals.

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There is no way you want to allow heavy metals to contaminate your home. A high concentration of these metals can lead to all sorts of other issues, such as organ damage. Some say that prolonged exposure to these metals could put people at risk of developing some types of cancer. Dangers like these shouldn’t plague your mind, and they don’t have to with the help of a good filter.

A Different Method

One more thing that needs to be pointed out is that good quality water filters usually use the long contact period filtration method. Okay, most water filters do what they are supposed to by relying on the water pressure in your home. In essence, the water pressure in your home pushes water through the filtration system, which is how contaminants are removed.

Technically, this type of filtration isn’t bad, and it is effective enough to give you clean water, but the long contact period filtration system takes another approach. What these types of filters do is allow water to flow through the first stage using gravity rather than pressure.

Gravity is a little slower, meaning the water has a long contact period as opposed to regular filters where the water shoots through the filter. Yes, this kind of filtration is a lot slower, but the results are much more impressive. You’d be surprised how many contaminants make it through a filtration system that relies purely on pressure. If you want to give your family the best clean water you can give, then be sure to choose a long contact period filtration system.

Now that you know how water filters work and why they are so important in living a healthy life, you can begin your search. The best thing is you won’t need to worry about buying water from the store nor will you have to pollute the earth with dozens of water bottles that you have to discard often.