September 26, 2016

The hidden cost of water and energy conservation tech: public health

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Technology that conserves water and energy may cut down on our utility bills, but it comes at a cost — our health.

Devices that save energy and water slow down the flow of water in our homes and allow it to sit and get stale. That stale water lets living organisms grow and gives the materials used in manufacturing the pipes more time to leach into the water, which can make the water smell bad, taste bad or even make us sick, says Andrew Whelton, an assistant professor of civil engineering and environmental and ecological engineering at Purdue University.

“We’re really good at saving water and slowing it down, but the technology we put in contact with the water hasn’t caught up,” he says.

Whelton will explore these issues in his talk, “Why Is Our Plumbing Harming Us?” at Dawn or Doom ’16, Purdue’s conference on the risks and rewards of new technology, which will be held on Oct. 3-4 on Purdue’s campus, and is free and open to the public.

Faucets, showerheads and other devices in our homes that save water result in water sitting around for much longer than it has in the past. This presents a perfect environment for bacteria to grow, Whelton says.

Meanwhile, existing plumbing system components were not designed to be in contact with water for this long, allowing materials like lead, copper and chromium to seep into our water.

Energy conservation measures, such as reducing the temperature of the hot water heater, may benefit the environment and cut our electric or gas bills, but the lower temperature can create a bioreactor that is a perfect breeding ground for disease-causing organisms such as Legionella and Naegleria fowleri, a brain-eating amoeba that killed a child in Louisiana last year after he acquired it through contaminated tap water.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that water and energy conservation technology should be abandoned, but we have to acknowledge that “saving water or energy at all costs is not a good idea, in that there are hidden costs associated with it, including a quality-of-life cost,” says Whelton. “We need to understand what happens when we make certain choices and then determine if those choices are worth the risk.”

Whelton doesn’t just discuss the problems with our existing technology. He also researches solutions, including how to decontaminate plumbing systems once organisms or metals are present. He says many builders and utility companies offering guidance on decontamination arrive at their recommendations in a haphazard way, and consumers bear the brunt of this misguided advice. A better understanding of the science involved is necessary to ensure that the advice is accurate. That requires “understanding what happens when you do things inside plumbing systems and then pivoting and using that information to make informed decisions about drinking water safety,” says Whelton.

“We need to start issuing public safety guidance that actually protects the public,” he says. 

Writer: Adrienne Miller, technology writer, Information Technology at Purdue (ITaP), 765-496-8204, mill2027@purdue.edu 

Source: Andrew Whelton, 765-494-0395, awhelton@purdue.edu, Twitter: @TheWheltonGroup

Note to Journalists: Assistant professor Andrew Whelton will be speaking at Dawn or Doom’16 at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4 in Purdue’s Stewart Center. Press registration is available at http://www.purdue.edu/dawnordoom/Press. An animated .gif is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/2016/dawn-logo.gif

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