“No Gas, No Water”
Urban Water Conservation
Plumbing Poverty
Sponge Cities and NBS
Themes and real-world examples
100
What are the Texas/Mexico border communities called and paint a picture of what they might look like through the descriptions in our reading?
Colonias.
Colonias consist of dilapidated houses and mobile homes that lay along the Texas and Mexico border. The homes in these areas tend to not comply with building codes or regulations and are bought with loans that make it insecure and open to fraud. These areas can also be considered as neoliberal spaces which are seen as housing in a “disposable” population.
What are some other insecurities the communities in this area face?
100
Water conservation is a better way to assure sustainable water access rather than what alternative?
Building more and/or larger supply systems. These infrastructures can be financially and energy intensive. They also use a lot of resources to build these types of infrastructure (which personally seems a little contradicting).
What are other energy intensive ways that are an alternative to water conservation?
100
What are some plumbing poverty household characteristics?
Multi-generational households, not necessarily rural, minorities, clustered communities...
100
Explain Nature-Based Solutions and its benefits.
A concept that encourages holistic ideas of considering wider options that combine environmental, social , and economic benefits that are supported by nature. NBS are cost effective and mainly address urban storm water problems such as flooding and pollution. NBS includes a water management strategy that works with existing urban plan design and implementation of new development and projects. “Action to protect, sustainably manage and restore natural or modified ecosystems in ways that address societal challenges efficiently and adaptively to provide both human well-being and biodiversity benefits”. Benefits of NBS are positive environmental management enhancement of natural features and processes to better balance urban water cycle and quality, water security, and flood-risk management.
100
Phoenix, Arizona has a much lower water conservation index than predicted. Why do you think that is?
Because of the cities access to water that comes from the Colorado River. The perceived “water reliability” could be relieving the stress of water insecurities.
200
What is the title of the reading, “No Gas, No Water” referring to?
Most families who rely on the water vending machines for drinking water do not have proper transportation to get to or from these vending machines. If they do have a vehicle, a lot of families do not have the gas money to drive to and from the vending machines. These vending machines were also notoriously known for being in unsafe areas with surrounding crime.
200
Why is it beneficial to understand water conservation policy trends and characteristics?
It will be useful in future decision making concerning conservation planning and policy. It also gives us a better idea on what cities and states might adopt what certain types of policies (ex. Laws or voluntary).
What can someones ideological worldviews influence?
200
Explain this photo, what it represents, and what do the concentrated areas have in common?
Hot spots of water inequalities, “clusters”. High tribal concentration, high poverty, minority dense areas.
200
What are some examples of sponge city implementations?
Green roofing, permeable pavement, the collection, management and reuse of urban water. Other examples are” permeable cement, asphalts, and ponds, sunken green space, bio-detention, seepage wells, wetlands, rainwater tanks, regulating ponds and pools, transfer permeable tube/canal, vegetation buffer zone, and stormwater-abandon facilities.
Timeline of sustainable water management in China?
200
Covid-19 and water insecurities. What are some similarities of the two and how did they negatively team-up?
Covid-19 has correlations to the hot spots of water insecure areas and areas of poverty. For example, the hotspot map from the Plumbing Poverty reading looks similar to the hotspot map of Covid-19. When a community does not have water security, that community is likely lacking clean water and reliable plumbing system. This results in the inability to take health precautions such as washing your hands, staying hydrated, washing dishes and/or laundry.
Ex. The Navajo Nation Reservation was one of the hardest hit areas in the country (world?) concerning Covid-19. The Navajo Nation is also known for having some of the worst water insecurities in the country as well as having a very high poverty rate.
300
In Hidalgo County, Texas you might find many of these walk-up structures. What do they provide and to whom? Give a few describing details.
Water vending machines provide municipal water that has been treated to Mexican-Americans who reside on the border of Texas and Mexico. These machines are a type of domestic water delivery system for a struggling population. At US .25 cents per gallon, this is strictly drinking water, not for hygiene or household chores. These came about through lack of water services and clean drinking water for poor surrounding communities.
300
What are the main attributes to water insecurities and limited water resources? Explain.
Population and economic growth. Others are water supply challenges due to drought, infrastructure, population growth, land-use changes, and other natural and human factors.
300
Plumbing poverty is not spatially or socially random, who and where is most impacted by these water insecurities? In other words, what are the strongest predictors of water insecurity?
American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Black, and Hispanic. Areas where there is a dense tribal population (US Southwest (Four Corners), Alaska, upper Midwest, Northeast (N. Maine and New Hampshire, Allegheny and Appalachian regions of Pennsylvania and W. Virginia). Other strong predictors: Poverty, geographic isolation, housing type, renters, economic distress, class, race, and ethnicity.
300
What are some challenges that are associated with sponge cities?
1) “Uncertainty regarding future hydrological conditions related to climate change projections, which complicate urban planning and designing infrastructure that will be fit for purpose over its intended operating life”.
2) The competing priorities of stakeholders and their reluctance to make trade-offs, which obstruct future investments in the SCP (Sponge City program).
300
What are some main sociodemographic factors that our readings talk about that characterize household water insecurities?
Race, citizenship, poverty levels, and housing types.
400
For Mexican-Americans who live on the border of Texas and Mexico, poor quality and limited access to water and sanitation correlates to what? Who in this area does not have this problem concerning access to water?
Poverty. Southern Texas is one of the poorest regions in the US. 37% of families live below the poverty line.
Irrigation is favored over household use. Irrigated fields overshadow poverty-stricken areas, leaving the families who are not in the big farming industry left with poor septic systems and a fight for clean water. 97% of this water comes from the Rio Grande which is allocated through private organizations.
400
A way to measure water conservation and the adoption of water conservation by considering both the physical environment (precipitation) and socio economic and political characteristics (voting and cost of living).
Vanderbilt Water Conservation Index (VWCI)
400
“The safe and reliable access to sufficient quantity and quality of water for household consumption, production, and cleanliness” is the definition of what?
Household water security
400
What is the difference between green infrastructure and grey infrastructure concerning urban water? And do they work together in any way? If so, how?
Green infrastructure is considered a nature based solution as well as an ecologically friendly infrastructure to deal with urban stormwater issues.
Grey infrastructure relies on engineering approaches to deal with urban water issues. Examples would be plumbing systems, levees, and dams.
Solutions to better water management could come from a combo of both green and grey infrastructure. It could be helpful to navigate the changes in climate and population.
Knowledge based development is one way we can look at grey infrastructure and create a green version. Knowledge based development is learning from projects around the word among engineers, planners, developers and the public.
400
When we think of the desert, we might think of flood management being unnecessary. Is this true? What are some factors that may or may not provoke the thoughts of flooding within arid areas?
Flooding is absolutely an issue in arid areas and should always be concidered when building infrastructure and stormwater management. Areas such as Arizona parts of California, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah are seen as dry states. However, they deal with large flooding problems due to the way they build infrastructure and house large populations in small areas. Flagstaff is a good example of build infrastructure, such as an entire downtown right on top of a known water path (Rio De Flag). Best seen during monsoon season just south of route 66.
500
Who or what is an example of a neoliberal subject? How could you describe a neoliberal subject?
A water consumer who pays for water from a water vending machine.
Limiting water governance within a region and/or the public. Being politically subjected through resources, having uncertain water quality and quantity, and the ways you might have to obtain your water could make someone a neoliberal subject.
Through what tactics are neoliberal subjects obtained?
500
What are the four main variables concerning water conservation policy adoption?
Democratic leaning, income, aridity, and surface water. States with greater Democratic-leaning PVI (Democratic party preference) have a greater tendency to adopt conservation policies as do MSAS (Metropolitan statistical areas). Drier (low-aridity) have greater wanting for conservation. Surface water does not always correlate with conservation policies. Faster population growth and larger population correlates with higher values for conservation.
500
What are the 3 measurable aspects of water insecurities according to this reading?
1) “Lack of adequate water quantity, defined by international health standards as 50L per capita per day.”
2) “Insufficient access to water distribution systems, such as piped water infrastructures.”
3) “Temporal and seasonal variability in water availability”.
500
What are the 4 main principles of Nature Based solutions?
1) Recovering or simulating natural hydrological conditions via the protection or restoration of urban ecosystems. 2) Improving water quality 3) Mitigating urban flood risk. 4) Improving quality of life for residents.
As quality of life for the Chinese increases, so does their interest in sustainable water and flood management.
500
What does China and the US have in common when it comes to water insecurities and water management? Elaborate on thought-provoking themes if you can.
Both the US and China are growing rapidly both economically and population. Both population and economics influence how we must manage and conserve our water to supply it to everyone who needs it. The US and China also have similar landscapes and urbanization concerning stormwater management. Both rely heavily on infrastructure such as dams, levees, stormwalls, water drainage, etc. It is good to understand the similarities when considering improved and more sustainable ways of urban water management. A theme to take away from this (and all) of our readings is that we can learn from one another. We can learn from other areas similar patterns as well as learn from their achievements and mistakes.