The opportunity
Conserve precious freshwater resources by treating wastewater to a high quality suitable for non-potable or even potable reuse, creating a circular water economy.
From “Getting Green From Grey: Big Opportunities Abound In Lowering Wastewater Treatment’s Energy Demand” (June 2016)
Consider the Irvine Ranch Water District in California, which has had a recycled water program since 1961, serving areas such as Newport Beach and parts of Orange County. The results are impressive: recycled water meets some 21 percent of the area’s water demands. While initially aimed at water use for agriculture, it now provides services for landscape irrigation, industrial use and toilet flushing in commercial buildings. The system now delivers 23.5 million gallons of recycled water to more than 4,000 customers daily.
How does it work? With advanced filtering and energy capture technologies, they provide recycled water of a quality that is safe to use on lawns and in toilets. In addition, they can capture the heat in grey water, and thus produce hot water using 75 percent less energy than that from the electrical grid. The cost? Currently at least $10,000 per home.
There are plans to develop communities that employ efficient recycled water systems. The Sea Cliff community, under construction in San Diego, is specifically built with this purpose in mind. It is estimated that each of the 52 upscale homes there will save up to 100,000 gallons of water per year.
From “Trend: The Future of Government Technology Infrastructure” (June 2015)
I’ve previously spoken to many such groups, including a keynote for 3,000 folks at the annual Government Finance Officers Association annual conference in Austin, Texas; 2,000 mayors and civic officials for the Texas Municipal League annual conference in Dallas, Texas; and 500 at the Utah League of Cities and Towns annual event in Salt Lake City (among many other events.)
Infrastructure of 2025 : it’s emerging now, and its happening fast. In cities and towns, we’ll see local business and citizen groups using mobile energy shared insight apps to actively monitor and manage local lighting usage; global community vs. community challenges become common as gaming generation comes to manage their ‘personal energy infrastructure usage’ ; deep analysis capabilities move cities to prognostic maintenance of traffic, electrical, lighting, wastewater and water infrastructure systems. Wow!
Grand challenges : there are big challenges with civic infrastructure today. 16% of the water supply in the US is lost due to leaky pipes, and goes back in the ground!Put it another way: utilities lose enough water every six days to supply the nation for a day! Only 7% of the communities in the US recycle wastewater. Compare that to Israel: more than 80% of household wastewater is recycled, 1/2 going to irrigation. Of course, someone will solve this challenge with technology — perhaps this company. ” Nexus eWater, maker of the world’s first home water and energy recycler, today announced that it is the first company ever to receive certification to the NSF/ANSI 350 global standard for residential grey water treatment for its ‘NEXtreater’ home water recycler. (Nexus eWater is World’s First Company to Obtain Certification for Residential Grey Water Treatment 13 March 2015, Business Wire). Their goals? reducing city water into the home by up to 40%; reducing sewage from the home by 70%; reducing water heating energy by 75% ; reducing home energy use by 15-25%; generating total savings of up to $50-$200 per month per home for water, sewer and electric bills. Oh, and harvesting rainwater. Pretty bold goals, but that’s the type of world we live in today
From “From NASA to Nestlé: 250 Customized Keynotes, One Futurist!” (July 2026)
Customized keynote topics have included: 3D printing and additive manufacturing • Industrial Internet of Things • AI-driven robotics and cobots • Advanced materials and material science • Mass customization and collapsing product lifecycles • AI-driven supply chain and logistics automation • Factory of the future (Industry 4.0) • Cloud-based manufacturing operations • Digital twin technology • Blockchain in manufacturing and supply chains • Autonomous robotics in mining operations • Circular economy and climate-positive manufacturing
Customized keynote topics have included: 3D printing and additive manufacturing • Industrial Internet of Things • AI-driven robotics and cobots • Advanced materials and material science • Mass customization and collapsing product lifecycles • AI-driven supply chain and logistics automation • Factory of the future (Industry 4.0) • Cloud-based manufacturing operations • Digital twin technology • Blockchain in manufacturing and supply chains • Autonomous robotics in mining operations • Circular economy and climate-positive manufacturing
Speaking to this Roto-Rooter-affiliated organization’s franchise contractor representatives, Jim covered trends redefining the home contracting business — smart home technology, intelligent wastewater and water treatment systems, and energy generation and battery grid storage. His message: the future belongs to those who are fast, and opportunity flows to organizations that align skills, marketing and capabilities to the speed of these emerging technologies.
Read the full pieces on jimcarroll.com:
Getting Green From Grey: Big Opportunities Abound In Lowering Wastewater Treatment’s Energy Demand
Trend: The Future of Government Technology Infrastructure
From NASA to Nestlé: 250 Customized Keynotes, One Futurist!