Future Here Now: Ditching Big for Small, flexible, interconnected

https://theconversation.com/how-to-provide-reliable-water-in-a-warming-world-these-cities-are-testing-small-scale-treatment-systems-and-wastewater-recycling-215753

The first time I visited a water treatment facility, the biggest thing that struck me was how old everything was. From the building to the pools to the pipes, the systems that get safe drinking water to our homes and businesses are among the oldest pieces of infrastructure we have - in many U.S. cities, well over 140 years old.

And as the news reminds us frequently, old systems have a pesky habit of breaking.

City-dwellers and municipal engineers are accustomed to being dependent on regionwide water systems, but at this article sums up, improvements in water technology are enabling new types of water systems - smaller, more adapted to local particulars and more flexible than conventional approaches.

Why does that matter?

Because our Industrial Era systems are not only deteriorating and costly, but fragile