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Cities bring people together across backgrounds to drive progress. In the US, the top 100 metropolitan areas generate about 75% of GDP. Without water infrastructure all that would vanish. What should be low cost and driving our economy...is now high cost and dragging our economy. 🧵👇

At the peak of Rome there were over 200 aqueducts. Critical for cities, the Roman’s didn’t treat their wastewater but relied on a constant stream of clean drinking water to stay clean. Over 60 are still remaining…at least partially so.

Many miss this side of Houston. Lazy bayous, ducks, turtles, catfish, gar. Natural beauty is almost always within reach, we just need to seek it out.

Years ago I vanished from social media. I thought it was a distraction. Now I know better, I can’t solve our water crisis alone. I need your support. This problem is too big to solve alone. Thanks to all my connections on X these last 2 years and the best is yet to come!

We all talk about using AI to improve our lives but it's rare we get the full details. I've been using AI and ML (Machine learning) to improve our water infrastructure for years. Even before ChatGPT broke onto the scene with large language models. One example is our buried waterlines. We lose 15-30% of our drinking water from leaks underground in our pipelines. This is often due to just a few bad segments of less than 20% of the overall pipelines buried. Traditional methods are almost blind to what's happening underground. You do a process based objective (replace 1-2% of pipeline a year) and through enough volume you achieve your results. Replace enough pipelines, eventually you will stumble upon and replace all the bad pipeline segments. AI enabled methods enable a more targeted approach. Using good data from sensors, historical breaks, and then feeling that into an AI/ML model you can become much more accurate with pipeline replacements. Depending on the utility and data you may be able to stop 90% of the leaks with just 20% of pipeline replacement. Traditionally you would have to replace...90% of the pipeline. Maybe a bit less if you have some good data and engineering judgement around age and materials that break easier. Then maybe down to 50-60% of the pipeline. Breaking down the math for a normal utility with 100 miles of pipeline at $250/foot over 50 years. Traditional $118mm over 50 years to stop 90% of leaks Improved traditional $72mm over 50 years to stop 90% of leaks AI enabled $26mm over 50 years to stop 90% of leaks. Yes, it really is that big of a difference. That's why we are all in on using technology based approaches to improve our infrastructure. We cannot afford the traditional status quo. 2 years ago I did a full white paper on this for the Florida AWWA magazine with a colleague. If you want the article I have it saved and can send. Just comment below.

What's holding our cities back? Many things but a big one is our water infrastructure has not been kept up. We have a $80-120 BILLION a year gap in funding our water systems in the USA. So each year our pipes get older, break more, and lose more water. The cheapest water is the supply your city already has. If trying to grow as a city or even maintain your most cost effective move is going to be: Pressure reduction - Change the pressure from 75 psi to 60 psi. This slows the underground leaks and people also use less water. The downside is that it impacts the quality of service for many. The cheapest but hits a limit very quickly. Leak Detection - (My favorite), use sensors, software, AI to find and fix the leaks. This is what my team spends a lot of time on. It's very cost effective and the one area I see almost every city and water utility underinvesting in modern technology. Conservation - Encouraging people to use less water such as not running sprinklers when it just rained. Or working with businesses to incorporate more effective processes. Middle of the pack. Also doesn't really help the finances of the utility. When people use less water the utility makes less money but their costs didn't go down. So they just have to change everyones rates to cover the gap. Traditional sources - taking water from rivers, underground, etc to treat and supply. This is most of the status quo and middle of the pack for cost and also how much more capacity you can achieve. Recycling - Water reuse, very effective and you can get a lot of capacity with this. The big issues is having to build more pipelines and pump stations to get the water back out. On-site industrial and commercial reuse is going to play a much larger role moving forward. It's hard to make the math work for 500 homes and all that piping but the math works pretty well for a 500 bed hospital. Desalination - By far the most financially expensive...but also by far the sustainable for growth. The ocean isn't running out so you can always get more water to treat. If paired with cheap energy and good coastal conditions this is a great option for coastal cities.

This week I saw an ambitious and visionary project for Corpus Christi stop dead in it's tracks. Almost every news article I saw led with the price tag. $1.2 billion. I didn't see a single article lead with the impact. 30,000,000 gallons of water a day. This is to a city that supplies millions of Americans with shipping, manufacturing, and energy. 30,000,000 gallons of water is about enough for every person in Corpus Christ to use about 100 gallons a day. Enough for drinking, cooking, and basic hygiene. So even during periods of drought the people wouldn't have to worry about their daily water needs. That city is historically one of the most drought impacted regions in Texas. When the rivers dry up...when do you turn? Projects like this are technically difficult, expensive, politically challenging, but so was the hoover dam, interstate highway system, trans-alaska pipeline system, first transcontinental railroad, lake Conroe, lake Houston, lake Travis, and countless other projects. Each of those projects was difficult at the time but one generation spent the money, time, and effort for the next generation to succeed. I don't know the full reasons for the project stopping but I wonder how much of it was selfishness and wanting to preserve their status quo instead of investing in the next generation. Even when we get pushed back years or decades. Those are just temporary setbacks. The John F Kennedy quote below is a great reminder of what we are working towards. Everyday we get a little bit closer to solving our water problems. I believe in the grit and never-give-up attitude of the water warriors I know. We will keep moving forward. Not because it's easy but because we must.

Which of these is the best representation of a bull? Steve Jobs apparently called this his favorite piece of art. Maybe I just don’t get it.

Which way modern man?

This is a big issue in the Utilties sector. We have experienced and ambitious people that effectively cap out at 20-40% lower than private sector. They have no bonus incentives so it makes it very difficult for them to find financial upside for work. Then the temptation of corruption enters.

Smart water in ancient Egypt? Before it was dammed, the Nile river would vary by 25-30 feet depending on the season. Often flooding and carrying vital nutrients in the surrounding farmland. To monitor the flood stages of the Nile river they would construct chambers off to the side and stairs to walk down and take measurements. Thankfully now we can capture the same data for a few thousand dollars in a sensor, battery, and modem. I wonder what their job title was for who ever had to walk down and measure this thing every day?

We all talk about using AI to improve our lives but it's rare we get the full details. I've been using AI and ML (Machine learning) to improve our water infrastructure for years. Even before ChatGPT broke onto the scene with large language models. One example is our buried waterlines. We lose 15-30% of our drinking water from leaks underground in our pipelines. This is often due to just a few bad segments of less than 20% of the overall pipelines buried. Traditional methods are almost blind to what's happening underground. You do a process based objective (replace 1-2% of pipeline a year) and through enough volume you achieve your results. Replace enough pipelines, eventually you will stumble upon and replace all the bad pipeline segments. AI enabled methods enable a more targeted approach. Using good data from sensors, historical breaks, and then feeling that into an AI/ML model you can become much more accurate with pipeline replacements. Depending on the utility and data you may be able to stop 90% of the leaks with just 20% of pipeline replacement. Traditionally you would have to replace...90% of the pipeline. Maybe a bit less if you have some good data and engineering judgement around age and materials that break easier. Then maybe down to 50-60% of the pipeline. Breaking down the math for a normal utility with 100 miles of pipeline at $250/foot over 50 years. Traditional $118mm over 50 years to stop 90% of leaks Improved traditional $72mm over 50 years to stop 90% of leaks AI enabled $26mm over 50 years to stop 90% of leaks. Yes, it really is that big of a difference. That's why we are all in on using technology based approaches to improve our infrastructure. We cannot afford the traditional status quo. 2 years ago I did a full white paper on this for the Florida AWWA magazine with a colleague. If you want the article I have it saved and can send. Just comment below.

Cities bring people together across backgrounds to drive progress. In the US, the top 100 metropolitan areas generate about 75% of GDP. Without water infrastructure all that would vanish. What should be low cost and driving our economy...is now high cost and dragging our economy. 🧵👇

This week I saw an ambitious and visionary project for Corpus Christi stop dead in it's tracks. Almost every news article I saw led with the price tag. $1.2 billion. I didn't see a single article lead with the impact. 30,000,000 gallons of water a day. This is to a city that supplies millions of Americans with shipping, manufacturing, and energy. 30,000,000 gallons of water is about enough for every person in Corpus Christ to use about 100 gallons a day. Enough for drinking, cooking, and basic hygiene. So even during periods of drought the people wouldn't have to worry about their daily water needs. That city is historically one of the most drought impacted regions in Texas. When the rivers dry up...when do you turn? Projects like this are technically difficult, expensive, politically challenging, but so was the hoover dam, interstate highway system, trans-alaska pipeline system, first transcontinental railroad, lake Conroe, lake Houston, lake Travis, and countless other projects. Each of those projects was difficult at the time but one generation spent the money, time, and effort for the next generation to succeed. I don't know the full reasons for the project stopping but I wonder how much of it was selfishness and wanting to preserve their status quo instead of investing in the next generation. Even when we get pushed back years or decades. Those are just temporary setbacks. The John F Kennedy quote below is a great reminder of what we are working towards. Everyday we get a little bit closer to solving our water problems. I believe in the grit and never-give-up attitude of the water warriors I know. We will keep moving forward. Not because it's easy but because we must.

Which way modern man?

This is a big issue in the Utilties sector. We have experienced and ambitious people that effectively cap out at 20-40% lower than private sector. They have no bonus incentives so it makes it very difficult for them to find financial upside for work. Then the temptation of corruption enters.

Which of these is the best representation of a bull? Steve Jobs apparently called this his favorite piece of art. Maybe I just don’t get it.

At the peak of Rome there were over 200 aqueducts. Critical for cities, the Roman’s didn’t treat their wastewater but relied on a constant stream of clean drinking water to stay clean. Over 60 are still remaining…at least partially so.

Many miss this side of Houston. Lazy bayous, ducks, turtles, catfish, gar. Natural beauty is almost always within reach, we just need to seek it out.

Years ago I vanished from social media. I thought it was a distraction. Now I know better, I can’t solve our water crisis alone. I need your support. This problem is too big to solve alone. Thanks to all my connections on X these last 2 years and the best is yet to come!

What's holding our cities back? Many things but a big one is our water infrastructure has not been kept up. We have a $80-120 BILLION a year gap in funding our water systems in the USA. So each year our pipes get older, break more, and lose more water. The cheapest water is the supply your city already has. If trying to grow as a city or even maintain your most cost effective move is going to be: Pressure reduction - Change the pressure from 75 psi to 60 psi. This slows the underground leaks and people also use less water. The downside is that it impacts the quality of service for many. The cheapest but hits a limit very quickly. Leak Detection - (My favorite), use sensors, software, AI to find and fix the leaks. This is what my team spends a lot of time on. It's very cost effective and the one area I see almost every city and water utility underinvesting in modern technology. Conservation - Encouraging people to use less water such as not running sprinklers when it just rained. Or working with businesses to incorporate more effective processes. Middle of the pack. Also doesn't really help the finances of the utility. When people use less water the utility makes less money but their costs didn't go down. So they just have to change everyones rates to cover the gap. Traditional sources - taking water from rivers, underground, etc to treat and supply. This is most of the status quo and middle of the pack for cost and also how much more capacity you can achieve. Recycling - Water reuse, very effective and you can get a lot of capacity with this. The big issues is having to build more pipelines and pump stations to get the water back out. On-site industrial and commercial reuse is going to play a much larger role moving forward. It's hard to make the math work for 500 homes and all that piping but the math works pretty well for a 500 bed hospital. Desalination - By far the most financially expensive...but also by far the sustainable for growth. The ocean isn't running out so you can always get more water to treat. If paired with cheap energy and good coastal conditions this is a great option for coastal cities.

Smart water in ancient Egypt? Before it was dammed, the Nile river would vary by 25-30 feet depending on the season. Often flooding and carrying vital nutrients in the surrounding farmland. To monitor the flood stages of the Nile river they would construct chambers off to the side and stairs to walk down and take measurements. Thankfully now we can capture the same data for a few thousand dollars in a sensor, battery, and modem. I wonder what their job title was for who ever had to walk down and measure this thing every day?