"Cinq minutes pour se laver, c'est suffisant" : au camping d'Arradon, les douches sont chronométrées pour économiser l'eau

Depuis 1968, la ville de Windhoek recycle les eaux usées pour les utiliser comme eau potable avec un processus qui comprend maintenant 10 étapes de filtration. Aujourd'hui, la ville tire 30 % de son eau du processus de recyclage.

La Contribution Financière en matière d’Eau — la CFE — applique des taxes variables aux usages de l’eau en dehors de l’usage domestique, y compris les activités extractives telles que la production d’eau potable et les industries minières. Grâce à ce mécanisme, une agence de l’eau a pu financer environ 80 % de ses projets, tels que la construction de points d’eau potable et la lutte contre la sédimentation des réservoirs.

In order to use less water in drought-ridden Utah, many residents are replacing their grassy park strips with vegetation and rocks that don’t need as much irrigation. As part of the “Flip Your Strip” initiative, the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District provides participants with money per square foot of grass removed. While the program is new, this idea has been tried and tested in California, where studies have shown that it is making an impact.

There is no natural freshwater source on Bermuda, so residents turn to rainfall as a way to fulfill their water needs. The white limestone Bermuda roofs are used to catch and redirect rain into underground tanks that serve as their primary source of freshwater. Droughts happen, which has led to other solutions, but the limestone roofs are still primarily their largest source of freshwater.

In Paris, about 7,500 buildings are heated using geothermal energy, a cost-saving and carbon neutral energy source. Water is drawn from deep below ground at a central location and heated by the earth, and then sent via underground pipes to individual buildings. The Bagneux and Chatillon district has scaled up the system, providing heat to over 40,000 people. Districts created joint ventures to reduce construction costs and residents do not notice the energy source shift because when the temperature drops to a point where geothermal energy is not viable, gas boilers automatically keeps the heat flowing.

An experimental water treatment plant in Florida has been performing as efficiently as other conventional treatment plants for the last 24 years. Known as the Living Machine of the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, it filters 6,000 gallons of wastewater per day and is inspired by how natural wetlands and marshlands filter water. While government officials were skeptical at first, the Living Machine continues to pass monthly inspections, is less costly, and is not as noisy so visitors can enjoy the wildlife in the sanctuary.

Due in part to an outdated infrastructure, Newark's storm sewers get overwhelmed with litter, oil and other materials that end up impacting the cleanliness of the community's drinking water. To combat this issue, a group of passionate community members formed Doing Infrastructure Green (DIG) to help bring education to residents about sustainable solutions around the water supply.

Boston needs more parking spaces, especially in a neighborhood surrounded by water. It is looking to build an underwater parking garage, like the ones being built in Amsterdam, in order to free up street level space and add more parking to decrease car pollution from driving around searching for a parking spot.

When it comes to green infrastructure, Detroit's got plenty of parcels to work with. A look at their new plans to turn unused land into stormwater sponges.

In the face of a prolonged drought, residents of Melbourne, Australia, cut water consumption in half by capturing rainwater and using efficient toilets and washing machines.