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When Gov. Jerry Brown called on Californians to reduce their water use by 25 percent in response to a four-year drought, it seemed like an impossible goal.

Every property will experience both indoor and outdoor water leaks as plumbing naturally ages. Fixtures and fittings are particularly susceptible to leaking, and excessive water pressure can cause pipes to burst or leak over time. Identifying the existence of leaks using monthly water bills means that non-visible leaks will go undiscovered for long periods of time.

Internet of Things (IoT) devices and sensor technology are becoming more common in commercial building management. This smart building technology provides building owners and occupants with real-time data that can drive or automate decisions, reduce costs and waste less resources.

Sustainable investing is the future, according to Audrey Choi, chief sustainability officer for Morgan Stanley. Women and millennials are driving investor interest in sustainability, she noted, whose combined constituencies will make up three-quarters of the workforce by 2025 and are three times more likely to seek out employment with a sustainably minded company.   

A downtown Dallas neighborhood is getting smarter through a technology-enabled smart city pilot project. Rolled out in Dallas’ West End, the pilot includes intelligent LED street lighting, kiosks with digital maps of the area, public Wi-Fi, and smart irrigation systems.

Often taken for granted, most Americans benefit from the world’s most reliable and clean water system. In many parts of the United States, our water use is still being driven from a mindset that it is plentiful, available, and inexpensive. But those days are changing.

After nine years of research, the California State Water Control Board finalized a plan to save fish and wildlife populations, some of which are now threatened or endangered. For decades, native fish and wildlife co-existed with efforts to reclaim or divert water from the California Bay-Delta region.

The H-2B visa program has become a casualty in the larger war over immigration, with many landscaping businesses caught in the middle. The H-2B visa program determines how many temporary non-agricultural workers can work in the US every year. The current cap of 66,000 was temporarily increased to 81,000, and roughly half of them are landscapers.

A survey of state water managers around the nation predicts freshwater shortages in 40 states over the next decade. So, before turning faucets on with reckless abandon, consider 9 water saving habits hang onto, drought or not.

Everyone knows that cooling towers consume huge volumes of water, as much as 50 percent of a building’s domestic water use. But by following a few best practices, facilities can save significant amounts of water. Here are 8 ways to maximize cooling tower efficiency and lower water consumption.