By Robert B. Sowby People often ask me, “So what’s the answer to the world’s water problems?” and expect an easy, digestible response. But there is no silver bullet. While most water plans have a dominant component, dependence on a single strategy is risky. Climate change, population growth, and other 21st-century challenges can adversely impact...

By Robert B. Sowby Most of us understand the basics of the hydrologic cycle—condensation, precipitation, transportation, and evaporation. These processes operate on global scales and in natural environments. But on local scales and in engineered environments like cities, a different cycle dominates: the urban water cycle. For the first time in history, slightly more than...