Step 6; Poseidon Phase 1: Municipal Plumbing

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The next basic utility to be installed is plumbing. This will be installed in two stages: first, a water treatment plant to produce potable water and recycle used water. Secondly, water supply lines and fixtures in each room.

 

Water Treatment

We may be able to capture water from rain or surface air dehumidification, but the demands of an entire underwater facility will require us to eventually desalinate ocean water. Desalinization is a simple but energy intensive process. If a thermal engine power plant is eventually incorporated into Augury (as described in Step 10, Bia Phase 3), steam may be generated then recaptured and condensed into potable water. With or without the power plant, I recommend harnessing nuclear decay heat (from a non-weaponizable material like Thorium) to desalinate water, as otherwise we would have to burn fuel (or be reliant on a surface-based sunlight capturing lens device and a system of mirrors) to generate the requisite heat. The sea salt left behind can be used as a preservative for food, exported, or even used as a building material. Wherever the salt accumulates, it must be removed regularly, as salt causes mechanical parts to degrade quickly. Consider protecting surfaces with sheets of flexible silicone, which can be removed and twisted to more easily remove brittle salt buildup.

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Just like Aether will use algae and phytoplankton to clean the air, Poseidon will use aquatic organisms to clean the water. Some manufactured chemicals and mechanical filters will still be used where necessary, but as much as possible, water treatment should be performed by riparian plants (such as hornwort, water iris, water hyacinth, etc.) as well as colonies of freshwater molluscs (especially oysters which can each filter up to 50 gallons of water per day), around artificial creeks and pools which allow the water to sit for a while, allowing pollutants to be absorbed and solids to settle, before draining down-grade into supply cisterns at the bottom of the city structure. These internal water features should follow the model of natural swimming pools, in which the deepest areas are bordered by shallower shores which house the riparian filtration plants.

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When the water has drained to the base of the structure, it can be funneled into a chamber with a heat source to boil. The water vapor can be vented to a cistern at the top of the structure before being condensed, so that the collected water is in a position of higher potential kinetic energy than the rest of the structure, providing water pressure for plumbing, just like a water tower.

 

Plumbing

To service such a large facility, water supply lines should be arranged in the “logic” layout, in which a main line connects to a multiport tee with distribution lines connected to each tee. In turn, each individual line extending from this multiport manifold provides water to all fixtures in a single or adjacent group. The system of cascading hierarchy makes plumbing systems easier to navigate for future expansion and maintenance; loops will balance water pressure. This layout requires far less piping material, installs faster, and leads to fewer pressure and efficiency losses. This layout does require the use of cross-linked polyethylene (or PEX) piping, which is ideal anyway— PEX (an example of a good, long-term use of a plastic) is an excellent material with many properties which make it easy to work with and ideal for plumbing, including its durability and flexibility. The two big disadvantages of PEX use are a weakness to UV radiation and rodents, both of which will be less of an issue in Augury than in a typical development.

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Standard hot water heaters take up a lot of space and their size and weight make them difficult to service and maintain. Tankless water heaters are preferable; though are more expensive on the front end, they are far more energy efficient as they heat water on demand without storing it. Without a storage tank, they take up very little space—a precious resource in Augury.

 

Greywater

Greywater is wastewater contaminated with detergents and soap, as opposed to blackwater, which has been contaminated with sewage. Greywater will drain from sinks, showers, and washers into Augury’s water systems, so available soaps and dishwasher detergents will need to be controlled to ensure no toxic substances mix with the aquatic ecosystems. Clothes washers will be automated and have ecologically-friendly detergents built-in. After filtering through layers of sand, gravel, activated charcoal, and certain plants, the filtered greywater can be reused.