Reinventing the Water Grid Part I: Science, Behavior & Dollars
Abraham Noe-Hays
Thursday, March 05, 2015
10:30 am to 12:00 pm
Multi-Sector
This session is in two parts.Water is scarcer. Systems for both fresh and waste water are vulnerable. Water standards are increasingly stringent to protect ecosystems and public health. Since water and energy are so inextricably intertwined, the term, “water grid” provides a unique frame for exploring how to operate a more closed-loop system of water production and use. As architects, engineers, builders and municipal planners, what will we have to rethink and re-do about processing fresh and waste water in developing the next generation of the built environment? Both sessions are explorations into emerging, but sometimes not yet proven, solutions in technology, design, behavior change and policy. Session one will examine the present and emergent conditions regarding both fresh and waste water. It will provide an overview of what is being done to change the conversation, change policy, and change practice about water use in the built environment. For example, how building and zoning code changes are reducing water use.
Reinventing the Water Grid Part II: Nutrient Recycling and Other Opportunities for Fun & Profit
Thursday, March 05, 2015
2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
Multi-Sector
Session two will dig deeper into two solutions – both fresher paths forward than the expensive model of centralized-systems solutions. First is a look into cities such as Atlanta, where the cost of water and wastewater have soared but the system and the treatment technologies are working. Second is the promising practice of source-separating urine for fertilizer production—a pilot in Falmouth, MA is demonstrating cost-effective alternative to building a new treatment plant. Both examples involve the challenges of changing occupant behavior, and both introduce new business opportunities for rethinking water use. The session will close by identifying the nuggets, from both sessions for us to further reflect on about policy, design, technology & practice, and behavior change.
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