Category: The T&H Blog

Reclaimed Water — From Toilet to Tap Infographic

Reclaimed Water — From Toilet to Tap Infographic

Drinking_out_of_a_toilet_fountain_at_the_Exploratorium
Drinking water from a perfectly clean toilet at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, California proves difficult for most visitors.

Would you drink water that was once used in the toilet? Chances are you just gave an emphatic “no”. But what if that water is actually so highly treated and processed that it is actually cleaner than the water currently coming out of most people’s taps? For the overwhelming majority of people, their answer is still that same emphatic “no”. Commonly referred to as the “yuck factor”, the idea of drinking recycled wastewater is simply too much for the human mind to overcome. However, climate change, population growth, and overuse have strained freshwater resources, and people may just need to change their way of thinking.

A Limited and Precious Resource

In the developed world, fresh water is taken for granted, when it is in fact a limited resource. About 97% of the Earth’s water is saltwater. More than two-thirds of the remaining fresh water is frozen in glaciers, which leaves less than 1% of the Earth’s water as fresh and available. In addition, the global population is growing astronomically at the same time that historic droughts plague Australia and the United States, two of the world’s largest water consumers. Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Phoenix are three of the driest cities in America, and they are also experiencing some of the highest rates of population growth. Conservation isn’t working, water supplies are running dry, and the most drought-stricken areas are looking, albeit reluctantly, to reclaimed wastewater.

“When we talk about reclaimed wastewater, we’re not talking about something that’s simply at the level of convenience,” says David Feldman, a political scientist at the University of California at Irvine. “We’re really dealing with an issue that is going to be affecting every country, every society.” Avoiding future clashes over water, he says, will mean having to drink treated wastewater.

There is no doubt that we all drink water that has passed through a human or animal at some point. The Earth’s water is a finite resource that constantly cycles, and treated wastewater is frequently discharged into lakes and rivers that supply drinking water. But while most people have no problem drinking water from sources that have been augmented with treated wastewater, the thought of taking water flushed down the toilet and directly repurposing it into drinking water is a bit tough to, well…swallow.

Reclaimed Water Infographic - From Toilet to Tap
Reclaimed Water Infographic – From Toilet to Tap. Feel free to share, with attribution.

Reclaimed Water Usage Today

Singapore is arguably the world’s most well-known and successful wastewater recycler. Their reclaimed water, branded as NEWater, supplies 15 percent of the population’s water, and is considered cleaner and purer than any tap water. In Australia, the city of Perth will receive up to 20% of its drinking water from reclaimed sources in coming decades. And, through public education and marketing efforts, the Perth project has a reported 76% public support.

Similar efforts are also in progress in the U.S. In San Diego, a 2004 survey indicated that 63 percent of county residents opposed adding treated wastewater to the drinking water supply. But as the drought has worsened and the population has grown, the city is running out of options. Therefore, the San Diego County Water Authority turned to community and environmental groups to help educate the public about the safety of recycled water, and in November, 2014, the San Diego City Council voted unanimously to advance a $2.5 billion plan to recycle wastewater. What’s more, recent polls show that opposition to reclaimed water has fallen to only 25 percent.

The Orange County Water District, which serves 2.4 million people in California, plans to boost production of recycled water next year from 70 million to 100 million gallons per day. And, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which serves 1.8 million people in the San Francisco Bay area, has decided to pursue construction of facilities to turn wastewater into drinking water for Sunnyvale and western Santa Clara County.

In Texas, the drought-stricken city of Wichita Falls has built a 13-mile pipeline that connects its wastewater plant directly to the plant where water is purified for drinking. In addition, the Colorado River Municipal Water District has been piping treated effluent from a wastewater treatment plant in Big Spring, Texas to a drinking-water plant that serves Big Spring, Snyder, Midland and Odessa for more than a year.

Explaining the Treatment Process

Biological_Wastewater_TreatmentEducation is the key to making recycled wastewater — or reclaimed water — more palatable, and explaining the process of water treatment is the most critical step in changing public opinion. When a person flushes a toilet, wastewater is carried through sewers to a municipal wastewater treatment plant. There, large solid material is separated from liquid with grates or bar screens. Next, the wastewater enters a settling tank where smaller solids fall out of solution and oils rise to the surface where they are skimmed off. The wastewater next moves to an aeration tank, where microbes feed on the waste and break it down. The water is then disinfected with chemicals such as bleach and chlorine. After an additional settling step, the treated water undergoes reverse osmosis where it passes through filters that remove even the tiniest of contaminants, like viruses or pharmaceuticals. Finally, the water is treated with ultraviolet light to fully disinfect the water by scrambling the DNA of anything that might still be living in it. This highly treated water is actually cleaner and more pure than most water currently pouring from our taps.

Getting Past the “Yuck Factor”

drinking water thumbs upTechnologies being developed today will make wastewater recycling more efficient and less expensive, but changing people’s opinion of drinking “toilet to tap” is the bigger challenge, experts say. Studies show that human beings naturally possess a strong aversion to consuming any food or drink that could possibly contain pathogens. However, there are some steps that can be taken to change public opinion. Adding an extra step in the treatment process, like discharging treated wastewater to a river that then carries it from one city to a drinking water treatment plant in another city, can eliminate the mental stigma. Discharging wastewater into rivers and aquifers instead of water pipes is more expensive but may be useful for gaining public acceptance. Public information campaigns that emphasize economic benefits, protection of U.S. water supplies, and personal safety can also increase public support. In addition, endorsement by a trusted group, like the Surfrider Foundation who helped raise support for wastewater reuse in San Diego, can also reduce stigma.

Running Out of Options

Population growth, depleted resources, climate change, and severe drought have all impacted our water supply. Reports have stated that California will run out of water by 2016. In Las Vegas, Lake Mead has shrunk to 60% of the size it was two decades ago. Wichita Falls, Texas is under a Stage 5 Drought Catastrophe. Conservation efforts have failed, our water supplies are drying up, and municipalities do not have the resources to supply enough water to the public. While the thought of drinking treated wastewater may be repugnant, it is only a matter of time before we run out of options. Notes Feldman, “I think between climate change, increased urbanization, and growing demands for food and energy, there’s really no way around reusing wastewater.” And unless something drastically changes, repurposing wastewater will not only be accepted in the future, but commonplace.

 

It’s No Joke: April 1 is National Walking Day

national walking daySince 2007, the American Heart Association has been celebrating National Walking Day on the first Wednesday in April. This year, it falls on April Fool’s Day, and while some pranksters will be affixing rubber bands to the kitchen faucet spray nozzle or staging fake spilled coffee in the break room, many individuals and corporations will be getting their smiles in a different way: walking.

Tata & Howard team members will be participating in National Walking Day for a myriad of reasons. A sedentary lifestyle has been shown to be as detrimental to one’s health as smoking, so finding ways to sneak in bouts of movement or exercise during the day has become a goal for many corporations. Corporate wellness programs very often include walking due to its ease of implementation and host of benefits. Walking is gentle, free, easy, and enjoyable, and people of all ages and abilities are able to participate. Walking just 30 minutes a day strengthens the heart, lowers the risk of diseases such as osteporosis, asthma, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some cancers, and it helps people lose or maintain weight. Another lesser-known benefit is that it boosts mood, and has been proven to be as effective in treating mild to moderate depression as anti-depressants.

Benefits of walkingAt Tata & Howard, corporate wellness is a priority. In addition to issuing corporate walking challenges like the Massachusetts to California virtual walk, employees are supported and encouraged to also make small daily changes to improve health. Rather than emailing or calling, Tata & Howard team members usually walk to their co-workers and managers with questions. Standing desks are sprinkled throughout the office, and many employees can be seen checking their company-subsidized FitBit walker trackers throughout the day. In addition, Tata & Howard has participated in the Special Olympics spring, summer, and fall lunchtime 5Ks as well as the 20-mile Walk for Hunger in Boston, Massachusetts.

This year, on Sunday, May 3, 2015, Tata & Howard will once again be participating in the Walk for Hunger. The event, which starts and ends on Boston Common, includes a scenic route that winds through Boston, Brookline, Newton, Watertown, and Cambridge, past Boston College and Harvard University, and includes entertainment, food stations, and rest areas along the way. Started in 1969, it is the country’s oldest continual pledge walk and the largest one-day fundraiser focused on alleviating hunger. All monies raised go to Project Bread, an organization that provides healthy, nutritious food to those in need in the Commonwealth.

Participants in the 2014 Walk for Hunger
Participants in the 2014 Walk for Hunger

For National Walking Day, Tata & Howard is kicking off a month-long countdown to the Walk for Hunger. All offices will be lacing up their sneakers and taking some time from their day for a walk. Due to this past winter’s record-breaking snowfall in New England, many of us will be doing laps in our office buildings or marching about the parking lot, but we will all have one thing in common: we will be walking — for National Walking Day and to support the hungry. And that’s something we can all smile about.

For more information on National Walking Day, please visit www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/PhysicalActivity/Walking/National-Walking-Day_UCM_448665_Article.jsp
For more information on the Walk for Hunger, please visit www.projectbread.org/walk-for-hunger

Spring — and Stormwater Runoff — Has Sprung

Why Stormwater Runoff is a Serious Concern for Everyone

snow flowersWinter if finally over, and spring is in the air. The snow has melted, flowers are blooming, and warmer, sunny days are upon us. But while we are all enjoying the balmier days, we also have to worry about a serious environmental concern: stormwater runoff.

Stormwater starts as precipitation – snow, sleet, and rain. When this precipitation lands on natural ground cover such as forests, grass, or gardens, it soaks into the ground and is filtered by layers of dirt and rock. This clean, filtered water finds its way to our groundwater and drinking water supply. The problem manifests when stormwater does not land on forests or gardens but instead washes off parking lots, roads, driveways, rooftops, and other hard surfaces, also known as impervious cover. Stormwater that picks up pollution, such as chemicals, oil, road salt, bacteria, sediment, sewage, and trash, then washes these pollutants into ditches and storm drains — and in turn into streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes — is referred to as stormwater runoff. And this spring we should expect an inordinate amount of stormwater runoff resulting from this past winter’s record snowfall.

Fishing_clean_waterThe United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has instituted stormwater regulations under its Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act aims to protect our nation’s water so that it is clean, drinkable, fishable, swimmable, and healthy. Three specific contaminants of concern are bacteria, phosphorus, and nitrogen, and they must be kept out of the water. Unfortunately, many of our nation’s rivers, streams, and lakes are already widely contaminated by these three pollutants.

According to the Massachusetts River Alliance, stormwater runoff is recognized by the EPA as the #1 source of water pollution in Massachusetts and the primary reason why more than half of its waterbodies are considered impaired. In Maine, stormwater runoff is one of the largest contributors to pollution in Casco Bay and other waterways, and only in July of 2022 received protections under Maine’s updated MS4 permit. In the Casco Bay watershed, it applies to twelve municipalities and regulates stormwater pollution in the most densely populated areas: Scarborough, Cape Elizabeth, South Portland, Portland, Falmouth, Cumberland, Yarmouth, Freeport, Windham, Westbrook, and Gorham.

In Connecticut, stormwater is also a serious problem, where 70 percent of Connecticut’s fresh water bodies are unfit for swimming for part of the year, compared to a nationwide average of 55 percent — and it’s mostly due to stormwater pollution in Long Island Sound. Increases in extreme weather are also contributing to Connecticut’s ongoing stormwater problems.

Natural vs. Impervious Cover
Natural vs. Impervious Cover
Algae Bloom Eutrophication
Algae Bloom Eutrophication

And New England isn’t the only area of the country with problems. In Ohio and Michigan, Lake Erie continues to be heavily contaminated after several decades. Lake Erie gained notoriety after the Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969, and the Lake is credited as being the inspiration for both the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1974 as well as the creation of Earth Day. And while Lake Erie’s contamination was largely cleaned up in the 1990’s, it encountered even more serious problems in the new millennium. Algal blooms reappeared in the lake, and with this eutrophication came oxygen deprived dead zones, foul smells, and water too toxic to drink. Then in 2011, Lake Erie’s algal blooms hit a new record by growing to 5,000 square kilometers — or three times the previous record. Lake Erie’s algae blooms are now an annual threat to the health and drinking water of more than 11 million people, where each summer, communities and businesses around Lake Erie actively plan for toxic algae blooms.

eutrophicationClearly, stormwater runoff directly causes a myriad of environmental issues. So how can we handle this serious problem? The fact is that there is no simple or quick solution. Addressing stormwater runoff will require a multi-faceted best practice approach that will involve every facet of the nation’s population. Reducing soil erosion, cleaning up pet waste, maintaining healthy septic systems, replacing deicers, improving agricultural practices, implementing cleaner automotive operations, instituting low impact design methodology, and increasing stormwater funding are just a few of the ways that we can begin to solve the problem. In the end, there is no natural resource more precious than water, and we must do everything in our power to protect it.

World Water Day 2015 — Sustainable Development and Its Criticality to Domestic Water Supplies

Public Water Supply“When the well is dry, we learn the worth of water.” – Ben Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanac 1733

World Water Day is March 22, 2015, and the theme is Sustainable Development. But what exactly IS sustainable development? It was first defined by the Brundtland Commission in 1983:

  1. Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

More recently, University of Maryland School of Public Policy professor and former Chief Economist for the World Bank Herman E. Daly proposed the following three rules for sustainability:

  1. Renewable resources such as fish, soil, and groundwater must be used no faster than the rate at which they regenerate.
  2. Nonrenewable resources such as minerals and fossil fuels must be used no faster than renewable substitutes for them can be put into place.
  3. Pollution and wastes must be emitted no faster than natural systems can absorb them, recycle them, or render them harmless.

While sustainable development always includes the global effort to provide clean water and sanitation to the world’s population, it also requires developed nations to implement efficient technologies and to protect existing resources by addressing threats and incorporating conservation strategies into daily life. Consider these facts:

  • Less than 1 percent of the world’s fresh water is usable in a renewable fashion
  • The average person requires 1.3 gallons of water per day just to survive, while the amount of water needed for all daily tasks – like drinking, cooking, bathing, and sanitation – is 13 gallons
  • The average American uses 65 to 78 gallons of water per day for drinking, cooking, bathing, and watering their yard; the average Dutch uses only 27 gallons per day for the same tasks
  • The average Gambian uses only 1.17 gallons of water per day

sprinklerAmerica is one of the world’s largest consumers of water, and to do our part towards sustainable development, we must begin by modifying our domestic water usage.

Efficiency – the Most Effective Method of Conservation

By implementing indoor residential conversation techniques, we could meet the water needs of over five million people by the year 2020, and by incorporating efficient irrigation techniques, we could save enough water to meet the needs of an additional 3.6 million people. In addition, if we were to also invest in our nation’s water infrastructure and supply to incorporate efficient technologies to reduce water loss, we would be able to meet all of our domestic water needs — agricultural, industrial, and residential. This would result in easing the stress on our natural resources as well as saving enough water to guard against another concern: climate change.

Climate Change in the United States – An Imminent Threat

Rocky MountainClimate change increases the risk of extreme weather, such as droughts and floods, and alters the timing and location of precipitation. For example, climate change has the potential to alter snowfall and snowmelt in the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and Pacific Northwest. Any alteration in snowfall or snowmelt will cause changes in timing and volume of runoff, resulting in flooding in the winter and drought in the summer. In addition, coastal aquifers and water supplies in areas such as Cape Cod, Long Island, the coastal Carolinas, and central coastal California are extremely vulnerable to rising sea levels caused by climate change. Other products of climate change — such as higher water temperature in lakes and streams, melting permafrost, and reduced water clarity — have the potential to critically threaten fish and water-dwelling animals as well harm wetlands and other water habitats. Climate change has the potential to drastically alter our nation’s weather patterns and geological landscape, and any delays in addressing climate change and in planning effective strategies for the impending changes could severely threaten our nation’s water supplies. Clearly, addressing climate change now is one of the key components to sustainable development.

sunset over water smallWhile the global focus of sustainable development needs to be on providing access to clean water and sanitation for everyone, we also need to look within our own borders and change the way we think about water and our natural resources. Unless we institute positive change and focus on conservation by implementing efficient technologies and practices, we will likely find ourselves facing dire consequences. As Dr. Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, stated so eloquently, “The best way to solve emerging threats to the world’s fresh water is by rethinking how we use and manage our scarce resources. We must look at ways to increase our efficiency of use, instead of just building more dams and reservoirs. Improving the efficiency of our water systems, taking real steps to tackle global warming, and opening the policy debate over water to new voices can help turn the tide.”

We couldn’t have said it better.

REFERENCES:
www.awra.org
www.pacinst.org

How Dangerous is Dumping Snow into the Ocean?

A “snow farm” located in Boston Harbor. When it all melts where will it go?

If you’re in New England this year, the only thing on people’s minds – apart from the Patriots’ Superbowl win – is the extreme snow fall we’ve faced.

Cities around the region are reaching record-breaking snow accumulation resulting in budget-breaking snow clean up for cities and towns.  What’s got most officials worried is that it’s only February.  Winter here in New England has a long way to go.

In Boston, a harbor city, with historically narrow and windy streets, crews are running out of places to put the snow.  Streets are becoming impassable, sidewalks are nearly non-existent.  Traffic is slowing to a halt, trains are freezing on the rails, creating difficult and dangerous traveling conditions for all.

When conditions go beyond salting and plowing, some municipalities use diesel-powered snow melters to dispose of the snow.  Massachusetts’ Governor, Charlie Baker announced that the state has bought two of these to help with condition across the state.  These machines are costly, but provide a slow, but guarantee of snow removal. But with the amount of snow the entire state has faced in recent weeks, snow melters will take a long time to whittle away at all the piles. Coastal cities, like Boston, are considering another dramatic option – plowing snow into the ocean. While this option is equally successful at getting rid of snow, it could potentially be more expensive in the long run.

While the act of dumping snow into the ocean has long been banned, there is the option for cities and towns to request a waiver from the state in situations where the accumulated snow poses a danger to the public.  However this has now become a very difficult debate for officials to maneuver – one of protecting public health no matter what side of the debate you are on.

It’s important to remember that dumping snow into the ocean is nothing like the snow that falls into the ocean during a snow storm.  Plowed snow is snow that has been dragged through the streets, always with large amounts of salt, oil, and any other debris left on the roads. That pollutes the ocean, and so can only be done if the snow constitutes a danger to public health — a point, some argue, Boston has approached.

But doesn’t that debris and pollution enter the ocean when the snow melts and drain through the storm drains?

The short answer is, “Yes”. Paul Levy, the first director of the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority, writes that he thinks it’s pretty silly to let Boston build up the snow in giant snow farms right near the water, but not let the city push the snow into the harbor – when it’s going to melt into the water anyway.  Forcing the city to create snow mountains only means wasting time that could be better spent getting rid of snow from increasingly clogged streets, he says in a blog post.

In a response to his original call for ocean dumping, Levy commented, “I’m not suggesting we make a habit out of it. I’m suggesting that when you have an emergency situation, with gridlock on the streets, extraordinary measures are called for. It’s just a matter of time before someone dies because an ambulance can’t get there; or a person slips off a snowbank in front of a car or truck, or isn’t seen walking on the street and gets flattened, or whatever. If doing the harbor disposal for a day or two could expedite the street cleaning, it’s worth a bit of environmental degradation. After all, we engage in environmental protection, at least in part, as a public health measure. If we are too pure about that, we can end up causing a different kind of public health problem.”

With more snow expected this week, the debate will continue whether to dump or not to dump.  Until it melts, we New Englanders, naturally a hardy group, will just continue to cry “Uncle” to Mother Nature.

Keep your Water Running During a Blizzard

A common saying here in New England is, “If you don’t like the weather, wait ten minutes.”  It’s true our weather is hard to predict and this winter alone we’ve had temps as high as in the 50’s to below zero.

But when the meteorologists report that a blizzard is imminent, most New Englanders know to respect the warnings and Mother Nature.

One of the most probable and most dangerous issues that come up during a blizzard is power losses.  With overhead power lines and lots of trees in the way, high winds and heavy snow more often than not will take down the power.  In below freezing temps, power outages can be extremely dangerous to you and your water pipes.  Here are a few tips to keep you safe this week and in future winter storms.

1. Keep the water runnin­g!  Water pipes tend to fr­eeze in temperatures below 20 degrees Fahrenheit (about -7 degrees Celsius). Prevent this by wrapping your interior pipes with foam insulation. If the temperature is dropping, leave your faucets running at a slow drip.

Run the cold water from the lowest point in the house, usually a laundry room sink or tub. Keep your drain clear of debris to prevent overflow or flooding.

The idea is to keep the water flowing constantly at a rate of about one gallon every four minutes. Do not run your hot water.

2. Layer Up! Next to the Blizzard Kit, keep a bag of warm clothes for each person in the household. If the lights are out, it will be hard to find that really warm turtle neck or a pair of warm socks or gloves…in the dark.

3. Stock a Blizzard Kit with the following: batteries, flash lights, battery operated radio/television, bottled water, toilet paper, nonperishable foods such as cereal or crackers, canned goods, a non electric can opener, a small cooler, candles, prescription medicines and any over-the-counter remedies you use regularly; and if you have young infants or toddlers – diapers, baby wipes, formula, baby food.

4. Then, stock a “Boredom” Kit, as well. Count on the power being out for at least a day or two and have some board games and a deck of cards on hand. An easily available activity kit next to the blizzard kit with arts and crafts for the kids is crucial for long periods of power loss – especially if there isn’t any television to distract them.

5. Charge all your devices. Now’s the time to get all the devices in your house fully charged and easy to find. Now is the time to add emergency numbers in your phone’s memory for easy access when you need them.

6. Finally, STAY INSIDE. However tempting it may be for kids to go out and make snow angels or play in the falling snow, use caution. Those blowing winds – both before and after a blizzard – are cold enough to cause frostbite, and snowdrifts may hide dangers children might otherwise see. Stay indoors where it’s safe, and warm!

Blizzards are serious business. Weather forecasters can only predict so much. Educate yourself and stay on top of the updates in your area. There is no harm in being overly cautious. In most cases where a blizzard is concerned, it truly is better to be safe than sorry.

Clean Water – The Greatest Gift this Holiday season

We here at Tata & Howard wish you all a happy, healthy, and safe holiday and prosperous new year!

It’s the holidays again and ’tis the season for giving gifts, being with our loved ones and celebrating our good fortune by helping those in need.

Credit: Water for People

Here at Tata & Howard we are doing just that.  2014 has been a busy year for us; one of growth and many successes delivering and maintaining proper access to clean water sources for communities all over the country . That is why at this time of year we like to support the gift of clean water for those who sadly don’t have access to this basic human right in other countries.  In addition to the great community service work our regional offices do locally, our team also contributes throughout the year to  our corporate holiday giving fund.  At the end of year the money which staff have contributed is then matched by the company and donated to Water for People.

This global non-profit explains their work is as simple as their name. “We want all people to have safe, continuous water, and when they do, our job will be done. We want water for everyone, forever.”

Currently, 748 million people around the world do not have access to clean water. And, 2.5 billion people – or one in three people – do not have access to something as basic as a toilet.  Lack of access to clean water is at epidemic proportions and contributes to higher mortality rates, lower education levels, and increased violence in countries affected.

Water for People is looking beyond toilets and wells and water pumps, and into the future. The group works with people in affected countries to find out how they live and what they need to feel healthy, safe, empowered, and successful. As their website says, “We’re designing solutions based on long-term needs — and long lives. We don’t want to be around forever, but we want water to be.”

And this non-profit gets it.  The founders, Ken Miller, a former president of AWWA, Wayne Weiss,  and John B. Mannion, a former executive director of AWWA, joined forces to create a path for Water For People’s establishment as an international nonprofit development organization in 1991, which grew to become a leader in social responsibility and innovation in the sector.

Today, Water For People is the AWWA designated charity of choice, and is also endorsed by the Water Environment Federation, the Water Quality Association, the National Association of Water Companies, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies.

40 BILLION HOURS from Water For People on Vimeo.

Find out more about their work by visiting their website  We hope you are inspired as much as we are to give thanks at this year’s end by contributing to support the development of clean and healthy water sources for more around the world.

We here at Tata & Howard wish you all a happy, healthy, and safe holiday and prosperous new year!

Smart Grid Water Networks: Part of the Water Efficiency Arsenal

Water-Grid-FeatureThe impacts of global climate change have driven governments, businesses, and communities around the world to consider efficiency and conservation in all areas of our lives, rethink business plans, and reconsider the relationships between people and resources to create a more sustainable future.

Nowhere is this focus on sustainability clearer than in water utilities. Faced with an aging distribution infrastructure in need of overhauling, growing populations, and shrinking supply, utilities are struggling with developing innovative, yet cost effective, ways to maintain and improve already maxed out water systems.

Just as smart metering has shed light on our energy use, utilities, environmental groups, and governments are beginning to look to smart metering to help with water conservation.

What is Smart Networks and Metering? AMI vs. AMR

A smart water network – or smart grid for water – may be the next big thing as communities around the world come to terms with water scarcity and the need for water conservation.  The crux of the smart water network is advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) technology. AMI can provide a remote and constant two-way communication link between utilities, meters and consumers via the usual communications technologies (broadband, fiber optic cable, wireless, etc.).

As a key component of a smart water network, smart water meters integrated with sensing technologies give water utilities advanced tools for more efficiently measuring water consumption and providing water customers with data to help them monitor their water usage and reduce costs.  Often known as “smart lite”, advanced meter reading (AMR) technology, one-way information gathering from customer to utility is seen as a cost effective approach to accurate billing and leakage. This solves the bulk of many water utility needs.

Benefits – Knowledge is Power

Smart metering increases the information available to the customer which helps them better understand and curb their water use.

Preliminary investigation indicates that customers with displays are more likely to use less water. However, installing monitors at each customer site may come with a price tag water utilities find difficult to afford. As a result, many elect less expensive ways to provide consumption details, such as Web sites or printouts enclosed with bills. Although surveys indicate that customers prefer the on-site display, web portals are another effective method to link concerned customers to information on how to lower consumption and/or bills.

Smart metering also delivers valuable data to utilities. For example, utilities can use the data collected to detect customer-premises leaks from their end. Utilities could also use the technology to identify possible leaks at commercial and industrial properties with round-the-clock water use.

More over, according to UN-Water, approximately 8% of the world’s energy production is used for pumping, treating and transporting water. Saved water means saved energy—a double benefit—and a better future for generations to come.

Smart water networks have evolved to the point where they can reliably produce the benefits described above, within very reasonable payback periods. While many jurisdictions are contemplating extreme measures – water rationing, desalinization plants, building canals hundreds of miles long – smart water networks can reclaim 20% to 40% of water that is typically lost to leaks and theft, according to SmartGridNews.com.

So What’s the Catch?

While there are increasing studies looking at the benefits and uses of smart metering, utilities are not overlooking the price tag that comes along with the technology.    Additionally, the jury is still out whether or not customers will embrace yet another judgement on their lifestyle.  In the early days of energy metering, some utilities paid big bucks to have local  energy use comparisons printed on customer bills.  The frowning face on high energy-use customers’ bills did very little to encourage conservation and win over utilities good intentions with the public.

There are still many challenges in network understanding and costs analysis that make smart water networks slow in development. Despite the many benefits, justifying the implementation of the technology to support smart metering will require cooperation and support from local and regional governments, communities, and above all, customers.

Careful planning and close scrutiny of all the costs associated with implementing a smart water network will allow utilities to plan for scaleable implementation of this technology.

Clean Water Made the First Thanksgiving a Feast to Remember

1115141358aIt’s Thanksgiving!  It’s that time of year when we cover our table with a feast of turkey, cranberries, and potatoes and imagine that we are celebrating as the earliest settlers had nearly four hundred years ago. But more likely, the Pilgrim and Wampanoag people enjoyed a plentiful bounty of waterfowl and fish at their feast – game and seafood attracted to the area by the clean, undisturbed waters of 17th-century Massachusetts.

Many historians believe that turkey and potatoes were not actually present at the first Thanksgiving. Turkey did not become the poster-bird for Thanksgiving until the early 1800s.  Back in 1621, the feast, which lasted three days, was comprised of foods that could easily be obtained in the region, and the local waters were an excellent resource for finding these.

According to one article, the birds that were most likely eaten were migratory ducks and geese attracted to the clean rivers, streams, and lakes of the Plymouth area.  Without these clean waters attracting birds to Massachusetts, the first Thanksgiving meal would have been much less impressive than it actually was. Below the surface of the rivers and streams, and the ocean of Massachusetts where this three-day feast took place, the Pilgrims and members of the Wampanoag tribe found many delicacies to add to their dinner table.  Clams, cod, lobsters, and eels were plentiful in the clean, undisturbed waters, and the early Americans took full advantage of this.

Additionally in an article from Smithsonian Magazine, there are reports that while there may have been beer at the table, there would have only been about a few gallons for 150 people over three days.  The rest of the group probably washed the meal down with water.  Another reason the guests at the first Thanksgiving were probably thankful for the clean waters available to them.

Water has certainly been a very important – if often overlooked- element of any Thanksgiving dinner.  While you’re boiling your potatoes, and getting the lumps out of the gravy, reflect on a feast such as this without water and give thanks by conserving water in your cooking.

May you and yours enjoy a happy and “water-ful” Thanksgiving!

Brownfields Seeing Green – Communities Benefit from Development

Due to high environmental cleanup costs communities lose millions in economic revenue and community revitalization from brownfield sites. Thankfully most states have brownfield redevelopment incentive programs to encourage abandoned sites to be developed.

Brownfield Development Lot
A brownfield site in Massachusetts

A big election-day issue here in Massachusetts was whether voters would maintain the state’s position on developing a gaming industry and, in turn, approve the construction of three large casino facilities in different parts of the state. After a long highly contested debate, voters supported keeping the law as is and the plan for three casinos in Massachusetts will continue.

While casinos have faced tough opposition in many communities around the state, it is arguable that, for one community, the promise to transform a deserted waste-land into prosperous waterfront property, is what swayed many local voters to support this initiative.

Wynn Resorts, the company with plans to turn a polluted former chemical plant in Everett into a new $1.6 billion resort, has a hefty environmental cleanup project ahead before it can even begin to pour the foundation.

Officials have said that the 30-acre site, on the banks of the Mystic River, has housed four different chemical companies dating back to about 1868. Environmental tests have shown that the soil, groundwater and river sediment at the site contain substantial levels of arsenic, lead, copper and other heavy metals.

At a community meeting shortly before the elections, Wynn Resort officials promised the cleanup efforts, which are estimated to take about three to four months and cost roughly $30 million, will meet the “highest standards” set by federal environmental regulators.

Unfortunately, the high cost of environmental cleanup for many communities means these opportunities get ignored thus costing the community significant amounts of money in economic revenue and community revitalization. But thankfully, most communities don’t have to wait for a billion-dollar development project to come to their doorstep. Many states have brownfield redevelopment incentive programs to encourage abandoned sites to be developed.

The Brownfields Act of Massachusetts provides financial incentives to attract new investment in these properties while ensuring that the Commonwealth’s environmental standards are met.

Redevelopment of a brownfield site can be a significant undertaking for a municipality, but it can have an even more significant pay-off in the end. These projects often benefit from pre-planning on the part of the municipality, which may include a brownfield site inventory of the community, a review of existing bylaws or ordinances, and some advance visioning for the area in which a brownfield site is located. It may require a public-private partnership to bring it to fruition, and will benefit from public outreach and involvement. Municipalities can work to foster these relationships with the neighborhoods in which brownfields are located and with potential investors and developers.

For communities interested in starting a Brownfield Redevelopment Project, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a comprehensive tool kit: https://www.mass.gov/envir/smart_growth_toolkit/pages/mod-brownfields.html. For those outside of Massachusetts, visit your state website for details on incentive programs available.