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“One Water” Management. Currently very siloed - capture efficiencies, improve planning, & save money. Waste water. Storm water. Drinking water. “One Water” Management. Currently very siloed - capture efficiencies, improve planning, & save money. Groundwater recharge
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“One Water” Management Currently very siloed - capture efficiencies, improve planning, & save money Waste water Storm water Drinking water
“One Water” Management Currently very siloed - capture efficiencies, improve planning, & save money Groundwater recharge with recycled water Wastewater reuse Stormwater capture & reuse Nutrient recovery from the waste stream
Other hot topics • Investments in “local” water supplies (as opposed to sourcing them from long distances, as L.A. does) • Recovery of energy/water/nutrients from the waste stream • Greater interaction between water and energy utilities (water utilities generate waste water for cooling that energy utilities need, while energy utilities could be helping to power/heat water facilities). • Difficulty pursuing conservation, as existing rate structures often mean lower water use => lower revenues.
The Box Us Investments in watershed services
“Green infrastructure is just for stormwater.” “Watershed planning is more of a stormwater issue.” “Drinking water protection isn’t really possible any more in most places.”
One water company’s views on climate change “Our priorities regarding climate change are • Harden systems via relocation and barriers against disasters; • Build supply flexibility in terms of increased storage; and • Tech-based adaptation (GPS markers on infrastructure like pipes was the example provided).”
The Utility Perspective • Thinking about stormwater regulatory requirements • Weather volatility • Efficiency and conservation …lots of risk aversion
“I think people are willing to think about green infrastructure for stormwater because stormwater is a ‘new’ problem and so there aren’t really many firmly entrenched solutions. It’s also relatively low-cost and scalable, so it’s more feasible to demonstrate.”
Next steps? • Water Environment Research Foundation, the Water Environment Foundation, and the Center for Neighborhood Technology convening a working group on institutional barriers to ‘One Water’ including economic/financial barriers • Engineers were very interested in our cost-curve work and the green infrastructure database – appetite for cost and performance data and tools to better understand ROI on green infrastructure • Communication and language to the “One Water” audience