Sustainable water infrastructure is a vital componentto providepeople with clean and safe water, from water accumulation, purification and wastewater services, there is much discussion and planning about the best way to sustain one of our most precious resources. As climate change, technology, and the new push for stronger regulation on non-renewable resources continue, the search for the long-term care of the American water system continues to improve with research, innovations and developments. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) defines sustainable water infrastructure in terms of three pillars: social, environmental, and economic. This issue paper seeks to inform readers of the latest trends, innovations, and projections in these areas.
Social: You Can Lead A Horse To Water…
Over the last 50 years,the global demand for water has tripled and is expected to increase further in the next 15-20 years due to population growth, expansion of urbanization, and economic development. Globally, awareness of water efficiency is increasing due to concerns about water scarcity. Most of the country relies on water for manufacturing, driving companies to find water treatment solutions for water recycling and reuse. Technologies such as desalination, which permits fresh water production from seawater and brackish water, will be adopted more widely as population growth continues in water scarce areas. In the United States, environmental awareness is also increasing among the population especially with concern to water infrastructure, fueling a feud between two sides of this issue. One side being the people and the agencies protecting the right to clean water and the other side being the governments who in general are slow to bring stricter restrictions and regulations on industrial and commercial water use. The latest survey of water usage in the United States is shown here.
Many utilities across the country face tremendous challenges, such as aging infrastructure, climate changes, population growth, and competing resource priorities within the communities they serve. The nation’s water infrastructure is in poor condition with some water systems and pipe structures reaching over 120 years of existence. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave America’s entire infrastructure a D+ in its 2013 report card. Drinking water and wastewater infrastructure earned a D, meaning that the infrastructure is “poor and at risk” with most elements and components at the end of their service life.
Both the ASCE and USEPA recognize and prioritize sustainability practices as a vital role in improving the conditions of water and wastewater infrastructures.
Environmental: But You Can’t Make It Clean…
Water managers across the United States require more complete, timely, and accurate water-availability information to support policy and decision-making, specifically, data associated with water withdrawals and consumptive use. Recognizing the limitations of current water-use data, the SECURE Water Act authorized a program that supports activities related to data collection and methods research and development at the state level. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) Water-Use Data and Research program (WUDR) provides financial assistance through cooperative agreements with state water resource agencies to improve the availability, quality, compatibility, and delivery of water-use data that is collected or estimated by states. The Act requires that these state water use and availability datasets be integrated with appropriate datasets that are developed and/or maintained by the USGS.
Federal fiscal year 2015 (FY2015), was the first year that funding was appropriated for this program. In FY15, funding was distributed to state water-resource agencies non-competitively, in the amount of $26,000 per state. The funding was provided to allow each state to evaluate their current water-use data in relation to USGS baseline standards for each category of water user and to develop a workplan to improve it. In FY2016 and subsequent years, funding will be distributed under a competitive proposal process.
In response to concerns about the water supply, communities are attempting to scale back on water consumption. In Southern California, some local governments give residents free ultra-low flush toilets and are building water-recycling plants on the grounds of new developments. In Arizona, golf courses are being redesigned with less natural turf. In Las Vegas, water inspectors scour the neighborhoods for “water conservation violators,” or anyone wasting water. In San Marcos, Texas, restaurants are prohibited from serving water except upon customer request. In Clark County, Nevada, turf regulations in areas under drought alert prohibit new turf in front yards. Groups in Georgia, Texas, Colorado, and New Mexico are promoting “xeriscape,” or landscaping especially for dry or desert-like conditions to conserve water and protect the environment.
Total freshwater and saline-water withdrawals for 2010 were estimated to be 355,000 million gallons per day (Mgal/d; equivalent to 355 billion gallons per day), or 397,000 thousand acre-feet per year (acre-ft/yr). Freshwater withdrawals made up 86 percent of the total, and saline-water withdrawals made up the remaining 14 percent. Most saline-water withdrawals were seawater and brackish coastal water used for thermoelectric power.
With the population steadily increasing, there will be a correlated push to protect the water sources, supplies and means of distribution.
Economic: But you can make it, make money…
As more and more utilities assume leadership roles related to community sustainability, resource recovery and conservation, sustainable economic development, and climate change, they must concurrently focus on long-term sustainability and bringing about meaningful change in their organizations and communities. For the past several years, the USEPA has worked in collaboration with utilities, states, professional associations, and others to help utilities across the water sector respond to these challenges.
To ensure sound practices concerning water sustainability and the need to be economically sound while doing so, several measures have been taken by national, state and local agencies to develop best practices in this area. A guide by the USEPA was developed to assist utility leaders in improving and developing their best practices over time and shift their programs towards a model of sustainability.
The USEPA states that the proven and progressive practices described in the document can help utilities:
- Save money by optimizing the planning and delivery of services to their customers;
- Ensure a reliable source of water consistent with customer needs;
- Use energy and water-efficient practices and technologies that foster water reuse, resource recovery, and green infrastructure;
- Become more resilient to short-term disasters and other longer-term climate related challenges; and
- Build greater understanding and support from decision-making bodies, customers, and other community stakeholders.
This type of initiative is the most common means of bridging the gap between economic motives and those of sustainability. Businesses are encouraged to make sound decisions in the areas of planning product quality and operational optimization, customer satisfaction and stakeholder understanding, financial viability, infrastructure stability, operational resiliency and even performance measurements to continually improve how they meet consumer need.
As the United States develops its plans for the future, water sustainability in the areas of social, environmental and economic impact will be at the forefront of the discussions. From new programming to develop more educated citizens on water use and consumption to a reform around water and wastewater infrastructure, one thing is certain: water sustainability is on the mind of everyone.
References
Current Sustainable Infrastructure Report 2014
2010 Water Use
Maupin, M.A., Kenny, J.F., Hutson, S.S., Lovelace, J.K., Barber, N.L., and Linsey, K.S., 2014, Estimated use of water in the United States in 2010: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1405, 56 p., http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1405/
Water-Use Data and Research Program
http://water.usgs.gov/wausp/wudr/index.html
Lifestyle Choices Affect US Impact on the Environment
http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2006/LifestyleChoicesAffectUSImpactontheEnvironment.aspx
