Gates Foundation Leads with "Disruptive" Wastewater Technologies

The Gates Foundation has announced eight awards to universities in its "Reinvent the Toilet Challenge".  Each research group is working on a toilet that requires no piped-in water, electricity, or sewer connection.  I attended the June 6th Cascadia Green Building Council conference, "Come Rain/Shine" in Seattle, and asked Frank Rijsberman of the Foundation whether he thought these techniques they were developing for Africa will be applied in the United States.  Rijsberman didn't think so.  But, in this news story, the U.S. military and rural water advocates do see a role for cheaper and better approaches than sewers.  Why not?  "Disruptive" technologies invade U.S. markets all the time with new designs from developing countries at a fraction of the cost of the technologies we have used here.  This can happen with wastewater as well, but we all need to work together to find pilot sites and flexible regulators.

See Rijsberman's presentation at the Seattle workshop, and this news story following the Foundation announcement of grants.

EPA seeks answers in Systems Thinking

Congratulations to Paul Anastas, the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and Development, for asking EPA researchers to refocus their work around "systems thinking".  EPA's Science Review Board (SAB) met a couple weeks ago to discuss some of the new recommendations, including in water research and sustainable communities.  I was pleased to see that my letter to the Board was posted on the meeting website, and these were the only public comments posted with the internal documents.  I urged EPA to step out even further into systems research around the Water Commons, integrated design, and new institutional structures.

See this website for EPA's internal documents and you can read my public comments to the SAB here.

A Day at Harvard with Loeb Fellow Herbert Dreiseitl

Here are photos of a recent event at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design.  Loeb Fellow Herbert Dreiseitl invited students and faculty to join a "hands on" waterscape exercise, showing the beauty and functionality of water processes.

Dreiseitl is a noted architect, who incorporates aesthetics into all his stormwater and wastewater management design projects around the world, believing that beauty promotes community health and responsible management of infrastructure.  

Something water hydrology does naturally!  

Innovation out of Massachusetts

Living on Earth captured my imagination with an article about a waterless fire extinguisher. Scientists have found a way to fight fire with electricity. This could dramatically cut requirements for water storage and delivery, and open doors for onsite rainwater harvesting and recycling to cover our needs.

We'll track this with interest.

The State of the Union in Water

Last night, Barack Obama reminded the nation of the vital role the government needs to play in support of innovation, education, and infrastructure.  Obama mentioned the transportation, biotech, energy, and information technology sectors, but it is important that we add water to this list as well.

Members of the Water Alliance recognize that we need to transform the way water is managed so we can continue to assure the safety of the food, water, and air that the President said are so important to Americans. Water infrastructure is falling apart from neglect and water pollution is on the rise. But investing in the 20th Century model of big-pipe grids is not affordable and not up to the 21st Century challenges of climate change, energy production, and increasing population.

China, Singapore, Australia, and European countries have recognized these new realities and are moving fast to seize the competitive advantage in infrastructure that reuses water, energy and nutrients from wastewater, utilizes natural systems, and lightens the water footprint of buildings and subdivisions.  

It is time to unleash the genius of American engineers and scientists in finding better technologies and designs and time to support the creativity and good intentions of America's cities and towns, by piloting and adopting approaches that save taxpayer dollars and do a better job at protecting the nation's waters and ecosystems.

As the President said: "This is our Sputnik moment." We agree. It is time to redirect outmoded water subsidies into research and development and to provide challenge grants for those communities and engineers that have a better idea.  Americans can once again provide the leadership in water science, technology, jobs, and sustainable development and the federal government can inspire and support our response to the water challenges just beyond the horizon.