Smart, Clean & Green
21st Century Sustainable Water Infrastructure
 On
Feb. 25, WERF and the National Decentralized Water Resources Capacity
Development Project held a briefing and discussion in Washington,
D.C., on emerging smart, clean and green approaches in water management
-- systems that use, treat, store and reuse water efficiently at small
scales and that blend designs into restorative hydrologies.
Big pipes transporting water to and wastewater away from our cities are
often old and under capacity. Many existing methods of water use and
wastewater treatment are wasteful, energy intensive and environmentally
disruptive. Ultimately, as climate change exacerbates droughts and storm
events, populations grow, and water becomes scarce, these systems may
not be sustainable.
Decentralized water technologies and designs are the keys to enhancing
the performance of the nation’s aging centralized water,
stormwater, and sewer infrastructure. These technologies, including rain
gardens and green roofs, water-efficient appliances and landscaping,
decentralized wastewater treatment and reuse systems, will beautify our
cities and towns, stimulate our local economies, enhance water supply,
recover energy and nutrients, and improve our health and
environment.
This briefing and discussion brought together decentralized systems
experts, federal agency representatives, foundations, and others to
inform participants about the potential for decentralized systems to
achieve ecosystem, economic, social, and other benefits for the nation.
Participants also shared information and discussed the research needed
to advance the knowledge and science of these systems.
View photos from the
event.
Most presenters on the
panel used talking points rather than slides, but slides are provided
for those that used them. The main talking points have been
incorporated into the briefing summary notes.
Robert Goo, U.S. Environmental Projection Agency (EPA)
Kenneth Belt, United States
Forest Service (USFS)
Jay Garland,
Dynamic Corp (NASA Contractor)
Lynda Stanley, National Research Council
(NRC)
Paul
Bishop, National Science Foundation (NSF)
Elaine Phelen, House Science Committee, Subcommittee on
Energy and Environment
Meeting Materials and Notes
Baltimore Charter
In March 2007, WERF sponsored a research needs
workshop in Baltimore as part of an international conference on
sustainable water systems. The workshop produced a document called
the “Baltimore Charter.” The
charter was drafted as a commitment to design new water systems that
mimic and work with nature. The charter was provided to participants as
a background document for the briefing, as many of the speakers
represent different opportunities and principles outlined in the
charter. The last few pages of the charter identify a number of specific
areas where research is needed.
Developing a Research Agenda for 21st
Century Sustainable Water Infrastructure
As a follow-up to the Feb. 25 briefing, WERF convened a smaller workshop
on Feb. 26 to update the research needs in the Charter and to
incorporate ideas generated during the briefing and discussion. The
group proposed refinements in several areas of the research needs agenda
in order to improve the state of the art in integrated resource
management. The refinements are highlighted in a meeting summary and explained in detail in a
meeting report.
Federal Programs for 21st Century Water
Infrastructure
This document provides a list of federal
agency and department programs conducting work in decentralized and
integrated water research infrastructure.
Registered List of Participants
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