WaterWorld | By Sarah Fister Gale:
Water security is a global issue and even in the United States, with our rich and diverse water resources, once relied-upon water systems are now at risk. California is slowly recovering from a five-year drought, the Colorado River is beginning to run dry in places, and Lake Mead, which supplies water to 22 million people, reached record low levels in 2016 and could run dry by 2021 if conditions persist. And the problem isn’t limited to the arid southwest. Water shortages are expected in 40 states over the next decade, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
These trends are driving many communities to make alternative water projects a key component of their water diversification efforts, according Jonathan Loveland, alternative water supply practice leader for global engineering procurement and construction firm Black & Veatch in Irvine, Calif. “Projects to treat alternative sources of water have become common in states like Florida, California, and Oklahoma, which are all facing significant water shortages,” he said. “All of their easily-treated water has been utilized, so they need to turn to alternative sources.”
Beyond the Basin
Even in the water-soaked northeast, rapid urban development is forcing some communities to import clean water at significant expense to meet the needs of their growing populations. “It’s the first time we are seeing ‘wet states’ face water shortages,” said Kathryn Henderson, research manager for the Water Research Foundation (Denver, Colo.). Atlanta, for example, is currently pursuing a $300 million project to dig a five-mile tunnel from the Chattahoochee River to fill an abandoned quarry with 2.5 billion gallons of water. “The project will expand the city’s back-up water supply from three days to 30,” she explained.
And in eastern Virginia, the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) has launched its Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT), an indirect potable reuse project that involves treating wastewater to drinking water quality standards then injecting it into the Potomac aquifer, which is the size of a Great Lake and serves multiple states in the east coast region.
At Padre Dam’s facility, additional purification steps will treat water to near distilled standards before it’s discharged into the local groundwater basin. Photo courtesy of Padre Dam Municipal Water District.
At Padre Dam’s facility, additional purification steps will treat water to near distilled standards before it’s discharged into the local groundwater basin. Photo courtesy of Padre Dam Municipal Water District.
With the rapid depletion of traditional water sources, such projects are becoming commonplace as communities seek to diversify their water assets and build resiliency against climate change and water risks. “It requires a paradigm shift for communities to start thinking about all of their water as a resource,” Henderson said.
This is the idea behind the “One Water Movement,” which is an integrated approach to managing finite water resources that views all water – including wastewater, stormwater, graywater and seawater – as resources that can be sustainably managed. WRF recently released the Blueprint for One Water to help communities manage water resources more holistically. “It outlines the steps you need to develop a plan for being more innovative and breaking down the barriers between water and wastewater,” she noted.
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