Safe and Sustainable Water Resources Joint SAB/BOSC Meeting June 29-30, 2011 Jennifer Orme-Zavaleta, iNPD Office of Research and Development 29-30 June 2011
Problem Definition - 20 th Century Challenges and 40 Years of Progress in Protecting Aquatic Resources Cuyahoga River, 1969 Love Canal, 1978 1 Acid Rain impacts to water quality 1993 Cryptosporidium outbreak
Problem Definition - 21 st Century Challenges • Rate of waters listed for impairment exceeds rate at which they are being restored • Causes of degradation are more complex; less visible • Multiple sources of pollution requiring new, innovative approaches • Key challenges include – aging water infrastructure - pathogens – legacy and emerging contaminants - nutrients – competing demands for water 2
Problem Definition - Water resources are not sustainable using 20 th century approaches to address 21 st Century problems Goal of EPA Safe and Sustainable Water Resources (SSWR) Research Program: –Seek sustainable solutions to 21 st century problems facing our Nation’s water resources – Integrate the existing Drinking Water and Water Quality research programs into one holistic program
Why Integrate? 4
Problem Definition - Overarching Goals • Protect public health and the environment • Provide safe and sustainable water to meet societal, economic and environmental needs • Water resources are managed in a sustainable manner that: –integrates drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, and reclaimed water; –maximizes energy production, nutrients and materials management, and water recovery; and –incorporates comprehensive water planning (such as low impact development and smart growth) and optimum combinations of built, green and natural infrastructure 5
Problem Statement Increasing demands for sources of clean water combined with changing land use practices, growth, aging infrastructure, and climate change and variability, pose significant threats to our Nation's water resources. Failure to manage our Nation's waters in an integrated, sustainable manner will limit economic prosperity and jeopardize both human and aquatic ecosystem health. Vision SSWR uses an integrated, systems approach to research for the identification and development of the scientific, technological and behavioral innovations needed to ensure clean and adequate and equitable supplies of water that support human well-being and resilient aquatic ecosystems. 6
Program/Regional Needs Nutrient Mgmt Strategy; Chemical & Pathogen Cont; Tools Problem Statement &Technology; Cost effective solutions; watershed protection, climate strategy Water Topics Energy & Mineral Chemical & Agriculture & N&P Pollution Industrial Extraction & Water Processes Injection Watershed Built Partner / Climate Infrastructure Protection Stakeholder Input Theme 2: Theme 1: ORD Sustainable Water Sustainable Water Resources Scientists Infrastructure Systems Input/Review Research Research Questions Questions Outputs Outputs Partner / Theme 1 Projects Theme 1&2 Projects Theme 2 Projects Stakeholder Project Project Project Project Project Project Review Project Project Project Project Project Project 7
ORIGINS OF MANIFESTIONS OF THE PROBLEM SYSTEMS APPROACH THE PROBLEMS IN THE WATER ENVIRONMENT TO SOLUTIONS Sustainable Water Resources – Poor Water Quality Ensure safe and sustainable water quality • Physical processes and availability to protect human and Urbanization (e.g.,flow; degraded ecosystem health by integrating social, habitat) Including: economic and environmental research for • Loadings: Nutrients, • Land use use in protecting and restoring water Pathogens, Chemicals, management resources and their designated uses (e.g., Sediments • Industrial drinking water, recreation, industrial Processes processes, and other designated uses) on Additional stressors: a watershed scale. Population • Insufficient Water Sustainable Water demographics Quantity Infrastructure Systems– Ensure • aging drinking • Climate change and the sustainability of critical water water and variability resources using systems-integrated wastewater water resource management where infrastructure the natural, green and built water infrastructure is capable of producing, NEW FOCUS - storing and delivering safe and high Non point Pro-active, quality drinking water, and providing source transport and use-specific treatment Integrated, pollution of wastewater and stormwater. Sustainable • Agriculture Solutions
Sustainable Water Resource Systems Public Health & Economy Communities products & services water supply runoff and Raw materials wastewater extractive uses: recycled water human exposure energy, irrigation, industrial processes recreational and cultural uses infra- structure freshwater ecosystem degradation depletion Water Environment water cycle provides ecosystem services
Theme 1: Sustainable Water Resources Public Health & Behavior Economy Potable water Communities change demand reduction Public agencies Consumer products Materials Sensitive or disadvantaged populations Energy Food Services Built environment Nutrient criteria Water intensity Treatment technologies reduction Best practices for Raw materials Best practices for Water reuse agriculture and Public health and water resource natural resource ecological impact management extraction assessment Future use scenarios Best practices for water Climate quality protection Full cost change Watershed Sustainability accounting adaptation monitoring and resilience and modeling assessment Water Environment Coastal Estuarine Surface Ground- Regional waters waters water water ecosystems
Theme 2: Sustainable Water Infrastructure Systems Public Health & Asset Economy Communities Stormwater management attenuation Integrated system design Aging infrastructure Best management Alternative water- maintenance and practices for water conserving or replacement Raw materials recovery and storage water-neutral technologies Climate-ready “Green” engineered or systems natural infrastructure Water Environment
Example Science Questions, Outputs and Outcomes • Theme 1 Science Objective Outputs Outcome Linkages Question What factors are most Establish metrics of 1) Biological, chemical, and Supports Criteria Derivation; Link to ACE, SHC, CSS, significant and effective in water resources and physical indices that are Standards Implementation; HS ensuring the sustainability watershed resiliency characteristic attributes of Healthy Watersheds Initiative; and integrity of water (including coastal and integrity necessary for sustaining Waters of the US; Mountaintop resources? other receiving waters), water quality and quantity within Mining; NARS, Gulf Hypoxia, Regions, OWOW, OST a watershed including Future guidance on developing downstream users, and numeric nutrient criteria, identifying stressors, including Vessel General Permit, CAFO non-indigenous species, from Rule. headwaters to coastal systems. 2) Quantify anthropogenic impacts on water resources and watershed integrity, including methods to detect and identify pathogens in wastewater, biosolids, and animal wastes. 3) Watershed classification to improve application and effectiveness of monitoring and modeling approaches to multiple watersheds; processes at various scales. 12
Example Science Questions, Outputs and Outcomes • Theme 2 Science Objective Outputs Outcome Linkages Question What are the most Develop and promote 1) Innovative BMPs for water Supports CCL, UCMR, ACE, SHC effective and sustainable integrated water reuse, recycling, and storage Drinking Water Strategy, Six approaches which management (including satellite systems) Year Review, Standards maintain and improve the approaches that 2) Advanced technologies for Implementation, Sustainable natural and engineered integrates wastewater, energy efficiency and recovery and Integrated Infrastructure, water system in a manner stormwater, drinking at drinking water treatment and nutrient policy implementation, that effectively protects water, reclaimed water; wastewater facilities (including Climate Change Mitigation the quantity and quality of maximizes energy, improved economics of water? nutrients, materials, and advanced combined heat and water recover; minimizes power precesses) DBP formation and 3) Management options for incorporates sustainable water availability for comprehensive water communities at the watershed planning (such as low scale impact development and 4) Optimized water treatment smart growth) and approaches and technologies for optimum combinations of removal of contaminants built, gray, and natural 5) Optimized climate ready infrastructure. (Regions, designs for water management OWM, OST, OGWDW) systems 13
Working with Partners and Stakeholders Meeting with EPA & ORD OW Office ORD Meeting Stakeholder RAP Scientist to Directors & With OW and Stakeholder feedback on Planning; Scientist Regional Regional Meeting Integrated Stakeholder Meeting Water Offices Straw via Sessions Division Ideascale Directors Office of Water and Regional Participation 14
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