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8th Biennial Emerging Water Technology Symposium Brings Water Discussion to the Desert
SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Every two years, a meeting of water conscious, like-minded individuals travel to a water technology Mecca of sorts to discuss water conservation, efficiency and use. This year’s Emerging Water Technology Symposium (EWTS)—co-convened through International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE), and Plumbing Manufacturers International (PMI)—put water front and center.
When talking water scarcity coupled with water conservation techniques, Scottsdale was the perfect backdrop for water everything, magnified. The two-day event kicked off with a keynote from Sarah Porter, Director, Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy; Professor of Practice in ASU’s College of Global Futures, who reiterated that, “Conservation needs to be linked to a desired outcome to make it work,” when talking about water use in Arizona, the lack of annual precipitation in the Phoenix area, and the overburdening of the Colorado River, for example.
Porter also spun some facts regarding outdoor water use in the Phoenix area: grass yards and pools account for more than 70% of household water use. Having said that, more than 90% of the water used indoors in Arizona is treated and recycled. And yet, something I still have trouble wrapping my head around is that with the recent population boom of 555% in the Phoenix, water use has actually gone down 3%. Say what?! Mind blowing when you really think about it, right? The reason? Less agricultural and more residential use.
Throughout day one of the symposium, attendees listened to high-level conversations regarding water scarcity and how to achieve better water efficiencies. Among other topics, they learned more about WaterSense, PFAS and the unintended consequences of reduced flow rates. Here are some snapshots of a few of the presentations.
Goodyear Case Study
Andrew Pirrone, Water Conservation Coordinator, City of Goodyear, Ariz., and Joe Fazio, Vice President of Enterprise Solutions, Flume Water, a manufacturer of water monitoring and leak detection systems, presented a case study “close to home,” which saw the city of Goodyear partner with Flume Water to tackle water issues head on. The city faced a severe 15-year drought affecting more than three million residents, prompting innovative water conservation initiatives.
In 2022, Goodyear partnered with Flume to distribute water monitors to residents, offering real-time insights through a mobile app that detailed indoor and outdoor water use, appliances, and fixtures. The program’s success was notable, with a 14.6% reduction in residents’ water consumption, saving an average of 14,000 gallons per household annually.
ARCSA International
The conservation talk pivoted to rainwater harvesting where David Crawford, CEO, Rainwater Management Solutions, The American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA) International, talked about the movement toward harvesting different on-site waters sources, and emphasized water reuse for future generations, “How are we going to conserve enough water for our kids and grandkids,” asked Crawford.
WaterSense Update
Next, wouldn’t it be cool if every American home was WaterSense labeled? suggested Jonah Schein, National Program Manager for Homes & Buildings, WaterSense EPA. Schein highlighted the Oak Shade and Durango communities in Menifee, Calif., where these WaterSense Labeled homes there save energy and support decarbonization.
As part of its commitment to energy and water efficiency, as well as climate resiliency, KB Home launched two communities—Oak Shade and Durango—comprised of more than 200 all-electric, solar-powered, WaterSense labeled homes in Menifee. Designed to be both energy and water efficient, the homes use 40 percent less energy and at least 30 percent less water than typical new construction, feature solar panels, and are backed by a microgrid community battery to reduce dependence on the conventional electrical grid.
Egg Geo
Continuing on, did you know cooling towers in commercial buildings are the number two consumer of potable water in buildings in the United States? Jay Egg, President, Egg Geo, LLC, offered that the elimination of freshwater consumption from cooling tower use can be accomplished through geothermal exchange methods.
PFAS Reports
There was much talk about PFAS: PFOA and PFOS, which are two per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances—PFOA or perfluoroactonoic acid and PFOS or perfluorooctanesulfonic acid. Where does this water nuisance come from? Non-stick coatings, fire-fighting foams, packaging, clothing, carpet, biosolids, and much more.
Two presentations highlighted this ever-popular acronym, which has been brought into today’s worrisome water lexicon more recently. The first, Neal Megonnell, Vice President of Technical Services, AqueoUS Vets, talked about California’s Yorba Linda’s Water District that installed the largest ion exchange PFAS removal water treatment plant in the United States. The district was one of 11 groundwater producers whose wells had low levels of Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS).
The other, Eric Yeggy, Technical Affairs Director, Water Quality Association, talked about point-of-use (POU) and point-of-entry (POE) water treatment technologies, which can remove PFAS from drinking water. The POU treatment includes pitcher and countertop filters, faucet-attached devices, under-sink and refrigerator filters and reverse osmosis systems. The POE systems include anion exchange and whole-house filtration.
Urine Harvesting
One of the more thought-provoking presentations was from Pat Lando, Executive Director, Recode, and John Lansing, Plumbing Designer, PAE. They talked about urine recycling as a solution to decarbonizing both cities and agriculture. In other words, taking one’s pee for agricultural use depicted in a real case study application at Lansing’s employer, the PAE building in Portland, Ore. This “circular sanitation” is a paradigm shift from the high-carbon, high-cost sewer and wastewater treatment approach. This approach can be successfully implemented in regions with high levels of infrastructure development, such as downtown Portland, Oregon and regions with low levels of infrastructure development.
Unintended Consequences
Mary Ann Dickinson, Dickinson Associates, and Pete DeMarco, IAPMO, discussed the unintended consequences of indoor water efficiency and what those risks might be for diminished returns and rising water utility bills, as state regulators everywhere consider further reducing plumbing flow rates in codes and standards. “You never want to compromise water quality with water conservation,” says Dickinson.
Panel Discussion
The EWTS wrap-up conversation featured a roundtable panel with Dr. Tim Bartrand, ESPRI; Bob Bowcock, IRM; Amin Delagah, TRC; Christoph Lohr, IAPMO; Dr. Molly Scanlon, University of Arizona. A culmination of the past two days at EWTS, the topic was what should the next steps be after digesting all of the information presented on water use, conservation and efficiency? One of the takeaways from this discussion was how do we incentivize water use? Could residents get some sort of mortgage reduction or tax break by conserving water?
And Much More
EWTS offered many more presentations over the two-day networking event, including presentations: Premise Plumbing Materials and Opportunistic Premise Plumbing Pathogen Growth by Abraham Cullom, PhD, Special Pathogens Laboratory, a Pace® Laboratory; and Building Water Commissioning: Tools for Establishing Safe, Efficient, and Sustainable Water Management Programs by Dr. Molly Scanlon, PhD, FAIA, FACHA, Research Associate, University of Arizona.
And, finally, did you know that 60% of Americans don’t trust their tap water, and 60 million Americans don’t even drink tap water? This nugget came from the Day 2 keynote: Water: Innovation in Decentralized and Extreme Decentralized Technologies by Will Sarni, Founder and CEO of Water Foundry; Founder and General Partner of Water Foundry Ventures.
For more information on the 2024 EWTS, and the full lineup of presentations from this past event, visit www.ewts.org.
PILC Hosts Industry Leaders to Discuss Pressing Issues
The Plumbing Industry Leadership Coalition, otherwise known as PILC, gathered the day after the EWTS to discuss topical issues facing the plumbing industry. This annual event is piggybacked off of the biennial location of the EWTS, while usually held in Washington, DC in the off year. This year’s spotlighted topics included discussions on diversity and inclusion within the industry and a stern letter to Amazon.
Members of PILC talked about what their respective groups are doing in terms of DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) programs, and what each outfit can do to promote more diversity in the industry moving forward. In other words, all members of the plumbing industry need to continue to welcome more women and people of all races into the plumbing industry.
The other major topic brought up at the PILC meeting was the buying and selling of products on Amazon as kind of a “Wild, Wild, West” of e-commerce in the plumbing industry. Part of the letter drafted for Amazon leadership reads:
“We have observed, with growing concern, an increasing trend of non-compliant and counterfeit plumbing products being sold through online retail channels, including Amazon. These illegal products undermine the integrity of the plumbing industry while posing significant risks to consumer health and safety and our infrastructure. It is imperative that e-commerce platforms like Amazon take immediate and decisive action to ensure that the plumbing products sold on your platform adhere to the same rigorous standards required by law and expected of brick-and-mortar retailers.
“The influx of potentially inferior—or even harmful—products into the market is alarming. Without third-party testing and certification, plumbing products cannot be shown to meet the established safety standards, or state and federal laws; using noncompliant products can result in severe consequences, including the exposure of consumers to harmful substances.
“A particularly distressing example is plumbing materials containing lead and other toxic materials at concentrations exceeding applicable laws and standards, which poses a significant risk when used in public water systems or facilities providing water for human consumption. The detrimental effects of toxic materials in water are well-documented and include a range of health issues, from cognitive impairment to cardiovascular problems.”
What can Amazon do about this? PILC proposes, for example, a stricter verification process: implement a more rigorous vetting process for plumbing products, ensuring they meet all legal and safety standards by either requiring certification or at least to verify that certification claims are true. Also, Amazon should deliver better transparency: provide clear information about the compliance and certification of products, making it easier for consumers to make informed decisions.
PILC is mainly comprised of the largest and most influential associations, professional societies, nonprofits and third-party certification bodies representing manufacturers, laborers, contractors, engineers and water efficiency experts. The Plumbing Industry Leadership Coalition was created to provide a forum for the exchange of information through the leadership of U.S.-based plumbing industry associations representing manufacturers, plumbing systems, certification bodies, and stakeholders having an influence on policy. The goal is to seek common ground on plumbing industry issues and then to address and promote the issues as a unified coalition.