Water Sustainability and International Innovation
Content Table
This report presents updated work from eight of the key speakers at the 2007 international conference Water for All Life: A Decentralized Infrastructure for a Sustainable Future. Each chapter represents a major thread in the new fabric of understanding of water sustainability that became embodied in the Baltimore Charter which was drafted following the conference. In addition to chapters on a new water management paradigm, new technologies and tools for sustainability, and institutions and barriers, the report includes a chapter on eco-cities as well as resource directory of international experts. A final chapter is included on prospects for innovation in the United States.
A New Water Management Paradigm
The first section of this report, presents key ideas incorporated into the new water management paradigm. Goen Ho and his colleagues from Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia describe the shift from siloed, linear, and centralized infrastructure, which is wasteful and disruptive, to closed-loop water, energy, and nutrient infrastructure. Ho also describes a sustainability rating system for green builders in Australia, which incorporates goals for a lighter water footprint. Cori Barraclough and Patrick Lucey, from Aqua-Tex Scientific Consulting in Victoria, Canada, elaborate further on case studies for green development and closed-loop systems.
New Technologies and Tools for Sustainability
The second section of the report includes chapters on specific technologies and tools that are pieces of the larger paradigm shift. Ed Clerico from Alliance Environmental in the U.S. describes openings for reuse of rainwater and wastewater. Marco Schmidt from the Technische Universitat in Berlin, Germany describes a variety of green infrastructure approaches to stormwater management and energy controls in buildings. Prof. Xiaodi Hao of the Beijing University for Civil Engineering and Architecture presents work in China on eco-sanitation technologies and practices.
Change: Institutions and Barriers
The third section of this report includes chapters on drivers for and processes for change in water management. Glen Daigger from CH2M Hill presents innovation theories and their application to water utilities and policies. Cynthia Mitchell and her colleagues from the Institute for Sustainable
Futures in Sydney, Australia, applies theories of transition management to the unrecognized need for phosphorus recovery from wastewater back into agricultural use. Carol Howe from the SWITCH program in the Netherlands describes learning alliances in major cities around the globe.
Eco-Cities: An Update
An additional paper was prepared by Prof. Novotny of Northeastern University in the United States, which summarizes case studies in China and the United States.
Postscript: Applicability to the U.S.
The final chapter of this report is a 2010 postscript, where the editors reflect on the changing conversation and prospects for implementation of the principles of the Baltimore Charter in the United States. Using the work of Daigger, Mitchell, and Howe, the conclusions is that there is reason for hope. There is an increasingly intense multi-stakeholder conversation about the problems with current water management approaches, an interest in integrated, green, and decentralized solutions, and an openness to demonstration projects and regulatory reform
Chapter Links
| New Water Management Paradigm | New Technologies and Tools for Sustainability | Institutions and Barriers | |
| Eco-Cities | Applicabilities to the US |
Further Reading
Water Sensitive Cities
Editor(s): Carol Howe and Cynthia Mitchell
Publication Date: 15 Sep 2011 • ISBN: 9781843393641
Pages: 224 • Paperback
Water Infrastructure for Sustainable Communities - China and the World
Editor(s): Xiaodi Hao,Vladimir Novotny, Valerie Nelson
Publication Date: 01 Aug 2010 • ISBN: 9781843393283
Pages: 680 • Hardback
Cities of the Future
Towards integrated sustainable water and landscape management
Editor(s): Vladimir Novotny, Paul Brown
Publication Date: 05 Sep 2007 • ISBN: 9781843391364
Pages: 352 • Hardback
