The Future of Fresh Water in the Bay Area

The San Francisco chapter of the American Institute of Architects' Committee on the Environment (COTE) is happy to present a dynamic conversation on the future of potable and nonpotable water in the San Francisco Bay Area. We have asked four forward thinkers to share their vision of water reuse and conservation, to describe the possible future of water reuse, and to offer insight on the pragmatic public policy reform and public education necessary to bring their innovative visions into fruition.

Learning Objectives:

• The current water consumption needs of the Bay Area and how they are being met
• Viable opportunities for water reuse at a building scale
• Viable opportunities for water reuse at a district scale
• How public policy is being changed to allow greater water reuse in the Bay Area

Geeti Silwal will present the Resource Infinity Loop, a regenerative urban ecological paradigm that reclaims wastewater locally through ecologically advanced treatment processes and reuses it in food-producing landscapes like urban farms, freshwater constructed wetlands, and aquaculture ponds. This paradigm necessarily entails a decentralized, resource-recovery ecosystem model and requires more than a thoughtful design approach. It requires a clear shift in our mindset to realize the potential of reusing wastewater for food production; it requires clear wastewater reuse guidelines and policies that allow such an ecologically regenerative city.

Josiah Cain will discuss integrated water management (IWM) at multiple scales, including storm water, rain harvesting, and gray and black water reuse. He will contextualize IWM within a framework of urban metabolics, ecological performance, and the energy/water nexus, demonstrating how managing water and ecology as an integrated component of the urban fabric can enhance the ways our cities operate.

Laura Tam will make a compelling argument about why water reuse throughout our region is an important sustainability tool that we need to begin planning for right now: The Bay Area is growing rapidly. It is riven with earthquake faults. And it's already experiencing climate change. Given all this, how is your water supplier preparing to meet future demand? A new SPUR report, "Future-Proof Water," sizes up the region's water supply and demand and recommends ways to improve water reliability and sustainability well into the future.

Paula Kehoe returns to AIASF to discuss what ordinances now exist for the Bay Area and how folks can comply; how to move forward with on-site treatment systems for the collection, treatment, and reuse of alternate water sources; and the directions in which public policy needs to move in order to expand the reuse of this very valuable resource.