The One Water approach is expanding rapidly. Examples of successes are growing and are varied and numerous. This session will provide inspiring success stories and examples coming from different geographies, including the central US and western Canada. Community water systems have evolved to be quite siloed: wastewater, potable water supply, and stormwater are all managed separately by different groups. The traditional, siloed approach has created linear water management systems that extract source water and dispose of “waste products.” This linear approach is in conflict with sustainable, looped natural systems. Consequences of this siloed approach include high costs; unsustainable supply issues; a decline of lake, stream, and wetland water quality and hydrology; and climate-driven increasing impacts to property from flooding and drought. Sustainable water use and supply are key concerns both locally and globally. One Water shifts the paradigm to a new framework and promotes a more sustainable water supply by shifting community thinking on water management systems and implementing projects for integrated water management. After this session, participants will be able to:
• Educate water managers from different departments on sustainable water uses and the importance of cross-department collaboration.
• Recognize that stormwater reuse can be an easy way for communities to begin integrated One Water approaches.
• Recognize opportunities in their communities to break linear thinking and apply reuse to make their systems more resilient.

Contributor/Source

Brett Emmons

Claim CEUs

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit, mattis condimentum justo velit convallis taciti faucibus, egestas elementum vitae vestibulum cum fames