A Growing Water Crisis: The History and Future of Tech, Policy and Smarter Homes
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As water challenges grow, collaboration between builders, policymakers, and innovators is essential. With proven tech, pilot successes, and public support, major improvements are within reach.
Drought has become such an issue that a quarter of the world’s population deals with water stress every year. Nevada, like much of the western U.S., is facing severe drought.
“The Colorado River that supplied much of the west is shrinking and Nevada's allotment is reduced,” says Mary Jo Quay, sales and marketing specialist at Epique Realty. “Existing developments cannot promise even 10 years worth of water. The entire West has a water crisis with no solution. California wanted to buy water from Minnesota, and the Mississippi, but that is protected by law and is so low at the delta that backwash salt water is back flowing.”
With unique water dynamics and context in all parts of the country, even water rich areas are impacted, says Rachel Hood, a strategist at consulting firm Dig Deep Research. She is working on projects in the Great Lakes region that are experiencing groundwater droughts.
“In the Midwest, cities and utilities are struggling to find ways to fund and implement projects, and in comparison to the need, they are just scratching the surface,” Hood says. “The opportunities to use technology to do more creative projects are somewhat limited because they don't operate under water law and there is not a sense of urgency like there is in more arid western states.”
Green Builder Media recently polled builders and homeowners through its COGNITION Smart Data platform showing that more than three-quarters of respondents believe that it is semi-urgent or critical to address water management in their market.
Industry stakeholders are starting to understand the rising urgency of water management to be prepared for longer, more sustained periods of drought.
A Flood of Challenges Ahead
Over the past 20 years, water management has run parallel to the decentralization of energy, said Aaron Tartakovsky, CEO at water reuse company Epic Cleantec.
“Centralized and decentralized working together is what we are trying to do and grow in scale with growing populations,” he said. “Technology is just a small piece of the equation. It’s an industry operated at the municipal scale, and then you have the real estate industry that hasn’t had a lot to do with water, it just sends it in and out. What has changed in the last few years is that people have started to understand that we can shift regulations to start using new technology and recycled water programs.”
Epic's OneWater system, which recycles up to 95% of a building’s wastewater for reuse in non-potable applications (credit: Epic Cleantec)
Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, where Epic’s OneWater system recycles greywater for irrigating the hotel’s landscaping (credit: Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills)
According to Maureen Erbeznik, principal at Maureen Erbeznik & Associates, the biggest barrier to progress is that water is cheap while fully integrated solutions are expensive.
Every retail water agency has to meet an urban water objective for four regulated areas of water use, then the agencies have to meet those regulations or face fines. Federal regulation and support of water management reaches about $60 to $80 million per year, while energy efficiency programs receive close to two billion.
Plus, the industry is more fragmented than the energy industry. There are 10,000s of water agencies, so consistency with policies, regulations and communications is difficult if not impossible. On top of that, water and public agencies are risk averse because of the nature of the work and health implications of delivering quality safe water.
Austin Krcmarik, water efficiency lead at Denver Water, serves more than 17 local governments with land use jurisdiction on housing and land that supplies 1.5 million people, and says the group doesn’t control policy around housing, but aims to create scenario planning that demonstrates different potential futures.
“We run through where Denver Water will have to make decisions to increase supply or support conservation or upsize or downsize infrastructure to support the needs of all communities,” he said. “We see Denver continue to grow with infill development and some greenfield development. We think we can grow those areas while still conserving water in other areas to balance and keep water use the same.”
On the policy side, Denver Water is working to insert water efficiency into building and zoning codes. This goal aligns with the City and County of Denver’s efforts to build resilience and climate action into their building and zoning codes that are encouraging electrification of new and existing buildings, building toward the state goal of “Electrify 2050.”
Krcmarik says there are campaigns to encourage the public to use only what is needed, relying on the EPA Water Sense as the minimum standard in new construction.
Denver Water is collaborating on a greywater pilot project with 25 homes to study and validate water efficiency and to get aligned with the City and County of Denver and the State of Colorado on the regulatory side. The state currently only allows greywater from bathroom sinks, laundry, and showers. Denver Water is pushing the boundaries to also understand the potential for blackwater reuse by doing an onsite wastewater treatment facility demonstration on its own campus.
There are now more than 20 states that have specific regulations for onsite water reuse. San Francisco’s code is the most progressive and is being used as a benchmark for a national framework and U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has built it into code.
Solutions for Today and Tomorrow
Hood recognizes efforts to maximize available water for its highest purposes, such as with designs to recharge it to groundwater systems and to streams, capture stormwater, reduce evaporation, use floating solar to keep water covered, reduce algae growth and reduce rapid evaporation.
“Leaders are creating more agility in their systems by creating local water sharing agreements that can provide options like short term leases of water, or address short term drought or other concerns, and redundancy lines - placing water lines that can provide alternative routes to move water in the case of systems failures or need for emergency responses,” Hood said. “Redundancy lines can be internal to one system, or are the infrastructure needed to support local water sharing agreements.”
In new construction, greywater has an opportunity because the cost is so much lower than retrofitting an existing home, Erbeznik said.
Epic Cleantec has created a system to capture and treat wastewater to be able to reuse up to 95% of a building’s water. Because all buildings are unique, the solution has to be custom fit, but typically each project has a payback of only five or six years.
Tartakovsky said that projects are driven by those financial impacts alone.
“We are starting to hear about water neutral,” Epic Cleantec’s Tartakovsky said. “We want to be first to reach water neutral certification and will try on a 20-story project in San Jose with blackwater recycle.”
Project Proves Demand
Frantz Beznik, is the global head of sustainable innovation at Procter & Gamble and leads the public-private collaborative project called the 50L Home that recently completed a two-year pilot program in Los Angeles with the USGBC California, to understand how existing products like plumbing fixtures, appliances, and consumable products designed to help save water can drive savings without negatively impacting the experience.
The study evaluated more than 250 million data points across 30 single family homes enrolled in the pilot, assessing both hot and cold water consumption. Results from the pilot showed a reduction of 21% in indoor water use overall, translating to an 18% reduction in energy use.
Erbeznik serves as a water innovation lead with the USGBC California as it tries to prove out that 50 liters (or 13 gallons) of daily water use per person per day is possible, and to make it feel like 132 gallons by using lower energy best practices.
She explained that 15 homes in the pilot were control and 15 were retrofitted. P&G and USGBC California partnered with Electrolux Group, IKEA, Kohler, to retrofit the homes with appliances, fixtures and consumer products designed to help save water and energy. The 15 control homes did not receive any products, appliances, or fixtures.
The project is being tracked in three phases. In the first phase, market available equipment was installed to monitor every end use. Indoor water use averaged 23 gallons per person per day, which is half of average use in Los Angeles, and breaks down as follows:
Daily hot water use went down 44% from kitchen faucets
Laundry hot water use was reduced by 55% weekly
Daily hot water use was lowered by 23% overall
14% reduction with showers, and 23% reduction with high efficiency toilets
The program participants said their lives improved, with an average score of 4 out of 5 for quality-of-life satisfaction.
“Products that save water and energy in the home will have little impact if people don’t enjoy using them and don’t buy them,” said Erbeznik. “All the products used in the pilot achieved water and energy savings through innovative design, not by putting the burden on consumers to do more with less. No one was asked to take shorter showers, flush less often, or make any changes to their daily routine.”
Tartakovsky agrees and has designed the Epic Cleantec solution to not radically change the way residents live.
“They expect the same experience that they are used to—they don't want to be asked to do anything different,” he said. “Our solution is designed for conventional design. We don’t ask residents for change, but we offer them a way to feel good about where they live.”
Aaron Tartakovsky, CEO and co-founder of Epic Cleantec (credit: Epic Cleantec)
Tartakovsky spoke with the leasing agent at one of his projects who said it was a huge selling tool to live there.
View of Fifteen Fifty, a 40-story high rise in downtown San Francisco, where Epic Cleantec operates the city's first approved and operational water reuse system (credit: Epic Cleantec)
“You don’t have to live here to know we have a water problem,” Tartakovsky said. “People know there is a problem, but feel climate despair. When we promote these onsite reuse solutions, people are more inclined to spend their money and they feel good about being part of that solution. We have to find solutions that will scale and are applicable to anyone.”
USGBC California paper, sponsored by the 50L Home Coalition, titled “The Paradox of Cheap Water: Strategies for Scaling Efficiency,” showcases key insights from the Los Angeles pilot and proposes practical strategies for scaling water efficiency.
Even Greater Savings to Come
In the third phase of the 50L Home project, the coalition will bring in innovative, not market ready products to try to improve results, such as a recirculating shower. Green Builder Media’s COGNITION survey also asked what solutions consumers and pros are willing to try and many are prepared to design in greywater recycling systems along with low flow fixtures in the bathroom and kitchen.
“Can we get lower?” Erbeznik asked. “Can we get to 13 gallons per person per day in the home? Right now, it ranges from 23 to 28 gallons per capita per day.”
California has set its 2030 standard for 40 gallons per person per day.
Erbeznik believes full industries will be popping up to make different products, because new homes will need to be more efficient. Plus, water stress is just going to grow and water stressed communities are going to grow.
“The innovation has been lacking,” she said. “We have new leak detection technology, but that has made progress because it has co-benefits with insurance and protecting investment. That’s interesting and frustrating.”
As the water crisis deepens, collaboration among builders, policymakers, and innovators is critical. With proven technologies, pilot projects, and consumer support, water management can improve by leaps and bounds.
Publisher’s Note: Green Builder's 20th Anniversary celebration is sponsored by: Carrier,Trex, and Mohawk.
Jennifer Castenson currently serves as the vice president at online construction project management platform Buildxact. Previously, she served as the vice president of programming at national media and data group Zonda. Castenson also serves as contributing writer to Forbes, reporting on innovative solutions in the built environment.
A Growing Water Crisis: The History and Future of Tech, Policy and Smarter Homes
As water challenges grow, collaboration between builders, policymakers, and innovators is essential. With proven tech, pilot successes, and public support, major improvements are within reach.
Drought has become such an issue that a quarter of the world’s population deals with water stress every year. Nevada, like much of the western U.S., is facing severe drought.
“The Colorado River that supplied much of the west is shrinking and Nevada's allotment is reduced,” says Mary Jo Quay, sales and marketing specialist at Epique Realty. “Existing developments cannot promise even 10 years worth of water. The entire West has a water crisis with no solution. California wanted to buy water from Minnesota, and the Mississippi, but that is protected by law and is so low at the delta that backwash salt water is back flowing.”
With unique water dynamics and context in all parts of the country, even water rich areas are impacted, says Rachel Hood, a strategist at consulting firm Dig Deep Research. She is working on projects in the Great Lakes region that are experiencing groundwater droughts.
“In the Midwest, cities and utilities are struggling to find ways to fund and implement projects, and in comparison to the need, they are just scratching the surface,” Hood says. “The opportunities to use technology to do more creative projects are somewhat limited because they don't operate under water law and there is not a sense of urgency like there is in more arid western states.”
Green Builder Media recently polled builders and homeowners through its COGNITION Smart Data platform showing that more than three-quarters of respondents believe that it is semi-urgent or critical to address water management in their market.
Industry stakeholders are starting to understand the rising urgency of water management to be prepared for longer, more sustained periods of drought.
A Flood of Challenges Ahead
Over the past 20 years, water management has run parallel to the decentralization of energy, said Aaron Tartakovsky, CEO at water reuse company Epic Cleantec.
“Centralized and decentralized working together is what we are trying to do and grow in scale with growing populations,” he said. “Technology is just a small piece of the equation. It’s an industry operated at the municipal scale, and then you have the real estate industry that hasn’t had a lot to do with water, it just sends it in and out. What has changed in the last few years is that people have started to understand that we can shift regulations to start using new technology and recycled water programs.”
Epic's OneWater system, which recycles up to 95% of a building’s wastewater for reuse in non-potable applications (credit: Epic Cleantec)
Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, where Epic’s OneWater system recycles greywater for irrigating the hotel’s landscaping (credit: Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills)
According to Maureen Erbeznik, principal at Maureen Erbeznik & Associates, the biggest barrier to progress is that water is cheap while fully integrated solutions are expensive.
Every retail water agency has to meet an urban water objective for four regulated areas of water use, then the agencies have to meet those regulations or face fines. Federal regulation and support of water management reaches about $60 to $80 million per year, while energy efficiency programs receive close to two billion.
Plus, the industry is more fragmented than the energy industry. There are 10,000s of water agencies, so consistency with policies, regulations and communications is difficult if not impossible. On top of that, water and public agencies are risk averse because of the nature of the work and health implications of delivering quality safe water.
Austin Krcmarik, water efficiency lead at Denver Water, serves more than 17 local governments with land use jurisdiction on housing and land that supplies 1.5 million people, and says the group doesn’t control policy around housing, but aims to create scenario planning that demonstrates different potential futures.
“We run through where Denver Water will have to make decisions to increase supply or support conservation or upsize or downsize infrastructure to support the needs of all communities,” he said. “We see Denver continue to grow with infill development and some greenfield development. We think we can grow those areas while still conserving water in other areas to balance and keep water use the same.”
On the policy side, Denver Water is working to insert water efficiency into building and zoning codes. This goal aligns with the City and County of Denver’s efforts to build resilience and climate action into their building and zoning codes that are encouraging electrification of new and existing buildings, building toward the state goal of “Electrify 2050.”
Krcmarik says there are campaigns to encourage the public to use only what is needed, relying on the EPA Water Sense as the minimum standard in new construction.
Denver Water is collaborating on a greywater pilot project with 25 homes to study and validate water efficiency and to get aligned with the City and County of Denver and the State of Colorado on the regulatory side. The state currently only allows greywater from bathroom sinks, laundry, and showers. Denver Water is pushing the boundaries to also understand the potential for blackwater reuse by doing an onsite wastewater treatment facility demonstration on its own campus.
There are now more than 20 states that have specific regulations for onsite water reuse. San Francisco’s code is the most progressive and is being used as a benchmark for a national framework and U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has built it into code.
Solutions for Today and Tomorrow
Hood recognizes efforts to maximize available water for its highest purposes, such as with designs to recharge it to groundwater systems and to streams, capture stormwater, reduce evaporation, use floating solar to keep water covered, reduce algae growth and reduce rapid evaporation.
“Leaders are creating more agility in their systems by creating local water sharing agreements that can provide options like short term leases of water, or address short term drought or other concerns, and redundancy lines - placing water lines that can provide alternative routes to move water in the case of systems failures or need for emergency responses,” Hood said. “Redundancy lines can be internal to one system, or are the infrastructure needed to support local water sharing agreements.”
In new construction, greywater has an opportunity because the cost is so much lower than retrofitting an existing home, Erbeznik said.
Epic Cleantec has created a system to capture and treat wastewater to be able to reuse up to 95% of a building’s water. Because all buildings are unique, the solution has to be custom fit, but typically each project has a payback of only five or six years.
Tartakovsky said that projects are driven by those financial impacts alone.
“We are starting to hear about water neutral,” Epic Cleantec’s Tartakovsky said. “We want to be first to reach water neutral certification and will try on a 20-story project in San Jose with blackwater recycle.”
Project Proves Demand
Frantz Beznik, is the global head of sustainable innovation at Procter & Gamble and leads the public-private collaborative project called the 50L Home that recently completed a two-year pilot program in Los Angeles with the USGBC California, to understand how existing products like plumbing fixtures, appliances, and consumable products designed to help save water can drive savings without negatively impacting the experience.
The study evaluated more than 250 million data points across 30 single family homes enrolled in the pilot, assessing both hot and cold water consumption. Results from the pilot showed a reduction of 21% in indoor water use overall, translating to an 18% reduction in energy use.
Erbeznik serves as a water innovation lead with the USGBC California as it tries to prove out that 50 liters (or 13 gallons) of daily water use per person per day is possible, and to make it feel like 132 gallons by using lower energy best practices.
She explained that 15 homes in the pilot were control and 15 were retrofitted. P&G and USGBC California partnered with Electrolux Group, IKEA, Kohler, to retrofit the homes with appliances, fixtures and consumer products designed to help save water and energy. The 15 control homes did not receive any products, appliances, or fixtures.
The project is being tracked in three phases. In the first phase, market available equipment was installed to monitor every end use. Indoor water use averaged 23 gallons per person per day, which is half of average use in Los Angeles, and breaks down as follows:
The program participants said their lives improved, with an average score of 4 out of 5 for quality-of-life satisfaction.
“Products that save water and energy in the home will have little impact if people don’t enjoy using them and don’t buy them,” said Erbeznik. “All the products used in the pilot achieved water and energy savings through innovative design, not by putting the burden on consumers to do more with less. No one was asked to take shorter showers, flush less often, or make any changes to their daily routine.”
Tartakovsky agrees and has designed the Epic Cleantec solution to not radically change the way residents live.
“They expect the same experience that they are used to—they don't want to be asked to do anything different,” he said. “Our solution is designed for conventional design. We don’t ask residents for change, but we offer them a way to feel good about where they live.”
Aaron Tartakovsky, CEO and co-founder of Epic Cleantec (credit: Epic Cleantec)
Tartakovsky spoke with the leasing agent at one of his projects who said it was a huge selling tool to live there.
View of Fifteen Fifty, a 40-story high rise in downtown San Francisco, where Epic Cleantec operates the city's first approved and operational water reuse system (credit: Epic Cleantec)
“You don’t have to live here to know we have a water problem,” Tartakovsky said. “People know there is a problem, but feel climate despair. When we promote these onsite reuse solutions, people are more inclined to spend their money and they feel good about being part of that solution. We have to find solutions that will scale and are applicable to anyone.”
USGBC California paper, sponsored by the 50L Home Coalition, titled “The Paradox of Cheap Water: Strategies for Scaling Efficiency,” showcases key insights from the Los Angeles pilot and proposes practical strategies for scaling water efficiency.
Even Greater Savings to Come
In the third phase of the 50L Home project, the coalition will bring in innovative, not market ready products to try to improve results, such as a recirculating shower. Green Builder Media’s COGNITION survey also asked what solutions consumers and pros are willing to try and many are prepared to design in greywater recycling systems along with low flow fixtures in the bathroom and kitchen.
“Can we get lower?” Erbeznik asked. “Can we get to 13 gallons per person per day in the home? Right now, it ranges from 23 to 28 gallons per capita per day.”
California has set its 2030 standard for 40 gallons per person per day.
Erbeznik believes full industries will be popping up to make different products, because new homes will need to be more efficient. Plus, water stress is just going to grow and water stressed communities are going to grow.
“The innovation has been lacking,” she said. “We have new leak detection technology, but that has made progress because it has co-benefits with insurance and protecting investment. That’s interesting and frustrating.”
As the water crisis deepens, collaboration among builders, policymakers, and innovators is critical. With proven technologies, pilot projects, and consumer support, water management can improve by leaps and bounds.
Publisher’s Note: Green Builder's 20th Anniversary celebration is sponsored by: Carrier, Trex, and Mohawk.
By Jennifer Castenson, Guest Columnist
Jennifer Castenson currently serves as the vice president at online construction project management platform Buildxact. Previously, she served as the vice president of programming at national media and data group Zonda. Castenson also serves as contributing writer to Forbes, reporting on innovative solutions in the built environment.Also Read