Water energy nexus interim report 2012jan31

WATER ENERGY NEXUS INTERIM REPORT

PREPARED FOR THE REAL ESTATE FOUNDATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA JANUARY 2012

THE IMPACT OF YOUR GIFT The gift from the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia makes it possible to cover the salary and expenses for a postdoctoral fellow to lead the development of The Wastewater Wiki—an interactive software tool that assists policy-makers in selecting the most sustainable solutions to manage liquid sewage and wastewater.

New wastewater management technologies significantly reduce land, water, and energy use; however, few decision makers have the ability to determine, in the face of considerable complexity, which options will provide the best outcomes for their communities. The Wastewater Wiki is a major component of the Water Energy Nexus, a collaborative space where industry, university, and municipal partners can understand the variety of available wastewater options and protocols, and integrate these components into robust and efficient wastewater management systems.

ACTIVITIES In early 2011 project researchers mapped wastewater technologies and identified relevant academic literature. Dr. Brent Chamberlain was then recruited to lead the development of the Wastewater Wiki. He began with building the foundation for a database of sustainability criteria, and methods for eliciting and storing information from academic and industry partners. The team then created a model for the decision-support software (see Figure 1, below).

Dr. Brent Chamberlain, postdoctoral fellow and project lead for the Wastewater Wiki.

Figure 1. Considerations for Wastewater Solutions

The model is based on three distinct elements: •

A database of waste water technologies.

•

Scenario-builder software to model wastewater scenarios so communities can distill the range of possible scenarios through a variety of constraints (e.g., financial requirements, geographic limitations, environmental standards).

•

Preference-elicitation software which tailors possible scenarios with a community’s preferences to find the ideal solution.

The team has developed working prototypes of the scenario-builder and the preference-elicitation software. The scenario-builder software maps against the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology’s (Eawag) database of rural wastewater technologies. Solutions are then fed into the preference-elicitation software to further explore their ability to meet the demands of the original scenarios.

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

The project has attracted the cooperation of several key academic collaborators: seven within the University of British Columbia, one from McGill University, and Dr. Max Mauer from Eawag.

The Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia’s gift has leveraged an unexpected additional benefit. Dr. Mauer has agreed to provide some financial support that will allow Dr. Chamberlain to meet Swiss wastewater engineers and advance the development and outcome of the Wiki. By supporting the development of the Wiki, the Foundation provided the initial opportunity for collaboration between Drs. Mauer and Chamberlain—and from this initial collaboration, the two researchers have taken their collaboration one step further to fully exploit research opportunities that benefit the overall project and propel it towards completion at the end of 2012.

EXPENDITURES Revenue and expenditures from August to December 2011.

Funds Raised from the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia

$ CDN

Received

37,500

Pending

37,500

Total

75,000

Expenses

$ CDN

Travel/Conferences

50

Salary and Benefits (postdoctoral fellow)*

15,800

Equipment (computers, software)

3,250

Total

19,100

*August to December 2011: Salary is $3050 per month, plus benefits. *January to August 2012: Estimated salary is $5450 per month, plus benefits.

PLANNED RECOGNITION The Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia’s contribution will be recognized through the following activities in 2012/2013: •

Presentation at an academic conference;

•

Publication in an academic journal;

•

Presentation to the Swiss Eawag group; and

•

Two workshops to be held in Metro Vancouver.

PREPARED FOR REAL ESTATE FOUNDATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

YOU RELEASE OUR POTENTIAL With your support, communities will be able to select and implement the best, sustainable solutions to manage the complexity of their wastewater infrastructure and secure a better future for the generations that come after us.

Many urban areas in British Columbia face difficulty in responding to growing sustainability needs and population shifts as their wastewater infrastructures age. As Metro Vancouver considers developing a prototype to meet its sustainability goals, the timing of this project could not be better.

By identifying and providing access to cutting edge wastewater management options to communities, we are able to bring the realization of healthy, sustainable communities further and faster than would be possible without your support.

Thank you.

For more information, please contact: Ryan Smith Associate Director, Development College for Interdisciplinary Studies 604.822.4376 • ryan.smith@ubc.ca

January 2012

Report production: Jeffrey Hsu, College for Interdisciplinary Studies, UBC Photo of Brent Chamberlain and illustration of Wastewater Solutions Model: Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability, UBC