See how Postgreen Homes may be interested in the Net Zero Water Project and read some dicussion on the topic here

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Philadelphia is situated in the southeastern portion of the Delaware Basin, and the city is supplied water from two rivers – the Delaware River and the Schuylkill River.  The surrounding suburbs have a big impact on the quality of water that comes into our treatment facilities, and these suburbs are quickly-expanding.  While the population of Philadelphia county has recently dropped about 22%, the subsequent populations of Montgomery and Bucks counties grew by 20% and 44% respectively.  Both of these suburban counties are largely part of both the Delaware and Schuylkill watersheds.

The Delaware watershed is 330 miles long and runs from New York through Pennsylvania and New Jersey, all the way down into Delaware.  It also provides water to a whopping 10% of all Americans.  As with most watersheds across America, threats to the Delaware include waste dumping, bad agricultural practices, erosion/runoff problems, industrialization, transportation, and coal mining.  Another common problem with pollution in the water supply that affects the Delaware is overflowing sewer systems from prolonged periods of rainfall.  This problem has occured in many parts of the United States, and a good solution is to collect and store rainwater on a residential level, thus keeping a lot of runoff from flooding the overburdened sewer systems.

The Schuylkill watershed is 130 miles long and runs across 11 counties until it eventually merges with the Delaware in South Philadelphia.  A lot of repeat problems plague this watershed, such as overflowing sewers, stormwater runoff, agricultural runoff, and abandoned mine drainage (Schuylkill county).

The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) operates three plants in the area and does a good job of treating our water supply.  Chlorine-resistant microorganisms, such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia, were detected in untreated water flowing into the facilities.  After treatment, PWD tested the water quality for these microorganisms, and they managed to rid the water of all detectable amounts of both disease-causing organisms.  Turbidity of water was significantly lower than required by state and federal law (80%).

In Portland, OR, a group of professionals have banded together to work on a Net Zero Water project, the Pearl Family Development.  Although still conceptual, this project is well on its way to realization.  A non-profit organization called Central City Concern (CCC) provides affordable housing to low-class families in Oregon.  The CCC noticed rising costs of energy and water utility bills, and they set out to reduce such expenses.  They joined forces with SERA Architects, Interface Engineering, and Gerding Edlen Development to achieve net-zero water in the upcoming Pearl Family Development project.

This team of organizations is trying to achieve this goal for their project, of course, but they are also selflessly transparent with the information they garner about making changes and getting this system in place.  A lot of the research I’ve collected so far was informed from this team of people, as they are far ahead in achieving Net Zero Water.  Since this group’s coming together, enough research was gathered to make proposals to Oregon’s governmental bodies to get regulations and laws changed, paving the way for water independence.  Oregon residential and commercial buildings are now allowed to use rainwater for irrigation, toilet flushing, and clothing washing, and treated greywater is allowed to be used for flushing of toilets and urinals.

Portland is a great start, but what about the rest of the United States?  What about the rest of the world?  I live in Philadelphia, and I’d love to see Net Zero Water in Pennsylvania.  What will it take to get PA laws changed?  The Central City Concern, SERA Architects, Interface Engineering, and Gerding Edlen Development have drafted and released a “water roadmap” that explicitly lays out where each regulation or mandate comes into contact with a Net Zero Water system.  This is a huge help, and they are providing a great service to other people who want to do projects similar to theirs in different states.

Source: Achieving Water Independence In Buildings via International Living Building Institute