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Distributed Wastewater Management to Support Sustainable Urbanism in New England Villages Juli Beth Hinds, AICP Senior Project Manager – Planning VHB Pioneer North Ferrisburgh, VT

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Page 1: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

Distributed Wastewater Management to Support Sustainable Urbanism in New England Villages

Juli Beth Hinds, AICPSenior Project Manager – Planning

VHB PioneerNorth Ferrisburgh, VT

Page 2: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

• Practice in integrated water resource management – water supply, wastewater & groundwater issues, watershed hydrology, stream restoration

• Member, Water Environment Research Foundation’s Decentralized Research Advisory Committee

• Member, Water Environment Federation – Small Communities Committee, US EPA’s MOU for Decentralized Wastewater System Management

• Signer, 2007 Baltimore Charter for Sustainable Water Infrastructure

Page 3: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

On‐Site Wastewater Systems are REALITY in much of New England

EXTENSIVE areas of New England…•Are NOT served by conventional sewer collection and treatment systems, •rely on individually owned and maintained on‐site wastewater systems, and•Are in close proximity to important water resources:  rivers, wetlands, Long Island Sound, ocean, estuaries, lakes

Page 4: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

Lack of wastewater treatment capacity threatens:

• Property values 

• Tax bases

• Density goals

• Affordable housing

• Many CNU principles!

• Community viability

• Community resilience

…it’s not so good for water quality, either.

Wolcott Property Values; Waitsfield Elementary

Page 5: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

So what happens when you try to provide wastetwater capacity the old‐fashioned way – with a sewer system?

Page 6: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

Once there was a village by a

flowing river…where

happy villagers lived in a walkable

traditional community.

Page 7: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

And though their median incomes

were at or slightly below the USDA guidelines for low-moderate projects, the

villagers loved their general store

and their tidy homes and school

and church…

Page 8: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

The Villagers sold pottery and organic

woolen socks to tourists, who took pictures of their

historic marketplace.

“Suckers,” the villagers laughed,

“I can’t believe they spend twelve bucks

on those socks!”

Page 9: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

…and the river water flowed by and bore their

yuck away……and the villagers

were happy.

Page 10: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

Then one day the Old Man of the

River (management

division) appeared to the Villagers and

said…

How dare you foul my waters with your yuck! You must construct a

SEWER SYSTEMor I shall send a plague of lawyers

upon you!

Page 11: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

The Villagers trembled with

fear at the dread word

SEWER, for they knew this to be a

terrible curse that would bring them

strife, expense, and long, late

meetings!

Page 12: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

They summoned the

Wizard of Engineers, who said “Fear Not! I shall design you a sewer plant, dear

villagers, and you shall not be

plagued!”

Page 13: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

But time and change orders passed…and then

the Wizard said:

“I can keep the plague of lawyers from you with my MAGIC SEWER PLANT, but

it shall cost eighteen million dollars and ALL

villagers must pay.”

Page 14: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

The Villagers despaired! For there were only 3,600 of them in the whole town, and their whole

village budget was only three million dollars each year.“That’s 1.5 million

pairs of organic socks!” they cried.

Page 15: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

“hmmmm…” said the Wizard, “If you rezoned that farm land out on the highway for a power center, I bet there are many stores that would come and THEY could pay for the sewer plant!”

Page 16: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

Now the villagers were truly miserable and began to fight.

Page 17: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

Time Passed.Meetings dragged on.

People shouted.Consultants were hired.

The wizard conjured an earmark, but it was too small, and the bond vote too large.

The Old Man of the River thundered, but his words became empty threats and he offered no help.

Page 18: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

The weaver of organic socks could not expand her

weaving studio, because she had an old septic system,

and moved away.

Page 19: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

And the villagers were unhappy, and the yuck flowed, and the Old Man of the

River threatened, and the Wizard designed, and there were no more organic socks to sell to the tourists.

Page 20: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

And so they puzzled…What would an affordable, 21-st century, sustainable wastewater system look like?

One that kept their lovely village, and let the weaver of organic socks expand her studio, and didn’t take all their money, and

didn’t need a power center?

Page 21: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

CONVENTIONAL SEWERS:  Call it “Peak Water.”The system of taking water out of the ground, fouling it, moving it back to a plant, using a chemical and energy‐intensive process, and discharging it to a surface water (or worse:  the ocean) are so 19th

century…or even Roman!Prediction:  We will spend as much time and energy taking apart our sewer infrastructure to re‐tool it for hydrologic as we will reusing mothballed malls and power centers. . .…many water‐short places are doing it already.

Sewer mining, from UTS‐Sydney

Page 22: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

BUT HOW CAN THAT BE? DON’T WE HAVE TO HAVE A SEWER 

SYSTEM TO CREATE A DENSE COMMUNITY?

NO!

Page 23: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

Unsewered places have avoidedthe water infrastructure equivalent 

of…

Page 24: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

For sustainability and density without repeating the sad tale of the Villagers:

Find a little land for the water  ‐On (or very near!) your site

And think of it like adding solar panels or a wind turbine to your roof – it’s PART 

OF the water grid!

Page 25: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

YOU CAN HAVE DENSITY WITHOUT:SEWER PLANTS$18 MILLION IN EARMARKS AND SUBSIDIESUNDESIRABLE GROWTH OPTIONSHYDROLOGIC DISRUPTIONSUNHAPPY VILLAGERS ORGANIC SOCK SALES (unless you really want to)

Orenco Systems

Solaire, Clerico Systems

Page 26: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

This…

Without this.

Sustainable Water Infrastructure:Soil based, managed, and incremental

Page 27: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

Point 1!  Really Important!SOIL BASED

• Sustainability requires us to RE‐HYDRATE our landscapes!

• Put treated water right back into the DIRT, let the BUGS do their thing, and RESTORE our hydrologic cycles!

• Soil microbes, like teenage boys, are dumb enough to eat anything.

URI – Block Island

Page 28: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

Point 3!  Really Important!SOIL BASED

I am not just a lawn!

I am the perfect ecological buffer between a livable human community and the soil and hydrologic cycles!

I am so totally cool!

BARRIER:  AN OUTMODED IDEA OF ‘PUBLIC HEALTH’ FOCUSED ON CONTACT WITH PATHOGENS, AND LACK OF RESPONSIBLE MANAGEMENT – creates regulatory blocks.

Use management, technology, and natural processes to clean water, restore hydrology, and support  urbanism.

URI – Block Island

Page 29: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

Point 2: Hard for ‘Smart Growth’ to Swallow…DISTRIBUTED

• QUIT MOVING THE WATER AROUND!  It is hydrologicallyand ecologically disruptive and uses enormous quantities of energy!!!

• Treat the water where the people are – regardless!  

• We will steal as little of your land for density as possible by being creative with “land leftovers.”

Yarmouth, MA – use of drip irrigation in road rights‐of‐way

Page 30: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

Point 2: Hard for ‘Smart Growth’ to Swallow…DISTRIBUTED

“But our sewer district that controls growth…”

• If your smart growth strategy or zoning incentivizes conventional sewer over on‐site systems, prevents sewer mining, or discourages water re‐use, RETHINK IT or find a new growth control tool…or else!

You’ll get a visit from the old man of the river!  

Page 31: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

Point 3:PROPERLY MANAGED

• Management programs with professional oversight of on‐site or cluster systems ensure long‐term environmental performance and viability of wastewater investments

• It’s managed professionally like a sewer system  ‐ the sewer guys just make house calls!

• Strongly encouraged by US EPA as a LONG TERM solution to wastewater needs

• Who’s doing it really well?  Alabama, Loudon County University of Rhode Island On‐Site 

Wastewater Training Center

Page 32: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

Point 3:PROPERLY MANAGED

BARRIER:  ENABLING LAW & REQUIREMENTS FOR MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS 

**In AL, TN, OK – great source of green jobs managing systems!!

University of Rhode Island On‐Site Wastewater Training Center

Page 33: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

Point 4:UTILITY FUNDED

We have only been willing to socialize the cost of wastewater treatment one way:  conventional sewers.

Subsidies, earmarks, and high costs create PERVERSE INCENTIVES 

Septic systems are ‘free,’ until they need a $20,000 home equity loan for replacement.

Huge need to develop funding models that fund incremental replacements, and reflect cost and VALUE of treatment

Basic principle:  public investment and oversight of systems that have public benefits and costs, but are on private land.

Page 34: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

Point 4:UTILITY FUNDED

BARRIER:  What is the method and legal framework for socializing the cost of infrastructure that’s located on private property…but has public impacts?

VT:  Working on it.

Page 35: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

I hereby pledge that I will support new partnerships and strategies for properly managed, utility funded, distributed, soil based wastewater systems to serve New 

England villages and communities, and shall no more say the words “septic” or “sewers,” even though…hello…I’m an architect and I cannot believe I had to listen to a talk about 

SEWAGE!

21st century water is a paradigm shift, and it’s never going to be easy.  But for the sake of the Villagers, please take this pledge:

Page 36: Cnu Sustainable Urbanism

Your Homework:  

• Get into the topic!  Get informed!• ADD WATER AND HYDROLOGY to your thinking about “Green Buildings”!• CHALLENGE YOUR ENGINEER, or community, with an on‐site treatment or 

re‐use idea!• REIMAGINE GREENSPACE for re‐hydrating our landscape and cleaning our 

water!• Visit an on‐site training center!• Have your organization become an MOU partner for distributed 

wastewater management:http://www.epa.gov/owm/septic/pubs/septic_mou.pdf

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…and your village and its water resources will live

happily ever after.Disclaimer:

No children were harmed in the filming of this presentation.