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Feature Wastewater 2.0: The Age Of Innovation Thanks to some forward-thinking pioneers and early adopters committed to innovation, the wastewater industry is on the precipice of radical ch ange. by Kevin Westerling F or many municipalities, old treatment methods and practices are still in play because they are comfortable and predictable, but we are coming to a point where that rationale will no longer hold water — or wastewater, in this case. When confronted with technology that is clearly superior — more effective, economical, energy-efficient, and sustainable — there is little choice but to advance and upgrade. This is especially true when government regulations, community obligations, and shrinking budgets demand improved performance. Because of these forces, a sea change in the industry is imminent, and ready to forever change the course of wastewater treatment. Hubs Of Innovation The groundswell for this transformative innovation has actually been building for years, and in some very specific places. Boston, for instance, boasts more than 30 water startup companies, in addition to established companies such as Siemens and CDM Smith. Furthermore, the city recently hosted the inaugural Symposium on Water Innovation in Massachusetts to discuss how the region could become a global innovation leader in the water industry. Boston has all the key ingredients in place to fulfill such promise: large purchasers in the area, namely utilities and big corporations; access to R&D; through its many startups and universities; and, finally, a wealth of local capital. and, ultimately, proving ground — for water and energy innovation. In particular, the BlueTechValley initiative — a collaboration of industries, universities, and non-government organizations (NGOs) — has set out to transform the Central Valley into "the Silicon Valley of water" by focusing on high-tech water and wastewater solutions. One such example of cutting- edge technology is the use of ultrasound and reusable ion exchange resins to remove contaminants from industrial wastewater. The potentially groundbreaking development comes from the Water and Environmental Technology (WET) Center, which is part of BlueTechValley. "If a treatment process doesn't work, municipalities may face fines and other financial repercussions…" These hubs of innovation, and others like them, have introduced many technologies that can serve utilities and their customers right now, but there is a stumbling block to grand-scale implementation — trust. If a treatment process doesn't work, municipalities may face fines and other financial repercussions, and — much worse — public health could be compromised. It is no wonder, then, that utilities are cautious about going from traditional, proven methods to something new. Only after a bold and progressive utility validates a technology will others follow suit, making these early adopters vitally integral in the evolution of innovation. Trailblazing Municipalities One of Beantown's many bright spots is Oasys Water, which uses forward osmosis technology to treat high- salinity water for reuse, specifically for hydraulic fracturing in the oil and gas industry. Whereas reverse osmosis requires high pressure and substantially more power, forward osmosis — utilizing reengineered membranes — works at lower pressures with less energy. By lowering the cost of desalination, this technique has the potential to be a game- changer for both wastewater and drinking water applications. Boston's West Coast counterpart is the Central Valley of California, where more than 120 water, energy, and agriculture technology companies have taken root. Home to a huge agriculture industry, worth about $19 billion in exports per year, water is in high demand but scarce in the dry Central Valley, making it an ideal testing ground — 8 Water Online The Magazine, Wastewater Edition ■ wateronline.com In 2009, the Durham Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facility in suburban Portland stepped forward and became the first commercial facility in the United States to recycle phosphorus and other nutrients from wastewater into a commercial fertilizer. Using a unique, proprietary system developed by Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies Inc., Durham not only generates revenue through fertilizer sales, it has increased plant capacity and realized enough operational cost savings to provide a projected five- year return on its $2.5 million capital cost investment. Following Durham's lead, six other U.S. municipalities have entered into public-private partnerships with Ostara for nutrient recovery facilities. The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) is also a trailblazer, having invested $433 million to build the largest thermal hydrolysis plant in the world, as well as the first in North America for wastewater treatment. The