Aqua-Tex: There’s No Such Thing as Wastewater
Publish Date: October 2009
The word is the same, but there is more than one kind of water - and a Victoria company is hoping the development that will be the Athlete’s Village during the 2010 Winter Games will show other communities how to choose the right one for the job.
Aqua-Tex Scientific Consulting Ltd. was part of the design team for the Millennium Water project and helped create the site’s integrated water management system that will make the community a model for other sustainable developments.
That system includes capturing rainwater and using it for irrigation and to flush toilets in the residential buildings and community facilities. By redirecting the storm water, the community on Vancouver’s southeast False Creek will reduce the pressure on the city’s drinking water supply.
"We use drinking water for everything - why do we use it to wash cars and flush our toilets?" said Wm. Patrick Lucey, an aquatic ecologist and one of the company’s founders. "We provided advice about how to rethink water management, and to use nature’s fit-for-purpose approach."
In nature, Lucey said, there is no such thing as waste water; instead, water is used and recycled in small amounts constantly. On the other hand, humans direct water into storm pipes and waste the opportunity for recycling.
To design the water management system for Millennium Water, Aqua-Tex proposed nature’s concept.
Rather than having storm water run through huge sewer pipes and drain into False Creek, it will be directed to cisterns for storage and a separate plumbing system that will pipe rain water into toilets. The storm water will also be connected to the site’s irrigation system to water green roofs and gardens and be directed to wetlands surrounding the community. Even the children’s playground will use rainwater in its features.
"Southeast False Creek represents one of the few examples of truly integrated design, and it will show others how to develop their own communities," Lucey said. "This is how whole cities can change - it’s not just for boutique projects.
"This is a model for other cities."
Lucey said working with the design team on the development gave Aqua-Tex the opportunity to test its models in the field and show others the value of managing water to create sustainable and economical communities. "This would have taken us 10 years to learn, but this development has compressed that time to a year," he said. "It has accelerated our understanding of how crucial integrated design is.
"This lesson of ‘fit-for-purpose’ water use is one we hope to showcase when the world’s athletes visit Vancouver."
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