Water scarcity is a global crisis, and in North America, aging water and waste systems are reaching the point where major overhauls and system replacements are urgently needed. As our many local communities prepare to invest in massive public works projects, the crucial question is this:

Will we continue to prop up outmoded systems that treat water as if it were a boundless resource?

Or, will we begin to treat all water as precious?

INVITATION #1:  Invitation to the Building Community
Re-imagine water and waste within a more holistic framework as envisioned within the Living Building Challenge.

INVITATION #2:  Invitation to the Regulatory Community
Remove unnecessary code and regulatory hurdles that hinder the development of net zero water projects.

INVITATION #3:  Invitation to Communities Considering Centralized Treatment System Investments
Consider the life-cycle impacts of those systems on human and non-human communities.

 All water is precious.  Don’t flush away our future.

Download more information about Cascadia's Water Call to Action

Resources

Cascadia's Water Research

• Policy Making Guide to Healthy, Resilient Water Systems in the Puget Sound
• Regulatory Pathways to Net Zero Water
• Toward Net Zero Water: Best Management Practices for Decentralized Sourcing and Treatment

• See graph here

• Water Art Slides
• Steve Moddemeyer: Water Systems, Cities of the Future
• Chuck Clarke: The Challenges Facing Washington State Now and in the Future
  
• Marketa Elsner: Impact of Climate Change on Washington's Water Future
• Katie Spataro: Current WA Regulations and Research Affecting Water Infrastructure Decision-making
• Ron Rochon: Case Study: The Bullitt Project in Seattle
• James Miller: Case Study: Dockside Green
• Frank Rijsberman: No Toilet, No Bride: Behavior Change, Social Justice and Engineering