How to promote wastewater reuse through non-technical approaches?
Research field site: Barbados.
Potential research question: (a) How do regulations influence a paradigm shift of re-envisioning anthropogenic waste as a resource?
Background: Between 1990 and 2013, the island has seen a -61.6% change in relative contribution of agriculture to real GDP, mainly due to sugar (FAO 2015). The island’s food energy availability is high, 3.1 kcal/person/day, mainly due to imported processed foods (FAO 2015) and likely contributing to the highest adult obesity rate (~33%) in the Caribbean and one of the highest overweight rates (~62%) in Latin America and the Caribbean (FAO & PAHO 2016). High food import bills ($312 million in 2011), unemployment, and dwindling sugar cultivation are spurring interest in high value, healthy food crops (FAO 2015). While systems modeling research indicates how dietary changes influence nutrient impacts on coastal waters (Gao et al., 2016), fertilizer, water, and energy costs challenge food production (Daher and Mohtar 2015). Barbados’ high population density (600/km2) and limited freshwater resources make it one of the world’s most water scarce nations (Gassert et al. 2013). At $0.28 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), electricity costs account for the greatest expenditure of the Barbados Water Authority (BWA), the utility responsible for water and wastewater management. The Barbados Power & Light recently installed a 3 MW PV plant, the BWA has also installed PV at some of its facilities, and the government has promised high renewable energy targets by 2040. Since 1995 building permits require rainwater harvesting, however, no enforcement occurs to encourage connections for usage and there are mixed messages on the appropriate uses of collected water, especially household functions like toilet flushing. Organizations like the Rotary are championing installation of solar powered (energy) rainwater harvesting systems (water) that are used for drip irrigation of gardens (food). A draft policy addressing nutrient management (stormwater and wastewater) is under development to protect marine resources. As such, the FEWS lens will be used to design and facilitate pilot projects to gather pertinent information on regulations and how they may influence a paradigm shift in re-envisioning the existing water reuse and resource recovery from wastewater as a resource.
References
Daher, B.T., Mohtar, R.H. (2015). Water–Energy–Food (WEF) Nexus Tool 2.0: Guiding integrative resource planning and decision-making. Water International, 40, 5-6, 748-771.
FAO, IFAD and WFP. (2015). The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015. Meeting the 2015 international hunger targets: taking stock of uneven progress. FAO, Rome.
FAO & PAHO. (2016) Panorama of Food and Nutrition Security in Latin America and the Caribbean 2016. Available at: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i6747s.pdf
Gassert, F., Reig, P., Luo, T., Maddocks, A. (2013). A Weighted Aggregation of Spatially Distinct Hydrological Indicators. World Resources Institute Working Paper December 2013. Available at: http://www.wri.org/sites/default/files/aqueduct_coutnry_rankings_010914.pdf
Gao, W., Hong, B., Swaney, D. P., Howarth, R. W, Guo, H. (2016). A system dynamics model for managing regional N inputs from human activities. Ecological Modeling, 322, 82–91.
