Yes please, feel free to come forward and sit in the chairs up at the front. We're going to move into breakout tables about halfway through this session, so if you find yourself at a table that you would prefer to switch from, you will have the option to do that. Welcome. This is the session on Decentralized Technologies and Tactics to Improving the Water and Sanitation Access Gap. I am Andrea Stowell. I work with LIXIL Corporation. For those of you who don't know who LIXIL is, we are the parent company of American Standard and GROHE. We are a plumbing products and house products manufacturer. We also have a brand called SATO which is active in 44 countries around the world with a low-cost SATO pan. We have reached 35 million people, impacting their lives with that product.
We've also been active here in the United States with the BBUWP and Sherry Bradley and work that's going on in the Black Belt where we are performing interior plumbing retrofits in homes to reduce the amount of water flowing into on-site sanitation systems. Finally, we are a commercialization partner of the Gates Foundation's Reinvent the Toilet program. About a month ago, we announced the first commercial license of a new household reinvented toilet out of Georgia Tech, which is a circular toilet system. It treats all of the waste inside the toilet itself, able to reuse water for flushing, and we're pretty excited about that and the potential it has to serve disadvantaged communities here in the US. So with that, we have put together a fantastic panel today. Our session will be organized in two parts. There's going to be a conversation up front
where we'll talk about why the need for innovation exists, why traditional systems don't work in some communities here in the United States, what types of promising technologies there are, and how some of these implementers on the panel have started to navigate permitting processes at the state level to get pilots permitted and implemented. I'd like to go through and have my panel introduce themselves. Pleasure to see everyone here. We were promoting the panel earlier in other sessions trying to make sure everyone came. My name is James Rees. I've been advising technology companies specifically in the water sector for the last
12 years. My background is consulting and finance. My name is Stuart Coleman and I am the executive director and co-founder of a nonprofit called WAI, which is the Hawaiian word for water but it's also an acronym for Wastewater Alternatives and Innovations. It's a pleasure to be with you all today. Hi everyone, my name is Kelsey McWilliams and I am the CEO of Point Shift. Point Shift is a circular sanitation alternative septic design consultancy. We work all over the US to do non-septic based sanitation and wastewater. Hey everyone, I'm Tate Rogers. I'm the founder and principal at Triangle Environmental. We're
a small business based in Durham, North Carolina. We've done a lot of international WASH consulting over the past decade that takes on many forms, but more recently we're working on product development in the onsite wastewater treatment and reuse space, more focused here in the US. Thank you guys. You might be wondering why this panel is so sanitation heavy. I'd like for all of you to imagine a future where the water we use on site is treated to a point where it can become a new source of water at homes, a reality where water evaporating off of agricultural fields can be converted into fresh drinking water. I think all of us here are passionate about the idea that traditional sources of water are not the only sources available to us. You're going to hear a lot of themes today around decentralization, source separation, onsite reuse - the idea that we can take our wastewater to a high enough quality to create on-site sources of water for non-potable use. Stuart, I would love for you to tell us about
the context in Hawaii and why traditional systems in Hawaii just don't work. Well, thank you Andrea. I met Andrea and Tate at the Gates Foundation's Reinvent the Toilet Expo in Beijing. When I was speaking there, I was wondering why they would have us speak on this panel, but the director was very shrewd. When we were talking about developing countries, people were shocked to hear that Hawaii has 83,000 cesspools that discharge 52 million gallons a day of untreated waste into the ground and groundwater. We're
dependent on our aquifer for our drinking water. We've created a system based on most municipal systems on gravity sewer and using tons of energy to pump wastewater miles and miles to treat it and then discharge it in the ocean. With all the incredible expenses of doing that in Hawaii, it's almost double the expense - everything has to be shipped out to Hawaii, it's the most remote island chain in the world. Our soils are volcanic and don't provide good treatment. It's very porous, so you don't get a lot of that treatment. We've had to find ways to introduce new
technology to Hawaii that can treat wastewater better. We need to ensure denitrification because new studies show that nutrient loading from our cesspools is harming the reefs - it's one of the major causes of coral reef decline. With the fires in Lahaina, we need to figure out better ways to reuse wastewater. There are many unique challenges facing Hawaii, but they involve everything we're trying to do because fire risk is something everyone will deal with as a new reality. We've had the pleasure of turning that challenge into an opportunity for new technology, blending it with indigenous wisdom to help Hawaii's people. Can you tell us more about the model you've
set up through your nonprofit to advance innovations and promote pilot projects? It's a newer model for nonprofits in that we operate somewhat like a business. A big portion of what we do involves innovative technology. We're agnostic about who we partner with, but we realized if we're not working to bring these companies in, they won't come on their own. Hawaii has a very difficult culture to break into for national
and international companies. We vet companies for each technology they offer and find what we think is best. They get that nonprofit seal of approval. Then we set up pilot projects and demonstrations to ensure effectiveness and show proof of concept for people in Hawaii, because we have a very reluctant Department of Health when it comes to approving new technologies.
There has been unprecedented investment in innovation over the past 10 years, much spurred by the Gates Foundation and their reinvent the toilet program. Tate, as a technologist and developer, what trends are you seeing in this space? This meeting is interesting because our start was in international WASH. This is the first US event I've been to where "WASH" was used - it's typically been international. It's exciting to see this crossover between international WASH consulting and onsite systems development. It's a very exciting time, especially in the US. We have big problems, but we're being forced
to think about innovative solutions. From a technology standpoint, there are several drivers. There are economic drivers - for buildings treating and reusing graywater onsite, there are pure economic benefits. There are regulatory drivers - San Francisco, Austin, and New York are leading in requiring businesses to reuse water. Buildings in San
Francisco above a certain size must have onsite reuse. Then there are climate drivers which are now coming to people's front doors. We talk about water and sanitation separately, but there's significant crossover. We think about wastewater specifically as a resource we need to utilize - it has nutrients, water, and energy. We're thinking about ways to treat and reuse wastewater onsite. It's somewhat of a Wild West in terms of regulation and permitting, but there are many opportunities for small businesses like ours and new technology development.
James, I'd love for you to share what you're seeing on the water generation side and other areas of the water sector. I was born in Australia, a water-scarce country. The town I grew up in had 200,000 people, and we had to shower with a bucket and use that water for plants. Innovation happened at every level - they started doing rainwater harvesting, putting tanks on buildings to capture water for plants and graywater. In the US, innovation needs to happen at both industry and community levels, which I haven't seen happening yet.
These innovations are challenging to introduce. There are regulatory structures in place for important public health reasons. Kelsey, can you tell us about how you're using innovative permitting pathways at the state level to site new systems in the US? First, regulators are human beings and generally looking out for public and environmental health. I work specifically with onsite one-off systems. Regulations throughout the US
depend on system size, region, people, and authority. The permitting pathways we've explored in Vermont and Maryland are called Innovative and Alternative Treatment Technology. Twenty-eight states have these words in their code, but only 5-7 have clear pathways with staff to review and implement. In Maryland, we're separating black water and gray water. Regulators are concerned about lacking staff to test and monitor systems. We've offered to handle testing. Regulators prioritize repairing failed systems - that's where
alternative tech pathways are wide open. There's also a pathway through NSF standards 40 and 41. If you get certified under these standards, many states will approve your technology. Another important aspect is community-driven change. In Vermont, the Rich Earth Institute
has worked with regulators for 12 years on urine diversion. Now Vermont's alternative technology list includes urine diversion plumbing, and they've classified urine as a biosolid that can be used on farms when properly treated. Tate, tell us about the technology you're piloting in Virginia and that process. We're testing our system in Eastern Virginia through partnerships with the Planning District Commission, Virginia Sea Grant, and RISE resilience group. They sought solutions for coastal resilience, specifically graywater and septic solutions. Eastern Virginia faces some of the worst sea level rise outside the Gulf,
with saltwater intrusion into wells and depleting aquifers causing land subsidence. Their septic systems are flooding. Our pilot system is elevated 6 feet to meet FEMA regulations. It took 10 months to get permitted despite connecting to an existing septic system as a safety backup. The lengthy process helped build relationships with regulators who understand their community's problems but are constrained by regulations.
Systems there cost homeowners $50-70,000 because they must meet Chesapeake Bay nitrogen standards. We're trying to demonstrate our technology and build trust by showing it in action. We're targeting thousands of homes needing an affordable solution. Stuart, with new federal funding coming, tell us about your planned demonstrations with USF and University of Hawaii. How are you organizing funding? This federal funding is a once-in-lifetime opportunity.
Business as usual won't work anymore given environmental urgencies. We're pressuring government to pilot systems faster. We're working with Daniel from USF on an NSF grant to bring new technology, partnering with Leapfrog and Arinco. In Hawaii Paradise Park, half the wells showed fecal bacteria in drinking water - that's motivating action.
James, what funding models from overseas could work in the US? Corporations need involvement beyond government funding. Companies using water - like Nestle, Coke, PepsiCo - should give back to communities where they operate. We're seeing water-intensive companies wanting community impact through environmental replenishment and WASH projects. Microsoft just partnered on a WASH program in India near their data centers. US WASH programs are often overlooked for international ones, but we need to show corporations the domestic issues and opportunities. Kelsey, tell us about the systems you're citing for residential homeowners and the user acceptance you're seeing. I ask clients what they want their waste to be utilized for - irrigation, water reuse, etc. There are people who want to use composting toilets and people who have to use them, living in
the same country. Clients generally want three things: cheaper systems than $50-70,000 septic systems, environmental benefits like nutrient management, and water reuse for irrigation or flushing. People are aware of water entering and leaving their homes and want beneficial reuse. We'll now move to breakout sessions with three technology companies: Adam Deir from Leapfrog Designs for graywater treatment, James Rees for Botanical Water Technologies, and Tristan Bounds from Arinco discussing the Prelo system for low-cost conveyance infrastructure. Choose a table, hear brief pitches, and provide feedback on the posted questions. This isn't a collaborative discussion - please write feedback on Post-it notes.
Carl Thompson from Infiltrator Water Technologies asks about the challenge of states requiring additional in-state research projects even after NSF certification, noting this stifles innovation. Tate responds that they're working with politicians in Virginia to establish pilot permits with pre-approved sites for testing new systems. This could make demonstration faster and cheaper for innovators. Someone asks about sharing information while maintaining competitive advantage. Tate explains
that even as competitors, companies like his and Adam's see benefits in collaborating since the market is large enough. Stuart adds that the field needs collaboration to drive innovation, comparing it to a rising tide lifting all boats. He emphasizes the workforce development opportunities in disadvantaged communities. The session moves to breakout discussions at three tables: Arinco's Prelo system - An alternative to gravity sewer using tanks that pump to treatment centers. Key points: Cheaper than gravity sewer Less disruptive installation Engineering firms are disincentivized since they make more from expensive gravity systems Botanical Water Technologies - Extracts water from fruit/vegetable processing: Plug-and-play system for manufacturing plants Reduces groundwater extraction Limited by geography and regulatory education needs Leapfrog's vertical constructed wetland: Modular design for different flows Reduces drain field size and septic pumping Works with various systems including separated black/gray water Includes aesthetic planted components
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