NSF Engineering Research Center for Re-Inventing America's Urban Water Infrastructure

项目概述：重塑美国城市水利基础设施的ERC；Richard G. Luthy，斯坦福大学首席研究员；加州大学伯克利分校；科罗拉多矿业学院；合作伙伴：新加坡南洋理工大学；瑞士联邦水产科学技术研究所，瑞士杜本多夫；澳大利亚悉尼新南威尔士大学。愿景和目标。由于气候变化、人口膨胀、生态系统需求和基础设施恶化，城市正面临着日益严重的水危机，这些危机威胁着经济发展、社会福利和环境的可持续性。如果没有相对大规模的投资，这场危机只会在整个21世纪加深。因此，拟议的ERC的目标是推进水/废水处理和分配的新战略，这些战略将消除对进口水的需求，从废水中回收资源，并在城市水基础设施的运行中产生而不是消耗能源，同时增强城市水生生态系统。虽然许多现有的方法可以用来将城市水基础设施转变为更可持续的状态，但它们的实施目前受到其长期性能、生命周期成本、体制障碍和公众对不熟悉技术的担忧的不确定性的限制。在某些情况下，实现我们愿景所需的技术尚不存在，需要技术突破。为了应对这些挑战，我们的战略规划过程确定了三个重点领域的重点研究项目：(1)工程水系统：通过采用分布式处理系统来减少对低效的集中处理系统的依赖，这些处理系统包括节约用水、本地使用替代供应、能源管理、养分回收，并与现有基础设施相结合；(2)受管理的自然系统：将受管理的自然系统纳入水利基础设施，充分发挥自然系统在储水和改善水质方面的潜在效益，同时恢复城市水文和水生生境；(3)系统整合和机构：通过开发考虑到经济、环境和社会因素的决策工具，以及开发能够规避规章、法律、管辖权分散、融资和公众看法所造成的变革障碍的方法，支持城市水系统的改造和恢复。ERC将进行短期研究，以促进采用有可能改善系统性能的现有技术，并进行长期研究，以从根本上改变城市供水基础设施的技术。无论时间如何，所有的研究都将以理解新技术和管理策略如何影响复杂的城市水基础设施系统的性能为目标。拟议中的ERC联合了西方四所顶尖大学和三所国际大学，处于城市水利基础设施研究的前沿。尽管全国各地对供水的需求都在增加，但这些需求在干旱的西部地区尤为严重，在那里，ERC的合作大学拥有特殊的能力和独特的试验台。此外，每个校区都与专业社区成员和国际研究伙伴建立了战略合作关系，这将帮助我们将我们的研究转化为切实的成果。通过结合创新研究、系统分析和与利益相关者的有意义的合作，我们将确保以可持续、安全和具有成本效益的方式更快地改造城市供水基础设施。更广泛的影响。伦理委员会研究的技术转让将通过最终用户的密切参与来实现。公共和私人供水服务供应商、政府代表、设备制造商和技术人员将积极参与ERC，以确保研究对城市供水基础设施运营和更新的决策具有影响力。为了支持创新新技术的发展，我们将在ERC内建立一个中心，为小公司开发的设备提供尖端评估，以改善产品和促进初创企业的发展。ERC的外展将建立一个多样化的、准备充分的学生管道，他们最终将在本科和研究生阶段攻读并完成与水相关的学位，成为领导者，并以科学知识为指导，在知情公众的支持下，支持国家水基础设施的重大变革。教育和推广计划的每一个组成部分都直接有助于实现这一愿景，从小学阶段开始，一直到研究生教育。为了确保代表性不足的少数民族的参与，ERC与美国印第安部落学院和大学以及针对主要为拉丁裔、太平洋岛民和非洲裔美国人服务的地区的K-8和高中合作。

Project Summary: The ERC for Re-inventing America's Urban Water Infrastructure; Richard G. Luthy, PI, Stanford Univ., Lead; Univ. of California, Berkeley; Colorado School of Mines; New Mexico State Univ. Foreign Partners: Nanyang Technological Univ., Singapore; Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dubendorf, Switzerland; Univ. of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. Vision and Goals. Cities are facing a mounting water crisis from climate change, population expansion, ecosystem demands and deteriorating infrastructure that threatens economic development, social welfare, and environmental sustainability. Without relatively large investments this crisis will only deepen through the 21st century. Accordingly, the goal of the proposed ERC is to advance new strategies for water/wastewater treatment and distribution that will eliminate the need for imported water, recover resources from wastewater, and generate rather than consume energy in the operation of urban water infrastructure while simultaneously enhancing urban aquatic ecosystems. While many existing approaches could be used to transition urban water infrastructure to this more sustainable state, their implementation currently is limited by uncertainties about their long-term performance, life cycle costs, institutional impediments and public concerns about unfamiliar technologies. In some cases, the technologies needed to realize our vision do not yet exist and technological breakthroughs are needed. To meet these challenges, our strategic planning process identified key research projects within three thrust areas:(1) Engineered Water Systems: Decrease reliance on inefficient centralized treatment systems by employing distributed treatment systems that embrace water conservation, local use of alternative supplies, energy management, nutrient recovery, and that integrate with existing infrastructure; (2) Managed Natural Systems: Integrate managed natural systems into water infrastructure to fully realize the potential benefits that natural systems can provide with respect to water storage and improvement of water quality, while simultaneously rehabilitating urban hydrology and aquatic habitat;(3) Systems Integration and Institutions: Support the reinvention and restoration of urban water systems through the development of decision-making tools that account for economic, environmental and social factors and development of approaches that can circumvent impediments to change posed by regulations, laws, jurisdictional fragmentation, financing and public perception. The ERC will conduct short-term research to facilitate adoption of existing technologies that have the potential to improve system performance and long-term research on technologies that can fundamentally transform urban water infrastructure. Regardless of timing, all of the research will be targeted at understanding how new technologies and management strategies affect the performance of complex urban water infrastructure systemsIntellectual Merit. The proposed ERC joins four leading universities in the West and three international universities at the forefront of urban water infrastructure research. Although increased demands on water supplies occur throughout the country, these demands are acute in the arid West, where the ERC partner universities have special capabilities and access to unique test beds. Furthermore, each campus has strategic collaborations with members of the professional community and international research partners that will help us to translate our research into tangible results. Through a combination of innovative research, systems analysis and meaningful collaborations with stakeholders, we will ensure a more rapid reinvention of urban water infrastructure in a manner that is sustainable, safe and cost-effective. Broader Impacts. Technology transfer of the ERC’s research will occur through close involvement of end users. Public and private water service providers, government representatives, equipment manufacturers, and technologists will actively participate in the ERC to ensure the research is influential in decisions about urban water infrastructure operation and renewal. To support the development of innovative new technologies, we will establish a center within the ERC to provide cutting-edge evaluations of devices developed by small companies with the aim of improving products and fostering development of start-ups.The ERC's outreach will build a pipeline of diverse, well-prepared students who eventually pursue and complete water-related degrees at the undergraduate and graduate level becoming leaders and supporting significant change in the Nation’s water infrastructure in a manner that is guided by scientific knowledge and whose efforts are supported by an informed public. Each component of the education and outreach plan feeds directly into the attainment of this vision beginning at the elementary level and continuing through graduate education. To ensure the involvement of under-represented minorities, the ERC is partnered with American Indian Tribal Colleges and Universities, and K-8 and high schools that target districts that serve primarily Latino, Pacific Islander and African American populations.