“As cities and countries worldwide grapple with water scarcity and other challenges, onsite water reuse offers a modern, circular, and sustainable solution that benefits all.”

Epic’s Co-Founder and CEO, Aaron Tartakovsky, recently discussed the impact of severe weather events on water systems with Sharon Kits Kimathi for the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter.

Read the full excerpt below:

“Much of our nation’s water and wastewater systems were built 30-100 years ago and are in dire need of repair and upgrades. These aging systems are struggling to keep up with population growth and increasingly severe weather that can prolong droughts and cause more intense floods.

Just last month, Atlanta faced a state of emergency when a main water break left many residents with boil-water advisories. Over the past year, cities from Phoenix to the Greater Tampa Bay area have placed moratoriums on new developments because the regional water supply can’t keep up.

Traditionally, buildings connect to the city’s sewer system and send all their ‘wastewater’ into the municipal network. But in reality, there is no waste in water — only wasted water. Cities like San Francisco have pioneered a new approach: decentralized onsite water systems.

These systems recycle up to 95% of a building’s wastewater using advanced treatment technologies, and reuse that highly purified water within the building for non-drinking purposes like irrigation, cooling, toilet flushing, and laundry. As cities and countries worldwide grapple with water scarcity and other challenges, onsite water reuse offers a modern, circular, and sustainable solution that benefits all.”