Water Worth
Closed-loop water systems: McDonough did it with the Earth Base Station at Ames Research Center Campus. Proven. Safe. Saves water and energy. Are we ready to accept the science?
“Water is the driving force of all nature.” – Leonardo da Vinci
A building can receive drinking water, use it once, and send it away within minutes. We have accepted that one-way system for generations, even when the next use requires far less than potable quality.
That assumption is becoming difficult to defend. Population growth is increasing demand while drought, flooding, aging infrastructure, and industrial expansion make reliable water service more costly. Water also carries a carbon burden. Energy is required to pump, heat, cool, treat, and transport it, while conventional wastewater treatment and offsite hauling can add greenhouse-gas emissions.
The next DesignIDEATE conversation asks what happens when wastewater is simply part of the design brief.
Our guest is Dr. Orianna Bretschger, cofounder and CEO of Aquacycl. Trained in physics, astronomy, and materials science, Orianna spent more than a decade developing and validating a bioelectrochemical approach in which specialized bacteria remove difficult organic pollutants from wastewater while producing electrical current. Her path has moved from aerospace and government consulting to distributed sanitation, industrial treatment, and the practical work of making water reuse reliable at operating facilities.
We will discuss the field more broadly than one company or technology. Which water sources can safely be reused inside a building or campus? How do greywater, rainwater, process water, condensate, and treated wastewater differ? When does reuse lower carbon, and when does added treatment erase the advantage? What changed in California’s 2026 onsite nonpotable rules, and what can other jurisdictions learn from San Francisco, Austin, New York, and Colorado?
The business questions are equally important. Developers need to understand water and sewer capacity before committing to a site. Corporate facility leaders need systems that remain safe and serviceable for decades. Construction teams may be able to use nonpotable water for dust control and equipment washing. Data-center owners face a sharper tradeoff among cooling efficiency, electricity, water consumption, and community water security.
The goal is not to make every building its own utility. It is to stop using the highest-quality water for every purpose and to design each water stream around the quality its next use actually requires.
Join us for Water Worth, a DesignIDEATE conversation about wastewater, carbon, public health, and the infrastructure decisions that will shape where and how we build.
We invite you to subscribe to DesignIDEATE. Write to rnudo@jsda.com, connect with Janice Stevenor Dale on LinkedIn, and visit www.JSDA.com.
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