Restore, Reuse, Recharge

Restore, Reuse, Recharge

Restore

When thinking of hydrological (environmental) restoration one often thinks of brown fields or existing urban spaces.  It may be surprising to learn that most of the earth’s damaged hydrological systems are still considered natural environments (or undeveloped greenfields).  You guessed it agricultural fields.  Much of urbanisation takes place on agricultural land which was formerly forest, prairie or wetlands.  Our approach to development seeks to use UrbanThrive to restore the balance of the hydrologic system in any environment agricultural or urban stressed natural areas.

Reuse

One of the biggest shortcomings of our societies is how we use water.  One use, a bit of treatment and back into the surface waters.  There is huge potential for closing the cycles between drinking water, irrigation water, stormwater and wastewater.  Ewaters understands how to create infrastructure that optimise multiple water usages before returning to the natural hydrologic cycle and when necessary we design complete recycling systems losing water only to evapotranspiration.

Recharge

There is an extremely cost effective time tested way to store water and improve our environment– put it back into the ground!  Aquifer recharge not only provides the most cost effective storage, is great for flood protection but it also creates a positive effect for the environment.  Recharge raises water tables which in turn feed our surface waters.  Groundwater moves slowly (think days, months, or years) unlike surface water (think seconds, minutes or hours).  Recharge areas such as ponds, wetland, swales or bio-retention also provide for effective flood risk reduction.  Recharge provides resilience within the developed environment in the form flood risk reduction, fresh water storage and the slow release of flow into streams supporting healthy freshwater ecosystems.