What ARE you REALLY drinking? Yellow River Sweat Equity. Urban Development Zones. Five Acre Urban Lot Realty
The 9 March Post TREATING SEWERAGE RIGHT generated several very useful comments. Separating the wheat from the chaff:
What ARE you REALLY drinking? and what ARE you REALLY flushing into the ground water, the streams and the Bay?
Most of those who comment on this Blog are 12.5 Percenters. It is pretty clear from the comments that they made that those who drink well water have no idea WHAT they are drinking. Some know there are not dangerous levels of the most common pathogens like e coli – at least when they last sent a sample to VA Tech. But beyond that?
To find out what is really in that water will cost a lot more money than they are currently paying to tap into the Natural Capital that happens that flows under their property.
In contrast, those who live inside the Clear Edge of Greater Warrenton get a six page analysis every year of everything known to exist in the water after multiple state-of-the-art testings. The report also notes what the best science says about the impact of the trace contents.
That report is a good reason to evolve Agency structures and jurisdictions so that there is a Water and Sewer Agency for every Alpha Community. Those who get water from Fairfax County Water Authority have to rely on “professionals.” One of those “professionals” testified at a hearing on Occoquan water quality some years ago that he did not care what was in the run off into the water supply. The Authority would put chemicals in the treated water to “kill everything.”
The water tastes like it. Who knows the impact of these Agency added chemicals? Who has a say about what they are? The only beneficiaries are the Agency bureaucrats (they extended their pipes) and the bottlers of “spring” water. What ever “spring water” is. The residents of Menlough Cluster bought the DPW staff a buffet lunch in January to thank them for all the work they do on behalf of the citizens. That never happened in Fairfax County.
What is even more important than what comes out of 12.5 Percenters pumps is to make sure that all up-flow neighbors (the ones Groveton calls “certified wing nuts”) do not put REALLY bad stuff in the water (surface or ground) that impacts all their down-flow neighbors. The cost of effective systems for licences, inspections and testing is not being paid by anyone.
There is no assurance that those who live INSIDE the Clear Edge are protected from ALL potential harm but we are a whole lot safer than those who have no idea what they are drinking or what impact they have on those who drink what comes out of their clogged cesspool and saturated drain field. There are no bacteria to eliminate most pollutants and there are few on site systems that perform to spec without regular inspections.
Sure, the persistent chemicals may be measured in parts per million, or perhaps parts per billion (like the concentrations one tastes coming from a black hose or of BPAs) but do they accumulate in the human body? If they do, it may not impact adults until they are too old to care but what about young folks thinking about raising child? Have you carefully read the warnings on prescription drugs? There are a number of common drugs widely used by men that are known to induce birth defects at very low concentrations if ingested by women. And NMM thinks it is smart to have a big yard so one can raise kids, right?
What is the next microbe to jump to humans from cows, chickens, horses, crows or monkeys? Who would have predicted the spread of avian conjunctivitis when it jumped from chickens to the Eastern race of House Finches? You may have noticed an American Goldfinch that is blind in one eye last week. Next week it will be blind in both eyes. How about white nose among bats?
In the Santa Inez Valley, the Watkins man used to lick DDT from the end of his pencil to prove to his farmer-clients that it was safe to put on tomatoes. Humans live in an ever changing environment an it is not getting safer. Public systems with Community scale control and Community Laboratories at every Community College with in a Regional system subject to national oversight is the best bet at this time.
Those who say humans can never REALLY clean up the ground and surface water are afraid that they will have to pay their fair share of the cost of the clean-up. The same folks believe that creation of dysfunctional human settlement patterns INSIDE the Clear Edge over the past 80 years has created a property right (property value) OUTSIDE the Clear Edge to which they have an inalienable right protected by the Constitution.
Yellow River “Sweat” Equity
Larry Gross makes a very good point about coming to grips with the human waste issue: Buy an RV. This is the point EMR made in the original post. With extensive ‘participation’ the cost of treating sewerage – and other waste – can be lowered. However, not many relish carrying buckets of night soil. Most are queezy about taking stool samples to protect from colon cancer.
UDAs (Urban Development Areas)
Larry Gross asked about UDAs:
This is a simple question to address:
Until there is a state-wide Wright Plan then all the UDAs in the world will just be moving the deck chairs.
What will a Wright Plan do? It will identify the future need for Urban land and quantify that need. It will then analyze the amount of vacant and underutilized land and allocate – on a Regional basis – the amount of land NEEDED for future Urban needs. It will then authorize a Regional process to locate the areas for ‘growth.’ It would be prudent to designate twice the NEED on a rolling 20 year basis. Most of the NEED can be most efficiently met through REDEVELOPMENT and that will SHRINK the area within the logical location of the Clear Edge.
When this is done, there would be a basis for designating UDAs. Until then they are just a political fan dancing as Larry likes to call it.
Five Acre Lot Realty
Most important of all is a comment by Larry Gross on 9 March at 4:22 PM:
“also.. you're gonna to have to reconcile the fact that most 5 acre lots do not have significant runoff problems - MUCH LESS have that runoff go into their sewage treatment facility - the septic tank/field.”
Nice try Larry but this statement is reflects belief in a Myth that supports dysfunctional human settlement patterns.
Consider the 83,000 acres in the Occquan drainage that was “down zoned” by Fairfax County to support the Five Acre Lifestyle:
Check out the pollution levels and flow levels at the monitoring stations before and after the massive explosion of five acre “estates” and “horse farms.”
Check out the before and after air photos of the cleared land for redundant septic fields and the two acre horse pastures where horses stand up to their fetlocks in mud.
Check out the pesticides, fertilizer and other components of Mown Grass Pollution.
Check out the flooded roads after every storm event and the eroded stream banks due to far higher rates of run off.
On the other hand if half the 83,000 acres were in permanent Open Land and the other half developed for Balanced Communities (J / H / S / R / A) – with 40 percent Open Space WITHIN the Communities – there would be capacity for a minimum of 415,000 citizens ALL within R - 20. That means not just Jobs in the Community but they are in the Core and closer to jobs in the Zentrum and with patterns that will support shared-vehicle systems.
415,000 plus is more than the total that have moved to Loudoun and Prince William since the 80s and they are scattered in the R = 20 to R = 30 Radius Band.
Bottom line: There would be better water quality, better air quality, less driving, the land owners would have made far more money and the citizens would be living in the patterns that the market demonstrates have the highest value.
It would all have happened if there was a fair allocation of the location variable costs. More on that in response to Groveton.
EMR
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
THE ANATOMY OF AN ILLUSION
IN TIMES OF IRRATIONAL EXUBERANCE, ILLUSIONS GROW LIKE KUDZU. BUT WHY DO THEY CONTINUE TO SURVIVE WHEN THE ECONOMY IS SHRINKING – AS IT MUST – AND AMONG CITIZENS SHOULD KNOW BETTER?
SuperMassDenial cannot be the whole answer.
One of the most frustrating aspects of working to create an understanding of functional and dysfunctional human settlement patterns is dealing with those who blithely claim that “the facts” support their position when they must know at some level that they are absolutely wrong.
It is one thing when the advocate of an Illusion if someone is heavily invested in an unfortunate decision. It is another for a person who claims to be young enough to know better continues to chan the mantra of dysfunction.
Case in point: The comment of NovaMiddleMan (NMM) that “the vast majority” support scattered Urban dwellings stated a comment on the DISAPPOINTMENT CUBED post of 18 February. Here is part of that post (in italics) with comments.
At 6:23 PM NMM said”
“I agree the blog format is not the best way to communicate.”
Great! An area of agreement to build on! In fact blogging may be the WORST way to communicate because it allows rabid defense of ridiculous positions.
“I can sense your frustration about the lack of a common nomenclature.”
But then why do you continue to use Core Confusing Words? Do you understand that continuing to use Core Confusing Words like “suburban” makes no sense, literally?
............
“The bottom line however is that the data suggests a vast majority reject your viewpoint...”
Since EMR’s position is the market favors more Balanced settlement patterns, this must mean that “the vast majority” support unBalanced settlement patterns.
NMM must know there is no data to support his statement. Why does he make this statement?
The numbers are clear 87.5 percent (1980 to 1990 data upon which the 87.5 Percent Rule is based) did NOT choose scatteration at the Dooryard and Cluster scale, even when the choices were limited. There has never been less than 80 percent of the market who favor Balanced over scatteration IF GIVEN A CHOICE regardless of income. Twenty percent is not “a vast majority” it is an uninformed minority.
NMM has not shown one case where the same unit by the same builder sells for LESS in a more Balanced component of human settlement than it sells for a less Balanced or unBalanced, monoculture component.
The reason he has not cited the data is that it does not exist. From the 70s to the 90s there was a $100,000 difference between more Balanced vs less Balanced / unBalanced contexts.
NB: IF the TOTAL cost of location variable costs were assessed, the scattered site (unBalanced) dwelling would cost far more but that is not the case under current conditions.
The bottom line is that the market pays a premium for a more Balanced locations, period.
The market proves that NMM’s view “The American Dream” is sales hype when citizens ARE GIVEN A CHOICE.
[NB: in a later comment in this string, NMM admitted he was basing his comment on the PEW survey noted in the DISAPPOINTMENT CUBED post. This survey was profiled because of the gross Vocabulary confusion and is not a basis for identifying informed opinions. Using this survey to establish preference has all the validity of going to a used car lot and asking the first 100 tire kickers: “If price and maintenance was not an issue would you rather have a Hyundai or a Mercedes?”]
To further examine the blanket statement: “a vast majority reject your viewpoint” vis a vis residential settlement patterns – that is that the vast majority prefer scattered, unBalanced settlement patterns as opposed to more Balanced settlement patterns. Here is a two step exercise for those who want to understand the basics:
It is economically impossible for ‘a vast majority’ to own a Single Household Detached Dwelling. That is because given a normal distribution of disposable income in any First World nation-state from 60 to 95 percent of the population (depending on the state of the economy and the allocation of true costs) COULD NOT AFFORD a Single Household Detached Dwelling.
Let us assume that, fearing an uprising from ‘a vast majority’ who favor scatteration, it was decided to pay a housing stipend to every Household so ‘the vast majority’ could afford to pay for ‘what they wanted’ and they did in fact buy The American Dream per NMM.
Under those conditions it would be physically (to say nothing of economically) impossible to provide services, especially – but not limited to – Mobility and Access.
The following phrase was separated out from the rest of NMM’s assertion because these last four words make the statement into a pure red herring.
“... of urban dense living ...”
EMR does not advocate “dense” Urban living. EMR does not advocate density for density’s sake. EMR advocates exactly what the market finds most attractive – Balance, especially at the Alpha Village- and Alpha Community scale.
“and prefer a ‘sub’urban lifestyle ...”
Intentional use of a Core Confusing Word such as ‘suburban’ is always a red herring. The user must define what they mean by “suburban” using lot size, dwelling size, persons per acre density and other metrics for each component scale of settlement pattern from the Unit to at least the Alpha Community (aka, lowest six components in the New Urban Region Conceptual Framework.)
“close to a major metropolitan area.”
If “the vast majority” lived some where else, there would be no “metropolitan” area only scattered “sub”Urban land uses.
Even more important "close to" indicates this "vast majority" lives OUTSIDE major metropolitan areas. Since the majority of all residents live INSIDE major metropolitan areas this must be "the vast majority" of the minority?
“Those are the facts and that is what the market has demanded for years ...”
As noted above, that is not so. The MARKET provides a premium for well located units in more Balanced components.
“... and still continues to demand.”
Even the marginal “demand” has slipped as the cost of dysfunction has become more painful.
“I would also add again a majority also prefer ...”
“Prefer” if they believe they are among the few who can afford the total price. The larger the Region, the higher the price.
“... and demand access to automobiles and driving.”
There was never a time when driving would provide mobility for more than 50 percent of the population and that number is shrinking as the population ages and the cost rises and / or the ability to pay shrinks.
“That is not an ideological hobby horse those are the facts on the ground.”
Sorry, it is an Illusion AND a ideological hobby horse..
“I guess in all seriousness I question what you hope to achieve through this medium.”
Learn if there is a way to cure Illusions and to understand the perspective of those gripped by Myth.
“I think after several months or years most of us understand what you are trying to do.”
Apparently not since NMM has not yet gotten a handle on EMR’s perspective.
“However you seem to fail to understand the reality of the situation.”
See above.
“The world is not a sandbox you can control at will.”
Another red herring. NMM will not find a bigger advocate of the market, so long as it is a well informed market, that is citizens can make decisions that are in fact in their individual and collective best interest. What is it that the vast majority would choose, if they had a choice and understood the consequences of their actions.
“Like it or not the population has rejected and continues to reject your vision for the future.”
See above.
Without a Fundamental Transformation of the governance structure (and the economic structure) there will be no Fundamental Transformation of the human settlement pattern and thus no potential for a sustainable trajectory of civilization.
The democracies with market economies are an impossibility without all three Fundamental Transformations.
As luck would have it more and more are discovering this reality. See Lifestyle preferences are shifting by Bill Cunniff in the 27 Feb Sun-Times. For a summary of the marketing success of those who claim to sell dwellings in more Balanced environments subscribe to New Urban News.
EMR
SuperMassDenial cannot be the whole answer.
One of the most frustrating aspects of working to create an understanding of functional and dysfunctional human settlement patterns is dealing with those who blithely claim that “the facts” support their position when they must know at some level that they are absolutely wrong.
It is one thing when the advocate of an Illusion if someone is heavily invested in an unfortunate decision. It is another for a person who claims to be young enough to know better continues to chan the mantra of dysfunction.
Case in point: The comment of NovaMiddleMan (NMM) that “the vast majority” support scattered Urban dwellings stated a comment on the DISAPPOINTMENT CUBED post of 18 February. Here is part of that post (in italics) with comments.
At 6:23 PM NMM said”
“I agree the blog format is not the best way to communicate.”
Great! An area of agreement to build on! In fact blogging may be the WORST way to communicate because it allows rabid defense of ridiculous positions.
“I can sense your frustration about the lack of a common nomenclature.”
But then why do you continue to use Core Confusing Words? Do you understand that continuing to use Core Confusing Words like “suburban” makes no sense, literally?
............
“The bottom line however is that the data suggests a vast majority reject your viewpoint...”
Since EMR’s position is the market favors more Balanced settlement patterns, this must mean that “the vast majority” support unBalanced settlement patterns.
NMM must know there is no data to support his statement. Why does he make this statement?
The numbers are clear 87.5 percent (1980 to 1990 data upon which the 87.5 Percent Rule is based) did NOT choose scatteration at the Dooryard and Cluster scale, even when the choices were limited. There has never been less than 80 percent of the market who favor Balanced over scatteration IF GIVEN A CHOICE regardless of income. Twenty percent is not “a vast majority” it is an uninformed minority.
NMM has not shown one case where the same unit by the same builder sells for LESS in a more Balanced component of human settlement than it sells for a less Balanced or unBalanced, monoculture component.
The reason he has not cited the data is that it does not exist. From the 70s to the 90s there was a $100,000 difference between more Balanced vs less Balanced / unBalanced contexts.
NB: IF the TOTAL cost of location variable costs were assessed, the scattered site (unBalanced) dwelling would cost far more but that is not the case under current conditions.
The bottom line is that the market pays a premium for a more Balanced locations, period.
The market proves that NMM’s view “The American Dream” is sales hype when citizens ARE GIVEN A CHOICE.
[NB: in a later comment in this string, NMM admitted he was basing his comment on the PEW survey noted in the DISAPPOINTMENT CUBED post. This survey was profiled because of the gross Vocabulary confusion and is not a basis for identifying informed opinions. Using this survey to establish preference has all the validity of going to a used car lot and asking the first 100 tire kickers: “If price and maintenance was not an issue would you rather have a Hyundai or a Mercedes?”]
To further examine the blanket statement: “a vast majority reject your viewpoint” vis a vis residential settlement patterns – that is that the vast majority prefer scattered, unBalanced settlement patterns as opposed to more Balanced settlement patterns. Here is a two step exercise for those who want to understand the basics:
It is economically impossible for ‘a vast majority’ to own a Single Household Detached Dwelling. That is because given a normal distribution of disposable income in any First World nation-state from 60 to 95 percent of the population (depending on the state of the economy and the allocation of true costs) COULD NOT AFFORD a Single Household Detached Dwelling.
Let us assume that, fearing an uprising from ‘a vast majority’ who favor scatteration, it was decided to pay a housing stipend to every Household so ‘the vast majority’ could afford to pay for ‘what they wanted’ and they did in fact buy The American Dream per NMM.
Under those conditions it would be physically (to say nothing of economically) impossible to provide services, especially – but not limited to – Mobility and Access.
The following phrase was separated out from the rest of NMM’s assertion because these last four words make the statement into a pure red herring.
“... of urban dense living ...”
EMR does not advocate “dense” Urban living. EMR does not advocate density for density’s sake. EMR advocates exactly what the market finds most attractive – Balance, especially at the Alpha Village- and Alpha Community scale.
“and prefer a ‘sub’urban lifestyle ...”
Intentional use of a Core Confusing Word such as ‘suburban’ is always a red herring. The user must define what they mean by “suburban” using lot size, dwelling size, persons per acre density and other metrics for each component scale of settlement pattern from the Unit to at least the Alpha Community (aka, lowest six components in the New Urban Region Conceptual Framework.)
“close to a major metropolitan area.”
If “the vast majority” lived some where else, there would be no “metropolitan” area only scattered “sub”Urban land uses.
Even more important "close to" indicates this "vast majority" lives OUTSIDE major metropolitan areas. Since the majority of all residents live INSIDE major metropolitan areas this must be "the vast majority" of the minority?
“Those are the facts and that is what the market has demanded for years ...”
As noted above, that is not so. The MARKET provides a premium for well located units in more Balanced components.
“... and still continues to demand.”
Even the marginal “demand” has slipped as the cost of dysfunction has become more painful.
“I would also add again a majority also prefer ...”
“Prefer” if they believe they are among the few who can afford the total price. The larger the Region, the higher the price.
“... and demand access to automobiles and driving.”
There was never a time when driving would provide mobility for more than 50 percent of the population and that number is shrinking as the population ages and the cost rises and / or the ability to pay shrinks.
“That is not an ideological hobby horse those are the facts on the ground.”
Sorry, it is an Illusion AND a ideological hobby horse..
“I guess in all seriousness I question what you hope to achieve through this medium.”
Learn if there is a way to cure Illusions and to understand the perspective of those gripped by Myth.
“I think after several months or years most of us understand what you are trying to do.”
Apparently not since NMM has not yet gotten a handle on EMR’s perspective.
“However you seem to fail to understand the reality of the situation.”
See above.
“The world is not a sandbox you can control at will.”
Another red herring. NMM will not find a bigger advocate of the market, so long as it is a well informed market, that is citizens can make decisions that are in fact in their individual and collective best interest. What is it that the vast majority would choose, if they had a choice and understood the consequences of their actions.
“Like it or not the population has rejected and continues to reject your vision for the future.”
See above.
Without a Fundamental Transformation of the governance structure (and the economic structure) there will be no Fundamental Transformation of the human settlement pattern and thus no potential for a sustainable trajectory of civilization.
The democracies with market economies are an impossibility without all three Fundamental Transformations.
As luck would have it more and more are discovering this reality. See Lifestyle preferences are shifting by Bill Cunniff in the 27 Feb Sun-Times. For a summary of the marketing success of those who claim to sell dwellings in more Balanced environments subscribe to New Urban News.
EMR
Monday, March 09, 2009
TREATING SEWERAGE RIGHT
The cost of infrastructure to support functional human settlement patterns.
In the comments following the 27 February MORE VOCABULARY post, Larry Gross made a very good observation:
Current methods of treating sewerage adsorbs a lot of energy and are very expensive.
Treating sewerage and other human waste is a cost of contemporary technology-driven Urban civilization. The cost of heath care, safety, education, shelter and access are also very high. Further, the real total cost is much more than is now being paid. That is why the infrastructure to supply these services is deteriorating.
All the essential services could be far more efficient if there were functional human settlement patterns but they would will still cost a lot more than is currently being invested if citizens are to have anything like the level of health, education, safety, shelter and access that is expected in a technologically advanced society.
The results of conventional sewerage treatment prove that what is now being spent is not effective. Humans are polluting the ground water, streams, estuaries and the oceans with their waste. That means a lot more has to be spent to get it right – even with functional settlement patterns, new technology and more efficient operation.
By the citation Larry posted (“Yellow is the New Green” a 27 January story about land application strategies for sewerage in China) he is suggesting there must be a better way.
This may be just another wan attempt to justify scatteration of Urban land uses by a died-in-the-wool 12.5 Percenter but EMR takes it as an attempt to make a constructive suggestion.
Inside the Clear Edge.
EMR has never been a fan of Big Pipe systems.
There are no Regional systems in the US of A but the large SubRegional systems do not have good track records for on supplying water or treating sewerage. It is also clear that the Agencies have been major contributors to dysfunctional settlement patterns.
The multi-Community water and sewer Agencies and Enterprises are rewarded (prestige, pay, etc.) for “growth.” This has led them to historically support higher per capita use and to expand their service to areas not well suited for Urban development. Like highway Agencies that have not negative feedback from dysfunctional settlement patterns, building more is “good” for the water and sewer Organizations if not for citizens or the environment. The examples of bad practice from the Fairfax Water Authority, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, The Washington Aqueduct, etc. fill volumes.
Like Hospitals and Colleges, every Alpha Community should have a Community Water and Sewer Agency that is directly responsible to the citizens of the Community, not Agencies that serve parts of Communities or parts of many Communities.
One overarching problem with traditional Big Pipe systems is mixing clean water with waste and in many cases adding storm water to the same pipes. There is no way to efficiently treat that flow.
When citizens get serious about rebuilding the Urban fabric, systems that recycle blue, green and grey water and use waste to generate energy can be applied at the Cluster and Neighborhood scales (MIUS) within a Community system. That is if there are still resources available to support restructuring given the current trajectory.
There are many ways to cut costs before there is fundamental change in settlement patterns. Some of them involve charging those who dispose of exotic compounds that drive up the cost of treatment – including kitchen garbage disposal units – that make the waste more complex than human waste that has already been digested.
Outside the Clear Edge
There are many excellent strategies to treat human waste in Non-Urban contexts.
The implication that these systems are “cheap” or intrinsically better than Urban solutions or that these systems are a way to justify scatteration of Urban land uses is a terrible Illusion driven by a number of Myths.
Some of Non-Urban waste system costs can be offset by “sweat equity” in both construction and operations but not many like the idea of digging ditches or carrying out pails of night soil.
When the cost of a sophisticated system – including the energy to operate the system – and the cost of inspection and maintenance is totaled up, the real cost is as high per capita as Urban systems – sometimes higher.
Why are there energy costs? Those microbes work for free but only in certain temperature ranges and only with the correct levels of oxygen.
Why must there be inspection and maintenance costs? To insure there are no off-site impacts beyond that of a well managed, state of the art Alpha Community System.
On the general topic of infrastructure, Bruce Katz of Brookings gave a very good talk at the National Governors Conference Winter Meeting in late February. “Strengthening Our Infrastructure for a Sustainable Future.” Not a thing he said was not on target. It was what Bruce he did NOT say – he never mentioned human settlement patterns and it is not possible to have functional infrastructure and dysfunctional settlement patterns.
EMR
In the comments following the 27 February MORE VOCABULARY post, Larry Gross made a very good observation:
Current methods of treating sewerage adsorbs a lot of energy and are very expensive.
Treating sewerage and other human waste is a cost of contemporary technology-driven Urban civilization. The cost of heath care, safety, education, shelter and access are also very high. Further, the real total cost is much more than is now being paid. That is why the infrastructure to supply these services is deteriorating.
All the essential services could be far more efficient if there were functional human settlement patterns but they would will still cost a lot more than is currently being invested if citizens are to have anything like the level of health, education, safety, shelter and access that is expected in a technologically advanced society.
The results of conventional sewerage treatment prove that what is now being spent is not effective. Humans are polluting the ground water, streams, estuaries and the oceans with their waste. That means a lot more has to be spent to get it right – even with functional settlement patterns, new technology and more efficient operation.
By the citation Larry posted (“Yellow is the New Green” a 27 January story about land application strategies for sewerage in China) he is suggesting there must be a better way.
This may be just another wan attempt to justify scatteration of Urban land uses by a died-in-the-wool 12.5 Percenter but EMR takes it as an attempt to make a constructive suggestion.
Inside the Clear Edge.
EMR has never been a fan of Big Pipe systems.
There are no Regional systems in the US of A but the large SubRegional systems do not have good track records for on supplying water or treating sewerage. It is also clear that the Agencies have been major contributors to dysfunctional settlement patterns.
The multi-Community water and sewer Agencies and Enterprises are rewarded (prestige, pay, etc.) for “growth.” This has led them to historically support higher per capita use and to expand their service to areas not well suited for Urban development. Like highway Agencies that have not negative feedback from dysfunctional settlement patterns, building more is “good” for the water and sewer Organizations if not for citizens or the environment. The examples of bad practice from the Fairfax Water Authority, the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, The Washington Aqueduct, etc. fill volumes.
Like Hospitals and Colleges, every Alpha Community should have a Community Water and Sewer Agency that is directly responsible to the citizens of the Community, not Agencies that serve parts of Communities or parts of many Communities.
One overarching problem with traditional Big Pipe systems is mixing clean water with waste and in many cases adding storm water to the same pipes. There is no way to efficiently treat that flow.
When citizens get serious about rebuilding the Urban fabric, systems that recycle blue, green and grey water and use waste to generate energy can be applied at the Cluster and Neighborhood scales (MIUS) within a Community system. That is if there are still resources available to support restructuring given the current trajectory.
There are many ways to cut costs before there is fundamental change in settlement patterns. Some of them involve charging those who dispose of exotic compounds that drive up the cost of treatment – including kitchen garbage disposal units – that make the waste more complex than human waste that has already been digested.
Outside the Clear Edge
There are many excellent strategies to treat human waste in Non-Urban contexts.
The implication that these systems are “cheap” or intrinsically better than Urban solutions or that these systems are a way to justify scatteration of Urban land uses is a terrible Illusion driven by a number of Myths.
Some of Non-Urban waste system costs can be offset by “sweat equity” in both construction and operations but not many like the idea of digging ditches or carrying out pails of night soil.
When the cost of a sophisticated system – including the energy to operate the system – and the cost of inspection and maintenance is totaled up, the real cost is as high per capita as Urban systems – sometimes higher.
Why are there energy costs? Those microbes work for free but only in certain temperature ranges and only with the correct levels of oxygen.
Why must there be inspection and maintenance costs? To insure there are no off-site impacts beyond that of a well managed, state of the art Alpha Community System.
On the general topic of infrastructure, Bruce Katz of Brookings gave a very good talk at the National Governors Conference Winter Meeting in late February. “Strengthening Our Infrastructure for a Sustainable Future.” Not a thing he said was not on target. It was what Bruce he did NOT say – he never mentioned human settlement patterns and it is not possible to have functional infrastructure and dysfunctional settlement patterns.
EMR
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