Development of Novel Building Water Reuse Schemes for Efficient Army Operation
Advisor: Professor Jeremy Guest (Civil and Environmental Engineering)
Abstract
The overarching goal of this dissertation was to adapt and advance water reuse capabilities in military settings through sustainable design tools and implementation strategies that address context-specific objectives and constraints of water infrastructure. Limited water access and supplies are negatively impacting the military operation through soldier’s lethality, mission execution, and increase in resupply requirements. These impacts are subsequently hindering the ability for efficient military operation and critical mission sustainment. Current Army practices on water conservation technologies are primarily based on the measure of cost effectiveness, which often select for low cost alternatives that may leave installations more vulnerable to environmental risks and disasters. These problems underscore a need to re-envision decentralized wastewaters as an alternative resource for mission security and resiliency.
This research addressed a critical barrier to technological advancement and the adoption and financially viable implementation of water reuse in U.S. Army fixed installations and contingency operating bases: a lack of inclusion of unmonetizable benefits in water infrastructure decision-making which has led to a reliance on conventional, energy intensive water reuse schemes. Low water prices within Army installations have typically led to reported negative net savings of emerging water conservation technologies due to the relatively high capital cost of decentralized water reuse systems. However, the reported negative net savings could be reversed by understanding the water price variations across Army installations. To this end, a quantitative analysis of 63 Army installations was conducted utilizing a regression tree analysis method to elucidate statistically significant factors to water unit price. Through water price variations and influencing factors within Army installations, decentralized water reuse technologies can be an economically favorable option for water sustainment. To this end, a life cycle cost analysis was conducted to elucidate the cost effectiveness of decentralized wastewater treatment system at mission critical buildings. Finally, existing water reuse systems will not be able to function at all installations. While water infrastructures are exposed to ambient environments in many remote and underserved communities, cold climates present a particular challenge for small-scale wastewater treatment systems due to the potential for slower treatment kinetics. To this end, Thermal Swing Intermittently-Operated Biological Activated Carbon filtration experiments were conducted to elucidate its potential to improve treatment performance in cold regions with minimal energy input.
Altogether, this dissertation elucidates a pathway to facilitate the integration of novel decentralized wastewater treatment and reuse schemes for efficient Army operation. After introducing specific studies in the context of Army installations, we conclude with a discussion of the broader implications of this work and its applicability to the broader field of water engineering.
