Water scarcity is an issue in warm and dry areas. An emerging technology that is being discussed more frequently is agriculture water reuse. Agricultural reuse refers to re-using water that was already used for a different purpose in a new agricultural end use. Typical sources of water used in water recycling include municipal wastewater, processing plants for agricultural products, and runoff from fields after irrigation. The used water must be treated to meet a set of established water quality standards before it can be reused in agriculture.
Agricultural reuse has many benefits compared to standard irrigation practices. It encourages resilience in agricultural ecosystems since it provides a constant and reliable supply of freshwater that is independent of environmental factors like climate. Especially in drier areas, it reduces the need to import water from other places. Recycled water, which must be treated to meet the established standards before its end use, is also usually of higher quality than surface water used for irrigation. Agricultural reuse encourages the circular use of water in a closed loop, which reduces the need to continuously introduce water into the system.
In Alberta, the Public Health Guidelines for Water Reuse and Stormwater Use governs treatment requirements for agricultural reuse. The University of Calgary’s Advancing Canadian Water Assets (ACWA) partnered with Village Brewery and Xylem to create Alberta’s first beer made with treated wastewater. Important consultations with Alberta Health Services (AHS) helped ACWA treat the water to the required level, and AHS was able to develop a water safety plan that can be adapted for other water reuse applications as well [1].
Figure 1 legend:
| Acronym | Meaning | Acronym | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GWR | Groundwater recharge | IND | Industrial reuse | |
| IRR | Irrigation | URB / DOM | Urban & domestic reuse | |
| POT | Potable reuse | ENV | Environmental enhancement | |
| Yellow highlight = indirect reuse, Red highlight = direct reuse | ||||
This phase of the project has been made possible by Nutrien, Enbridge, and Manulife Financial, along with the Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
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Ross has extensive executive experience in Operations, Governance, Information Technology and Strategy at the board and senior management level including Mancal Corporation, Mancal Energy, Highridge Exploration and Atlantis Resources. He has worked in Oil and Gas, Coal, Commercial Real Estate, Portfolio Management, Recreation, Retail and Water and Wastewater Treatment. His experience is also geographically diverse having overseen operations in Canada, the United States, United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Additionally, he has been on the board of companies with operations in Argentina, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Kazakhstan, and Russia. He has served on numerous Public, Private and Not for Profit Boards across a number of industries.
Ross has been active on several industry Boards and committees including the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) and The Schulich School of Engineering Industry Advisory Council at the Schulich School of Engineering.
Brian is a seasoned Cleantech entrepreneur with a proven history of successfully bringing complex water technologies to the market. With over 25 years of experience, he has led various organizations to achieve significant milestones in the industry.
Having started as the founding CEO of the Pressure Pipe Inspection Company (PPIC) and later taking the helm at the Water Technology Acceleration Project (WaterTAP), Brian’s entrepreneurial spirit has been instrumental in driving innovation and growth within the sector.
He is an active investor in the cleantech sector and has served on many boards including the Ontario Clean Water Agency.
Actively engaged in industry associations like AWWA, WEF, IWA, and ASCE, Brian enjoys collaborating with fellow professionals to promote advancements in the field.
Brian holds an undergraduate degree and a PhD in Physics from Queen’s University, which has provided him with a solid technical foundation. As a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors, he brings valuable insights to corporate governance.