Integrated Water Management
Water supply, wastewater and stormwater systems must be considered, designed and planned holistically in order to protect and sustain water resources. The first step in an Integrated Water Management Plan is to reduce demands. Water conservation should include conventional measures such as low-flush toilets and low-flow showerheads, but can be enhanced with alternative landscaping (such as xeroscaping) to reduce water supply demands.
Wastewater pollutants (including traditional parameters such as nitrogen and bacteria and less traditional components such as viruses and pharmaceuticals) must be properly treated, discharged and to the extent practicable, re-used in a manner that drinking water supplies and ecosystems are protected. Stormwater can be managed to prevent water quality degradation and can be collected, treated and recharged to the groundwater to offset consumptive water supply losses. Roof runoff can be collected in rain barrels or cisterns and re-used for irrigation.
HW provides a full range of watershed planning and site design services that incorporate Integrated Water Management concepts. This has included a restoration/management plan for the