ASU, Intel and engineering company CH2M Hill collaborated to create a website to match corporations and organizations with recycled water sources.
WaterMatch, which was launched in October 201l, uses an interactive map with water drops to display locations of water sources and shows the distance between the water user and the water generators.
Jan Dell, vice president of the Energy, Water and Facilities Division at CH2M Hill, calls WaterMatch a “fresh water meeting place.”
“There is no global map if you are thinking of reusing water,” Dell said. “(WaterMatch) maps a water resource that people still overlook.”
The website has a global map and a search bar tool to allow easier connections with city water outflows, called municipal effluents, in areas closest to the companies’ locations.
“Right now we have 22,000 water drops and we are truly global,” Dell said.
John Sabo, director of research development at ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability, calls WaterMatch a “Match.com” because it connects effluent sources to companies using large amounts of water.
“Ultimately the goal is to do this on a global scale where there isn’t a lot of information on the effluent market,” Sabo said.
WaterMatch is not only positive for the environment, but it is also a positive economic choice, Dell said.
When the water gets reused, the city earns money from selling it and companies have a reliable and consistent source of water, she said.
“We call it a win-win-win,” Dell said.
CH2M Hill collaborated with ASU and the University of California, San Diego to pilot a program to involve universities and adopt zones of engagement around each campus.
The program plans to expand to more universities.
Conservation biology and ecology sophomore Marena Sampson said ASU involvement is important for both students and the project.
“It just puts ASU further on the forefront in science and sustainability,” Sampson said. “This is definitely something I’m interested in participating in, because conservation is in my alley.”
Dell said with the growth of the project, the original goals have also grown.
“The goals have broadened because there isn’t a global understanding on how reuse works,” Dell said. “We want to widen acceptance that we should reuse (water) and not discharge it.”
The goal is to get all of the possible locations of these reusable water sources onto the website in the form of water drops within the next two years, Dell added.
Reach the reporter at bmawso2@asu.edu or on Twitter @brookeml
