The idea of sewage as a resource

A notable difference from the previous plan is the emphasis on sustainability and resource recov- Aside from the broader structures in which Metro ery, expressed in the vision of the new plan: is embedded, we identified three internal frame- works that appear to have guided the develop- The long-term vision for liquid waste management in ment of the liquid waste management plan in Metro Vancouver [...] After a brief introduction to wastewater treatment in general and in the Metro Vancouver region, in- We began this research looking at our own com- cluding the structural organization of Metro and munity, Metro Vancouver,2 and explored the proc- Metro’s wastewater treatment infrastructure, we ess that led to the formulation and submission of begin by examining the 2009 update to the LWMP. [...] The Rawn Report resulted 11 The Idea of Sewage as a Resource - March 2012 - M. Morales and G. Öberg in the dissolution of the Vancouver and Districts with sewage management, engaged consultants Joint Sewerage and Drainage Board and, in 1956, the to aid in the project design, construction, training formation of the Greater Vancouver Sewerage and and management. [...] Metro Vancouver (formally Greater Vancouver Re- gional District, or GVRD) is one of 29 regional dis- By the 1970s the Vancouver region had already ex- tricts in lower mainland British Columbia, in the ceeded the capacity laid out in the Rawn Report, and south-eastern corner of Canada, bordering the upgrades to the area’s liquid waste management had USA in the south and the Pacific Ocean in the wes [...] This is the first urban treaty in the history of BC, the street pipes are owned by the municipalities and and the first modern land claim treaty negotiated the pipes that connect buildings to the street pipes under the BCTC process.