Food and Water Security in the Lake Winnipeg Basin - Manitoba ... [PDF]

Food and Water Security in  the Lake Winnipeg Basin    TRANSITION TO THE FUTURE   Dr. Diane MALLEY Dr. Paul WATTS

D. F. Malley, A. E. Ulrich   and P.D. Watts   

Report to the Lake Winnipeg  Foundation and the   Thomas Sill Foundation   

January 2009 Rev. April 2009  © d

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Copyright © D.F. Malley, A.E. Ulrich and P. D. Watts 2009 Order of authorship is alphabetical

Forward The events that led to this project were fortuitous and uncommon. During a tour in Churchill, Manitoba in the summer of 2004, Andrea Ulrich, visiting from Germany, met Dr. Paul Watts. They agreed to maintain email contact based on their shared interests in both First Nations of Canada and the conservation of water resources. In 2007, Ms. Ulrich, then a M.Sc. student in Sustainable Resource Management at the Technical University of Munich approached Dr. Watts about the possibility of doing an internship in Canada during the following year. Not a stranger to Canada, Ms. Ulrich had earlier spent a year studying in Quebec City, followed by a twomonth tour of the country from coast to coast. In 2007, she had completed a M.A. thesis in American Cultural History, Geography and Law at the University of Munich. Her thesis was entitled, “Canada – Living with Abundant Water? Paradigm Change in Water Resource Understanding and its Impact on Modern Canadian Political History”. In 2007, Dr. Watts was stationed with Volunteer Services Overseas in the Philippines and would be engaged there in applied research during a large part of 2008. To facilitate Ms. Ulrich's request, he contacted Dr. Diane Malley to possibly co-supervise the internship. Drs. Malley and Watts had previously worked together on a range of projects/programs including initiatives of the Manitoba Environmental Council, Canada’s response to the 1987 Brundtland Commission, and inclusion of indigenous peoples perspectives in conservation efforts. Facilitation of both water and food security for coastal indigenous people in the Philippines was a primary focus of Dr. Watts at that time. Dr. Malley with a life-long interest in researching and promoting the health of aquatic ecosystems had just become aware of the emerging issue known as “peak P”, the decline in global easily-available reserves of rock phosphate, the source for production of phosphate fertilizers. Lake Winnipeg was receiving considerable attention for the over-supply of P into its waters leading to a highly eutrophic state and Dr. Malley had then recently been involved as the technical writer for the reports of the Lake Winnipeg Implementation Committee. Conversations through the internet led to agreement on the perspective that international comparisons and cross-cultural approaches could be fruitful approaches to sustainability in Manitoba and more broadly in a global sense. The theme for this current project began to emerge as Food and Water Security in the Lake Winnipeg Basin, including the outflow from the lake to the ocean in Hudson Bay. The under-representation of First Nations (and other indigenous people globally) in mainstream sustainability discussions, combined with the investigators’ interest in indigenous experience and knowledge on these issues, evolved as a central theme in the project. More generally, the team began to focus on the idea of conservation and recycling as societal processes, not just changes in policy. Further, it was realized that the long-standing tension between nutrient management in agriculture and protection of water quality was being recast. With the emergence of peak P, the interests of agriculture and water management were aligning. The common goal is to keep anthropogenic phosphorus on the land for crops and out of aquatic ecosystems. Although easy to say, the changes required for effective management of phosphorus

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in scientific knowledge, in attitudes, practices, policies, regulations, and organizational structures are far-reaching and of a global scope. They require the holistic perspectives held traditionally by indigenous peoples for millennia, complemented by change management through action research, communication and coordination.

Preface By chance, the timing of the release of this report coincides with several dramatic changes in global perspectives. One is generated by the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. Although the 1960s are long past, we now have in this significant world leader, a person who truly understands what that time was about, and as, importantly, the capacity of nations and peoples for positive change with time. In this atmosphere of new hope, each and every one of us has a reason to believe that we will see a better future. History is on the side of the people as a new era of personal leadership evolves from what we have experienced, what we can see, and what we can measure. It is a time in which we are all going to be challenged to respond to our ideals in ways that supercede our personal needs alone. The recent recession brings additional but different sources of change, particularly in our views and practices of desirable and functional economic systems. It may be that top-down, centrallymanaged governance as well as the globalization, free-enterprise model are both seen to have significant weaknesses. It may be time to consider economic models based firmly in the sustainable capacity of global and regional life support systems and non-renewable resources to support human and other life on earth into the indefinite future. The work on Lake Winnipeg is well underway through a number of initiatives, programs, policies, and activities. These include but are not limited to Manitoba Conservation’s Manitoba’s Nutrient Management Strategy for Surface Waters in Southern Manitoba announced in 2000 and Manitoba Water Stewardship’s Lake Winnipeg Action Plan established in 2003. The Lake Winnipeg Action Plan created the Lake Winnipeg Stewardship Board. The federal government established the Lake Winnipeg Federal/Provincial Implementation Committee in 2005. This initiative, assisted by the Red River Basin Commission, proposed the establishment of a stakeholder-based Healthy Lake Winnipeg Charter. The Lake Winnipeg Research Consortium Inc. was founded in 1998 to coordinate scientific research on Lake Winnipeg. Membership includes agencies representing various government and university departments, municipalities, First Nations, corporate and other groups. The shared responsibility for the Lake Winnipeg basin requires joint action on many levels. Nevertheless, this report calls upon the people of Manitoba to show particular leadership in protecting this sacred value, the beauty of our world, and the life and livelihoods of our future generations.

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Executive Summary Based upon a review of the science, analysis of the Basin, input from many agencies and individuals, we recommend that: 1) Steps be taken immediately by municipalities, householders, and the agricultural sector to promote the stewardship and recycling of phosphorus by: a. reducing food waste, with its associated water and energy consumption, methane production and phosphorus loss, by handling only the amount of food that can be expected to be consumed healthfully and donating excess food. b. composting all inedible portions of food and food waste through municipal pick-up and composting programs or residential composting; returning the compost to the food production system c. avoiding landfilling food and other organic wastes by directing them to private or municipal composting and recycling programs d. ensuring that municipal wastewater is treated to the tertiary level and phosphorus is recovered and recycled to agricultural land e. ensuring that the nutrients in manures produced by livestock production are recycled to agricultural land in an agronomically-sound manner, whether the manure is applied raw, as compost, or is treated. f. continuing to improve knowledge of the dynamics of phosphorus in soil and on landscapes, including how to optimize the availability of phosphorus to plants through the mycorrhizal symbiotic associations. 2) An integrated watershed management process be initiated and co-organized by the Province of Manitoba to include all aspects of Lake Winnipeg-related water security, phosphorus cycling, indigenous perspectives and governance. 3) As part of the aforementioned process, the province develop a comprehensive watershed communication plan to establish regular communication between all stakeholders and representative commissions, boards and agencies. 4) That a meeting or conference be organized to integrate Manitoba perspectives and First Nations traditional knowledge and wisdom in the development of a Healthy Lake Winnipeg basin vision. One goal of the Conference be to develop a comprehensive answer to the question: What Can I do to make a Difference? for the use of every Manitoban. 5) That the province initiate a process to fund and attract funding for a research program to significantly advance the monitoring of phosphorus flows in and between commodities, wastes, land, and water. 6) That the province initiate with all governance partners; cities, municipalities and First Nations and Metis a comprehensive review of policies on phosphorus use with the goal of designing new multi-jurisdictional mandates for sustainability. 7) That non-governmental groups, such as the Lake Winnipeg Foundation, cooperate with the Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth to enhance science and social science curricula with a goal of identifying roles for students, families and other individuals in a sustainable approach to phosphorus in the Lake Winnipeg Basin and mitigation of the food security issues connected to Peak P.

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Acknowledgements The authors gratefully acknowledge $3000 in grant support provided by the Thomas Sill Foundation and $3000 awarded by the Lake Winnipeg Foundation for the operation of the project from September to November 2008. An additional grant of $3000 from the Lake Winnipeg Foundation will support a second phase of study by Ms. Ulrich planned in Manitoba for May 2009, and initial organization of a Lake Winnipeg Watersheds Conference in Manitoba in 2010. Administrative support for this project was provided by the International Institute for Sustainable Development, Winnipeg. A travel scholarship was awarded to Ms. Ulrich for international travel by a German-Canadian association. We gratefully acknowledge the support of Dr. Norm Halden and Dr. Thomas Henley of the University of Manitoba’s Natural Resource Institute for providing Ms. Ulrich with work space and an opportunity to participate in Sustainable Development seminars. The time contributed to this project by Ms. Ulrich, Dr. Watts and Dr. Malley has been on a volunteer basis. The project would not have been possible without the co-operation of the following people who generously shared their time, knowledge, and perspectives with us: Joe Ackerman, Dr. Wole Akinremi, Ben Amyotte, Stephan Barg, Al Beck, Dr. Katherine Buckley, Mark Burch, Rob Butler, Dr. Nazim Cicek, John Fitzmaurice, Dr. Don Flaten, Charles Fritz, Janine Gibson, Michelle Harland, Sacha Kopelow, Glen Koroluk, Ken LeForte, Anne Lindsey, Nicole Lunsted, Terry McDonald, Dr. Terence McGonigle, Dalbert McKey, Alfred Moar, Larry Moar, Ophelia Morris, Amanda Morriseau, Brian Parker, Arnold Permut, Dr. Eva Pip, Sophia Bittern Rabliauskas, Alex Salki, Todd Sellers, Peter Skobel, Muriel Smith, Barb St. Goddard, Nicholas Szoke, Fred Tate, Dr. Mario Tenuta, Mitchell Timmerman, Vivek Voora, Akira Watanabe, Gaile Whelan Enns, and Ian Wishart. An on-line, searchable data base including materials from this study and other Lake Winnipeg and Climate Change resources is being developed by Whelan Enns Associates Inc. Finally, this project would not have been possible to complete within the available time without the vast information resources available on the internet, including web sites of public and private organizations and those providing access to the scientific literature.

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Table of Contents Forward…………………………………………………………………………………….. 2 Preface………………………………………………………………………………………3 Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………….. 4 Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………… 5 1. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………. 8 2. Perspectives on Phosphorus and Water within Selected Countries and the Lake Winnipeg Basin…………………………………..….. …….. 11 2.1. Europe……………………………………………………….……….... …….. 12 2.2. Australia…………………………………………………………… …………. 13 2.3. Canada…………………………………………………………………………. 13 2.4. Summary of website reviews, interviews and surveys within the Lake Winnipeg Basin………………….…. …….. 14 2.5. Phosphorus and Water: International and Indigenous Considerations…………………………………….. ……... 17 3. The Science and Challenges of the Phosphorus Cycle…………………………. …… 21 3.1 Addressing Peak Phosphorus………………………………….……. . ……. 23 3.1.1 The Modern Landfill: Where Food, Water, Energy and Climate Change Meet………………………..……….. 23 3.2 Water……………………………………………………….…… ……........... 24 3.3 Energy………………………………………………………… ……………... 25 3.4 Climate Change……………………………………………… ……..……….. 26 3.5. Alternatives to Food Waste……………………………… ……… …..…….. 28 3.6. Composting……………………………………………………………........... 29 3.7 Wastewater…………………………………………………………………….. 30 3.7.1 Municipal Wastewater Treatment……………………….…… …….. 30 3.7.2. City of Winnipeg………………………………………...………….. 31 3.7.3 Recycling Phosphorus Recovered from Wastewater Treatment………………………..… ..………. 32 3.7.4 Wastewater Innovations in Green Buildings…………….…... …….. 34 3.8 The Unsavoury Truth………………………………………………...... …….. 35 3.9 Agricultural Organic Wastes…………………………………………………. 36 3.10 Soil…………………………………………………….……………...………. 37 3.10.1 Improved Understanding of P Dynamics in Soil and the Identification of Best Practices…….……….. 37 4. Building Capacity for Change…………………………………………………............. 40 4.1 Institutional Capacity Building………………………………………............. 40 4.2 International Capacity Building……………………………………………….. 41 4.3 General Capacity Building………………………………………… ……….. 41 4.4 Stakeholder Cooperation………………………………..……………………. 42 4.5 Public Participation…………………………………………………..……….. 42 4.6 Conflict Management…………………………………..…………….……….. 43 5. Conclusions and Recommendations………………………………….………………. 44

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Appendices…………………………………………………………………………………. 47 I. A Story of Phosphorus………………………………………………………….. 47 I.1. The Eutrophication Era: Too Much of a Good Thing………… …….. 47 I.2. Dead Zones in the Oceans……………………………………………. 49 I.3. So, Why is phosphorus so important?...................................... …….. 51 I.4. The Biogeochemical Cycle of Phosphorus…………………...……… 53 II. Agriculture and Phosphorus…………………………………………...……… 54 II.1. A Brief History of Agriculture………………………………………. 54 II.2. The Use of Manufactured Fertilizers in Modern Agriculture: A Nanosecond of Geological Time… .......... 55 II.3. The Peak Phosphorus Era: Growing Scarcity of an Essential Resource……………………………..………….. 58 III. List of Organizations in Study…………………………………… .….......... 61 IV. Agency Survey………………………………………………… …...………. 62 V. First Nations (Canada) and Indigenous Peoples (Philippines) Water Security Survey……………………… ……………. 63 Of all of the unsustainable activities that human societies practice on earth, the rapid consumption of irreplaceable rock phosphate reserves, resulting in pollution of freshwater and marine coastal ecosystems is one of the most risky and irreversible within practical time scales.

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1. INTRODUCTION We face the future with a new sense of hope. At this point in human history, people have reached an unprecedented level of concern about our relationship with the environment. We all ask the question, What can I do? If we do not take action as individuals and as communities, the very future of the human race may be in doubt. We, the authors, have chosen to focus on everyone’s food and water supplies and how positive change in our relationship with Mother Earth can occur right here around the Great Lake Winnipeg and the Peak Phosphorus (Peak P) issue. There is a tendency to compartmentalize and approach problems and challenges as free-standing issues, disregarding the holistic, cyclical nature of life on the planet. Our well-being may be increasingly defined by our (dis)functional relationship with food and water security. We tend to focus on these forms of security at the level of individuals, families, and perhaps cultures. Yet the needs and actions of people influence activities that are increasingly global in scope. Long before the agricultural and industrial revolutions, indigenous peoples engaged nature, struggled, and learned sustainability. A recognition evolved over time that the earth and its resources are sacred, held in stewardship only briefly by each generation in succession. These indigenous perspectives are still with us today and there is an urgent need to look more closely at this level of valuation, to reconsider the very nature of life on the planet. Market-driven economies have led us to a global condition that promotes destructive exploitation of resources and the ecological systems that support life. As one example, phosphorus has been industrially mined to produce fertilizers to the point that the supply from the most easily-mineable global reserves has peaked in the sense of “peak oil”. Amidst dramatic increases in fertilizer costs, water is increasingly sold in bottles as some watersheds become clogged by phosphorus-induced algal blooms and pollution, chocking off fish life, fisherfolk livelihoods, and making the very fluid of life undrinkable. The sale of water and phosphorus as mere commodities without consideration of their sustainable future is an abandonment of the sacred trust we hold for current and future generations. It is not enough to identify and address specific problems, we have reached a time when we need to change the relationship of our economic, financial, and commercial systems with the environment. We need action. We need to evolve a new relationship with the environment, not just around Lake Winnipeg, but with the global systems that support life on the planet. We have a heritage of indigenous people, we have schools and agencies, we have democratic governments. It is up to each and every one of us to contribute to a positive future. Below we summarize the results of our two-month study, meeting with Manitoba agencies and people that operate and live in the Lake Winnipeg Basin. An initial focus of this study was to review existing websites regarding the awareness of the linkage between food and water security. This was followed by more than 30 face-to-face interviews with agency and non-profit group representatives, First Nations, academics, and individuals. In some cases, surveys were conducted. Several appendices provide accounts of the history and science of the topics of peak phosphorus and water security. The interviews and surveys were intended to both disseminate information, as appropriate, while gathering information on policies, perspectives, best practices, and new technologies and innovations.

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The current report focuses on specific areas for action. Ms. Ulrich will use her part of the report as a contribution to a Masters Thesis at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. She will further consider the process of positive change involving food and water security and the perspectives of First Nations. Indeed, these are only little steps, but our hope is that we can stimulate a positive Lake Winnipeg tipping point, through each reader considering his or her own little steps. Perhaps together we can increasingly care better for the planet of our children and their children, for at least seven generations to come1. Lake Winnipeg provides one of the most visual and striking global images of extreme eutrophication (Fig. 1-3). As the world’s tenth largest freshwater lake, it is the most eutrophic large lake in the world.

Fig. 2. Build-up of blue-green algal mats on a recreational beach on Lake Winnipeg Fig. 1. Satellite view of Lake Winnipeg in August 1999 showing the large expanse of blue-green algae (green area) in the North Basin of Lake Winnipeg

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Clarkson, L., V. Morrissette, and G. Regallet. 1992. Our Responsibility to the Seventh Generation. International Institute for Sustainable Development. 92 pp. http://www.iisd.org/7thgen/default.htm

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Fig. 3. Floating algal mats on open water in the North Basin of Lake Winnipeg

The lake receives water from the Lake Winnipeg sub-basin (Fig. 4), the second largest watershed in North America, receiving flows from four U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. It stretches from near the Rockies in the west to a few kilometers from the eastern Great Lakes in the east. The sub-basin is nearly 40 times greater in area than Lake Winnipeg, the largest ratio for any large lake in the world2. The Lake Winnipeg sub-basin is home to 6 million people, 17 million livestock3 and includes 55 million ha of agricultural land4. Waters passing through Lake Winnipeg flow out as part of the Nelson River Drainage Basin, reaching the sea in Hudson Bay (Fig. 5).

Fig. 4. The Lake Winnipeg sub-basin (in red) is the receiving area of Lake Winnipeg.

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In comparison, the watershed of Lake Erie is only 3 times the lake surface area. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2004. Great Lakes Fact Sheet. http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/factsheet.html 3 Salki, A. 2002. Climate Change and Lake Winnipeg. Climate Change Connection. 9 p. http://www.climatechangeconnection.org/pages/lake_winnipeg.html 4 Lake Winnipeg Stewardship Board. 2005. Our Collective Responsibility: Reducing Nutrient Loading to Lake Winnipeg. An interim report to the Minister of Manitoba Water Stewardship. January. 52 p. http://www.gov.mb.ca/waterstewardship/water_quality/lake_winnipeg/LWSB%20Interim%20Report%20January% 2005.pdf

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Fig. 5. The Nelson River Drainage Basin, greater than 1 million square kilometers in area and occupying portions of four provinces and four states It is well-established scientifically that eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems is essentially the result of larger-than-natural loadings of the plant nutrient, phosphorus (P) (See Appendix I). Although P is only one of a number of required nutrients, other essential elements, and environmental conditions that must be present for algal production to take place, it is usually the one most limiting in nature and the one most amenable to control by human activity. Lake Winnipeg has been subject to anthropogenic inputs of P over decades5. The effects of the loading of P from Lake Winnipeg on Hudson Bay and the people of the Arctic are largely unknown. It is known, nevertheless, that nutrient pollution has resulted in dead zones in coastal marine areas throughout the world (see Appendix I).

2. PERSPECTIVES ON PHOSPHORUS AND WATER WITHIN SELECTED COUNTRIES AND THE LAKE WINNIPEG BASIN Diminishing rock phosphate reserves are gradually being regarded by a broader pool of experts as a critical situation that needs attention. From May to September 2008, this project was focussed on research on web sites of various levels of government, and of public and private organizations in the Lake Winnipeg Basin. This was to assess the level of awareness of Peak Phosphorus (Peak P) and with it the recognition that scarcity of P may favourable implications for reducing eutrophication. Both agricultural and water quality interests align to diligently keep P on the land and out of water bodies. Based on the research on information posted on web sites, general awareness of peak P was higher in Europe and Australia than in Canada. Neverthleless, 5

Lake Winnipeg Implementation Committee. 2005. Restoring the Health of Lake Winnipeg: Canada’s Sixth Great Lake. 56 pp.

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in general, web-based communication and discussion of peak P increased during the later part of the fall and early December 2008.

2.1. Europe Awareness in Europe within the scientific community of peak P can be classified as moderate. Results indicated action efforts in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden. Already in 2003, Dr. Schnug of the Federal Research Center of Cultivated Plants in Braunschweig, Germany, declared an increasing global supply shortage and estimated reserves would last for another 40 to 100 years. In November 2008, P, its use, wastage and recovery from wastes took center stage during a two-day conference in Braunschweig at the Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries6. Important issues focused on by a wide range of speakers were global P supplies, increase in efficiency of phosphate rock processing, removal of heavy metals from rock phosphate, cross-social P-balance, increase in efficiency of fertilizer use, P recycling from waste water including its diverse user forms, and trends in fertilizer regulations. Interestingly, government officials announced interest with respect to the possibly diminishing P supplies and the ramifications for the German economy and agriculture. Presently, discussion on P recycling from sewage sludge deals mainly with the problem of the contamination of recovered P-containing materials with heavy metals, such as As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, TI, U and Zn, and with more than 300 organic pollutants and pathogens. The impacts of the contaminants on the environment from recycling P is difficult to predict. Monocombustion is, therefore, suggested as a method for sludge processing. It reduces or completely removes organic pollutants but also concentrates P and heavy metals through loss of mass. The product characteristics then more than meet most EU regulations for fertilizers. Quite often though, P in biosolid ash demonstrates less availability to plants than P in biosolids. The EU program SUSAN (Sustainable and Safe Re-use of Municipal Sewage Sludge for Nutrient Recovery)7 was established to seek a sustainable solution. The proposed method, thermochemical treatment of biosolids ash, could become a large-scale project in the future. Similarly, the Seaborne program deals with biosolids, but is currently financially not feasible for large-scale efforts. The SEPHOS8 and Mephrec methods present more possibilities for P recovery. According to PhD candidate Schick, one-third of the imported P into Germany could be substituted with biosolids. Therefore, biosolids present an interesting opportunity for meeting sustainability objectives. Bone meal presents another fertilizer alternative to ensure soil fertility. As for biosolids, here too, regulative and legislative barriers prevail. In Germany, for example, bone and meat meal were banned from animal feed due to the BSE crisis. Every year, 20,000 tonnes of P in bones remain unused. New research is currently undertaken with the European project PROTECTOR that 6

Braunschweiger Nährstofftage 2008: Phosphor conservation in agriculture (Ressourcen schonender Einsatz von Phosphor in der Landwirtschaft). November 10/11, 2008, vTI Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, federal research institute under the auspices of the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV). 7 SUSAN Sustainable and Safe Re-use of Municipal Sewage Sludge for Nutrient Recovery. http://www.eugris.info/DisplayProject.asp?P=4626&t=Sustainable%20and%20Safe%20Reuse%20of%20Municipal%20Sewage%20Sludge%20for%20Nutrient%20Recovery 8 SEPHOS-Verfahren, TU Darmstadt, Germany, Prof. Cornel, Dr. Christian Schaum

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combines bone meal with microorganisms. This is not a large-scale project yet, but positive results are being announced in Israel with tomato crops (Leinweber, 2008). A feasible route for P recovery is struvite, a precipitate of MAP (magnesium ammonium phosphate). Struvite is being recovered from sewage and could provide agriculture and industry with a significant proportion of their raw material needs from secondary sources. Although interest in struvite recovery has significantly increased over the last decade and research is being conducted worldwide, there exist only three relevant large-scale technical complexes that recover P from wastewater streams9. One of them is the Ostara-MAP-Crystallisation plant in Edmonton, Canada, currently the most promising and economically most feasible plant for marketing struvite. In Geestmerambacht, The Netherlands, phosphate recovery from the municipal wastewater treatment plant is accomplished in combination with biological phosphate concentration. During 2009, the International Water Association will hold a conference on this promising field of nutrient management in wastewater treatment processes in Krakau, Poland10.

2.2. Australia Leading research in regard to P is being undertaken at the University of Technology, Sydney (ISF - Institute for Sustainable Futures), together with the Department of Water and Environmental Studies at Linköping University in Sweden. The Global Phosphorus Research Initiative (GPRI), co-founded by former PhD candidate, Dana Cordell, works currently on the most comprehensive approach of gathering and communicating information on the impending global phosphorus crisis11. Apart from technical opportunities, such as urine diversion and reuse in Australia, global implications of P scarcity are explored. In addition to these academic endeavours in Australia, new strategies and methods are being developed in the corporate field. Perth-based Arafura Resources plans on starting production of Rare Earth in 2011. Phosphorus will be a by-product of this process. The current numbers suggest that production quantity will be very small. Nonetheless, it could make a worthwhile contribution to dwindling P reserves.

2.3. Canada As stated above, in the summer and fall 2008, this project in the Lake Winnipeg Basin (LWB) was undertaken to investigate and increase the level of awareness of peak P and related concerns. This project was stimulated in large part by the article on Peak P by Déry and Anderson (2007) originating in Canada12. In 2008, neither the preliminary web-based research (results available online www.foodandwaterscurity.net 13) that analysed data on more than 50 websites compiled from representative agencies and organizations, government, private, and non-profit, in the LWB that 9

CEEP Centre Europeen d’Etudes des Polyphosphates ; http://www.ceep-phosphates.org IWA Specialised Conference: Nutrient Management in Wastewater Treatment Processes by International Water Association, September 6-9, 2009, Krakow, Poland. www.bnr-iwa2009.pl 11 www.phosphorusfutures.net 12 Déry, P. and B. Anderson. 2007. Peak phosphorus. Energy Bulletin. 13 August. http://www.energybulletin.net/node/33164. 13 Peak P knowledge base for the Lake Winnipeg Basin, Canada and other selected countries 10 2nd

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focus on agriculture and/or aquatic ecosystems for their positions/policies/perspectives/advices/actions on phosphorus and protection of water bodies referred to Peak P. Nevertheless, during the subsequent action research interviews and discussions in Manitoba with 31 specialists, experts and representatives of various organizations and institutions in the basin, it was clear a small proportion of those consulted recognize that P reserves are limited. Several of those interviewed focus their activities and research towards P conservation and recycling. On the forefront are the City of Winnipeg Water and Waste Department, academics, and several governmental organizations. Due to the high importance that is attributed to closing the nutrient loop in wastewater, an international conference on nutrient recovery from wastewater streams will take place in Vancouver from May 10-13, 200914.

2.4. Summary of website reviews, interviews and surveys within the Lake Winnipeg Basin Data on more than 50 websites were compiled from representative agencies and organizations, government, private, and non-profits, in the LWB. Agencies were selected based upon their focus on agriculture/and or aquatic ecosystems. Information was collected regarding their positions, policies, perspectives, advice and actions on P and protection of water bodies. The website consultation was carried out in August 2008. For the survey of organizations and institutions, six major inquiry domains were used: 1. Interest in P in general 2. Primary focus on agriculture and/or aquatic ecosystem integrity 3. Acknowledgement of declining global supply of P fertilizer and implications for food security in the watershed 4. Changes/adaptations/practices/technologies discussed by the organization in response to P 5. Expected/desirable changes in government and industry policies and practices 6. Changes/adaptations/practices/technologies discussed in respect to watershed/waterway planning/monitoring/management/protection A database of the agencies interviewed is accessible online at www.foodandwatersecurity.net. Manitoban as well as LWB organizations and institutions that were searched are also listed in Appendix III. The information gained from the website consultation served as basis for meetings and further enquiries with focus groups. Face-to-face interviews and conversations were carried out with 31 specialists, experts and representatives of different organizations and institutions in the LWB in September and October 2008. These lasted from one to two hours, both informed the interviewee of the concern over peak P and allowed us to gain further information from them. Interviews were partly structured, with a specific focus on the main questions used in the web consultation. Most questions were open, and spontaneous answers expected. Sample questions: 14

International Conference on Nutrient Recovery from Wastewater Streams, 10-13 May 2009, Vancouver, BC. http://www.nutrientrecovery2009.com/

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1) Do you think the system and practices in place can sustain themselves, society’s needs and wants as well as the environment? 2) How satisfied are you with the status quo? 3) Where do you see need for action and why? What are costs and benefits? This method was chosen because: a) the interactive form of questioning allowed follow-up with different additional questions depending on the answers given b) the partly-structured approach with open and closed questions facilitated a differentiated, individual and subjective statement, yet provided at the same time responses that could be used for comparison and quantification. After the interview, a survey form was sent electronically to the interviewee to gain comparable information on the synergy between P pollution, agricultural and animal production, awareness and action. The 25 questions stated in the survey were asked to be rated on a scale from one to five. Out of 31 questionnaires sent to the interviewees, 21 were returned. The survey form can be found in Appendix IV. Considerable interest related to P was noted within the 37 different agencies and organizations websites consulted and interviews conducted from August through October 2008. These interests were largely manifested in the eutrophication of Lake Winnipeg and ranged from environmental concerns, concerns about food production and composting to human and ecosystem health, soil fertility, and sustainable livestock production. In addition, interest in P was strongly related to water pollution and prevention as well as a stronger involvement of First Nations and farmers in decision-making, planning, and management of natural resources. This wide range of interests in combination with numerous activities pursued underlines the important role that P plays in the basin. The research also suggests that the majority of those agencies with a focus on agriculture do include a focus on aquatic ecosystem integrity and vice-versa. Nonetheless, gaps prevail within certain organizations. In some cases, linkages were not specified or obvious at all and in numerous cases no linkages between agriculture and aquatic ecosystem integrity were identified. This was for various reasons, including structural constraints, human resource limitations, and working outside the field of competency. It is, nonetheless, advisable for the organizations and agencies to interlink these two areas and integrate the interface into their respective work. As is the case in many parts of the world, agricultural development in Manitoba has altered hydrological processes, sometimes resulting in severe degradation of aquatic ecosystems. Conversion of natural landscapes to agricultural land and intense farming practices have increased surface runoff causing considerable quantities of P to be washed into lakes, streams and wetlands, often with adverse effects for biodiversity and water quality. Combined with global declines in rock phosphate reserves, these effects will promote stronger interrelation between the management of agriculture, including livestock production, and of aquatic ecosystems with the aim of harmonizing the agricultural system and environmental sanitation

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through nutrient recovery for food production, lower expenditures for artificial fertilizers, and reduction of the nutrient load into the environment. Peak P, a promising driver for change, could become the new prism through which agriculture and aquatic ecosystem integrity will be viewed together. Website consultation, nevertheless, did not identify any official acknowledgement of diminishing P reserves. It is, therefore, no surprise that none of the organization websites pointed out the implications of reported declining supplies for food security in the basin. This could allow the conclusion that declining P reserves is a sleeper issue not yet considered significantly important for information transfer. On the contrary, a number of interviewees, particularly from the agricultural and waste water treatment sectors, were aware of declining P reserves and pointed out its implications for food production in the basin as well as the need to review the possible recovery of P from renewable sources like wastewater. Particularly stressed were concerns about the price of synthetic fertilizers responding to supply and demand forces. Declining global P supplies for fertilizer, therefore, presents a promising driver for change in food security perceptions and aquatic ecosystem protection, even though triggered mainly by price demands and not by ethical argumentation, namely that the most limiting life supporting, non-renewable element will become scarce in the foreseeable future. The website consultation and interviews identified a considerable variety of changes, adaptations, practices and technologies being discussed by the organizations in response to P. In agriculture, these include best management practices, reduction in fertilizer use and increased efficiency of use, manure composting, organic farming, P recycling from municipal wastewater treatment and its return to farmland, application of biosolids to land, soil sampling, improved nutrient management and monitoring, technical support for adaptation of best management practices (BMPs), including cost-shared adoptions. For protecting or restoring aquatic ecosystem integrity, the organizations’ activities pointed towards wetland conservation, nutrient monitoring, flood damage reduction, studies on nutrient loads and sources, sustainable development practices and public involvement. Nevertheless, challenges prevail. One of the largest challenges is the lack of sufficient scientific understanding of how water, nutrient, and crop management correlate with water quality and how these issues can be approached in a coherent and sound way. Little relevant information is available for the unique climatic conditions of the Lake Winnipeg basin, that is characterized by a relatively flat terrain, dry and cold environment with run-off occurring mainly during snow-melt over frozen soils. Particularly challenging are the naturally high nutrient reserves in soil and vegetation. In combination with relatively low volume run-off, dissolved nutrient concentrations, especially in surface water, are high. As a consequence, management practices, such as vegetated buffer strips or conservation tillage, designed to control P losses occurring under circumstances different than those present in the LWB may not work or may even intensify the problem. Since overall P loss compared to surface area is small, further P conservation in the watershed will be challenging. These constraints should, nevertheless, not be an excuse for lack of action. Instead, they should raise attention in this unique environment to trigger human ingenuity for targeted solutions. Expected or desirable changes in government and industry policies and practices revolve around control and reduction of P discharge, pollution prevention regulations, flood protection, stronger interprovincial and international cooperation, development of a water quality sustainability plan,

16

and stronger support for organic farming. The Manitoba Government, for instance, has already taken a strong position on the issue of water quality. Legislation and regulations specify allowable loadings of P in hog manure to agricultural land15. In certain regions of the province, it has imposed a ban on the expansion of the hog industry. In the hog industry, education, training and certification/licensing of operations have been adopted. Interview partners pointed out the need to form a permanent coalition that brings together many interest groups around P issues. This clearly implies greater public participation in official policy making. Certainly, considerable effort has been undertaken to address various recommendations for the LWB, but this has either not be achieved or gradual adaption of conservation practices has not yet lead to significant results as is, for instance, the case in adapting conservation practices. This seems to suggest that the mechanisms used to achieve the recommendations or desired results might not be suited for the task or the time and hence may need to be reshaped. We conclude that there is a significant need to develop and implement a new comprehensive and integrated paradigm for agriculture-water linkages in the LWB. Interest groups in the LWB are diverse and multi-facetted. This dynamic mixture of engaged agencies and organizations leads to a broad discussion of activities that need to be undertaken in watershed management. For example, the City of Winnipeg considers changes and adaptations in its wastewater treatment practices and technologies. In the Red River basin, flood forecast and mapping initiatives are underway. Manitoba Water Stewardship focuses on water quality monitoring. Overall, various management approaches are being discussed, with individual foci on research, funding, and cooperation. In order to meet the challenges faced, discussion has to be much stronger linked, transparent, and stakeholders, especially, the government, more involved. Perhaps the best approach to this level of change is to engage the public directly and have them assist the government in forming suitable expressions of the democratic process. To summarize, the LWB faces unprecedented challenges, increased through climate change, and industrial and population growth. To meet these challenges, it is necessary to find individual landowner solutions, change attitudes and perceptions, and distribute sound information. This responsibility has to be undertaken by all stakeholders. Perhaps more importantly in terms of collective action, this form of grassroots awareness needs to lead to an acknowledgement by the political leaders for increased carefully-targeted action.

2.5 Phosphorus and Water: International and Indigenous Considerations One consequence of the current limited degree of management of the P cycle is the direct impact of uncontrolled runoff on water and related resources. The magnitude of the algae blooms in Lake Winnipeg is a testament to this challenge. Historical anecdotal evidence suggests that the lake may naturally receive substantial loading of P but the current blooms visible in satellite images is well beyond natural levels. Within the global environment, P, and increasingly water, are considered as commodities that can be bought and sold based upon market value. Nevertheless, both are governed by planetary cycles that will not fit into the market value system. The expected outcome is that both will 15

Government of Manitoba. The Environment Act. Livestock Manure and Mortalities Management Regulation. 61 p. http://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/regs/pdf/e125-042.98.pdf

17

become priced beyond the reach of the general populace perhaps resulting in some forms of societal stress that are generally unpredictable. Water, the essence of life itself is not presently everywhere being utilized in a sustainable manner. UNESCO has led the drive for a more holistic and primary approach to the value of water based upon Indigenous Peoples (IP) perspectives16. Nevertheless, there are challenges associated with the involvement of IP in water security, as outlined in the indigenous water website17. In general, IP cultural and spiritual considerations for water are not widely understood, and perhaps more importantly not integrated with water cycle management or related planning. Customary IP access and rights to water and related resources are seldom recognized by authorities when considering aspects of pollution that are considered as possible economic tradeoffs associated with agriculture and other forms of development. This work is not meant as a global review or answer to these challenges, but rather a grassroots approach to the challenges in the Lake Winnipeg Basin (LWB) and an opportunity to link isolated IP communities in one less-developed country, the Philippines, with First Nations (FNs) in the LWB. A survey (Appendix V) was designed and employed to gather information on indigenous insights about water security priorities for the benefit of our positive common future and to make international comparisons. PHILIPPINES – Aurora Province Initially, we surveyed two indigenous communities in the Philippines, a coastal Dumagat village and an inland Ilongot settlement. The survey was designed to identify water security considerations within the communities by asking the representatives to rank their priorities. The Dumagat settlement of Dibut is located in an area at the foot of the Sierra Madres Mountains where artesian wells are common and where there is a focus on harvesting of both freshwater and marine resources. Access to Dibut is limited to ocean travel. In addition, the community has an established agricultural area, primarily for growing rice. The Ilongot community of Bayanihan is inland from the coast with significantly fewer food resources coming from the aquatic environment. There is road access directly to Bayanihan. Currently, the Dumagat community appears to be more strongly dominated by Christianity than the Ilongot settlement. The water priorities identified by a group of representatives for each of the two Philippine communities are listed below in order of priority. Community: BAYANIHAN 1. Clean disease-free water for drinking and preparing food 2. Policy and regulations that could be undertaken by governments to protect or enhance water security within the community (over-harvesting outside the community, water supply management upstream, water quality management upstream 3. Water for bathing, washing and cleaning 4. Water for growing crops 16

UNESCO. 2006. Water and Indigenous Peoples, 2006. http://www.unesco.org/water/wwd2006/ Center for Respect of Life and the Environment (CRLE). Indigenous Water Initiative: Protecting Water Ecosystems. http://www.indigenouswater.org/

17

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5. Water to obtain fish and other foods 6. Water for spiritual, cultural or traditional uses Community: DIBUT 1. Water to obtain fish and other foods 2. Water for transportation 3. Clean disease free water for drinking and preparing food 4. Water for growing crops 5. Economic and technological developments that could take place within and with the participation of the community (such as water purification plants, sewage treatment plants) 6. Opportunities for development (tourism for example) The priorities within water security values or issues are somewhat different for the two communities, in part, perhaps, as a direct result of their locations. Nevertheless, both considered water security, in general, to be their highest priority when compared to other aspects of community life and development.

CANADA - Lake Winnipeg Basin The same survey was presented to eleven individual FN elders within the LWB. Individuals willing to be interviewed were identified through discussions and assistance from Mr. Larry Moar, an elder of Crane River FN. One difference in the recorded perspectives of Manitoban individuals compared to those of the interviewees in the two Philippine communities is that there was a general reluctance to rank priorities, but rather to focus on a number of important issues. The following are some of the topics that were considered important by the Manitoba elders, in no particular order. • • • • • • • • • •

Clean disease-free water for drinking and preparing food Water for bathing, washing and cleaning Safe removal of or treatment of used water and sewage Water for commercial processing of food Water for spiritual, cultural or traditional uses Water to obtain fish and other foods Economic or technological developments outside the community that have reduced water supply (pollution, river diversions, water impoundments, over-harvesting) Economic and technological developments that could take place within and with the participation of the community (such as water purification plants, sewage treatment plants) Changes attributed to climate change (increased variability of weather events) Projected changes attributed to climate change (regional water flows and precipitation, increased mean temperature, variability in temperature)

19

This initial activity was focused on determining how a discussion regarding water security might be initiated and allowed to evolve in a manner that is culturally relevant. This approach to the process of positive change is in part dependent upon having a good entry into the community(ies), as was provided by Mr. Moar. There is a challenge associated with setting priorities in ensuring that attempting to solve one problem is not at the detriment of overall water security development. Significantly, there was a widely ranging focus on the spiritual aspects of water with one of those interviewed focusing exclusively on this perspective, one not considering it at all, and the remainder generally identifying it as a priority. Perhaps, the preliminary defining step in a FN consideration of water security in the LWB would be to develop a form of indigenous water vision for the region. This has generally been considered a goal from an international IP perspective18, but it needs to grow outwards from each community. A grassroots approach such as this would help to capture the perspectives from the basic bargaining units of the communities up to the LWB as a region. Initially, such an endeavour could focus on the Manitoba FNs. Due to the primary effects of communities in proximity to Lake Winnipeg itself, a FN vision could then provide a type of sounding board for the discussions of change such as with respect to the management of the P cycle in Manitoba. At this point, the further consideration of roles, mandates and change associated with agencies identified elsewhere in this report could perhaps be brought into a more holistic consideration of the linkages between P and the other essential for all life, water. Significantly, there was a related focus on sewage treatment as a significant water security issue in the LWB that did not emerge in the Philippine surveys. The less-developed status of the Philippines may provide significant pressure to IP in the identification of priorities within a government budgetary process that covers significantly less of the peoples’ needs than in Canada. In addition, the FN of Canada are generally more advanced politically than the IP of the Philippines where individual communities have significantly less input on all forms of government spending. Different political structures and levels of development may also indirectly lead to potential international water security solutions. Questions emerge from even the most basic of comparisons19: • • • •

Canada’s total per capita water consumption is estimated to be 4 times that of the Philippines Canada’s consumption is 5 times the per capita domestic consumption and 3 times the industrial consumption of Germany Comparing North America (Canada and the U.S.) to Europe (U.K. and Germany), North America has almost 5 times the per capita withdrawal, but 30 times the renewable water annually. Comparing developed countries (Canada, Germany and Australia, for example) to less developed countries (Philippines, Uruguay and Tanzania), developed countries withdraw 50% more for domestic use. They have over 10 times the rate of industrial withdrawal as less-developed countries (LDCs), while LDCs take an average of 86% of their withdrawals for agriculture.

18

Ibid. Pacific Institute. The World’s Water: Information on the World’s Freshwater Resources. http://www.worldwater.org/

19

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The low rate of water use in Germany, when compared to Canada indicates that lessons are be learned by further, more in-depth exchange programs. Clearly, there are other significant questions and lessons that can be learned by drawing expertise from other countries and situations. One significant question that needs to be asked concerns the ability of LDCs to develop and maintain food security given the current high use of water for agriculture and the high cost of water within industry. The direct use of rainfall as well as groundwater needs to be considered to augment the world water data. This can be followed by specific questions about water budget reduction and priorities. National perspectives perhaps can be stimulated by international comparisons, subsequently leading to community-based examinations of the future of water security, including problems associated with sewage runoff and the need for further management of the P cycle.

3. THE SCIENCE AND CHALLENGES OF THE PHOSPHORUS CYCLE The challenge of the P cycle for the Province of Manitoba is illustrated by looking at the Ackerman Scale20 (Fig. 6). Further, this challenge is global due to the fact that the world has now reached peak supply from easily-mineable rock phosphate reserves (See Appendix 1). The future of Great Lake Winnipeg is inextricably tied to the ability of Manitoba to take a significant leadership role in reducing excess loading of P to Lake Winnipeg and simultaneously enhancing P recycling to manage the reality of Peak P. As illustrated in Fig. 6, the concentration of P in prairie Lake Winnipeg is significantly higher on the scale than that of Precambrian Shield Lake Superior. Lake Winnipeg water is naturally higher in P than that in the Laurentian Great Lakes and is further augmented anthropogenic loading. A number of options for sustainability can be considered, including P retention in the Red River Basin; improved management of farm ponds, hog lagoons, municipal wastewater and sewage; reduction in food wastage; and precise application of fertilizer. We all, governments, agencies and individuals need to work more diligently to help answer the question for each other: “What can I do to make a difference?” We have governments, we have agencies and we have people, now we must create the will for a sustainable future. Below are some of the considerations and related science that need to be addressed by government, by nongovernmental organizations, and most significantly by all of us, as people of the Lake Winnipeg basin.

20

We take the liberty to present the idea, communicated to us by Joe Ackerman, PhD Student, Department of Biosystems Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, of plotting the concentrations of P in various liquids and solids on a logarithmic scale for comparison and to here term it the Ackerman Scale.

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1.E+09 (Pure phosphorus)

commercial phosphate Commercial fertilizer commercial Struvite fertilizer struvite dishwashing phosphate Machine dishwashing powder

1.E+08

soap powder fertilizer

Phosphorus concentrations good for struvite precipitation

Soluble Phosphorus ug/L or ug/Kg

1.E+07 high protien food

High protein food

1.E+06 Human urine

human urine anaerobic

Anaerobic digester centrate digester

1.E+05

centrate raw hog manure

Hog lagoon

Limit of struvite precipitation

limit of struvite precip

1.E+04

municipal sewage wastewater Phosphorus concentrations plant effluent too dilute for farm pond struvite precipitation

Municipal sewage Wastewater plant effluent

1.E+03 Farm pond

Red River

Red River

1.E+02

Lake Winnipeg

Lake Winnipeg

1.E+01 Lake Superior

Lake Superior

1.E+00 0

5

10

15

Fig. 6. Ackerman scale of phosphorus levels and limit of struvite precipitation

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3.1 Addressing Peak Phosphorus 3.1.1 The Modern Landfill: Where Food, Water, Energy and Climate Change A unique modern phenomenon is the extreme wastage of food (Fig. 7-10). The recently-released UN FAO, Stockholm International Water Institute and the International Water Management Institute report indicates that close to half of all food produced worldwide is wasted21. Astonishingly, much of the food wasted is in entirely edible condition.

Fig. 8. Much food that is wasted is edible.

Fig. 7. Wasted food on the garbage line at a U.S. college

http://www.culinate.com/articles/features/wasted_food

(Photo by Jonathan Bloom) http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/

Fig. 9. Why do we waste so much food?

Fig. 10. Food in a dumpster.

http://www.culinate.com/articles/features/wasted_food

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/08/half-foodwasted.php

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Lundqvist, J., C. de Fraiture and D. Molden. 2008. Saving Water: From Field to Fork – Curbing Losses and Wastage in the Food Chain. SIWI Policy Brief. Stockholm International Water Institute. 36 pp. http://www.siwi.org/documents/Resources/Policy_Briefs/PB_From_Filed_to_fork_2008.pdf

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Britain throws away half of all the food produced on farms, amounting to about 20 million tons of food. This is equivalent to half of the food import needs for the whole of Africa. Some 16 million tons of British food is wasted in homes, shops, restaurants, hotels and food manufacturing, while the rest is thought to be destroyed between the farm field and the shop shelf. The total bill to the nation is estimated to be more than £20 billion. The food thrown away in the UK in a year would meet the equivalent of the shortages of Burundi in Africa more than 40 times over. There malnutrition runs at 44 per cent. In response, Japan recently pledged more than 300 million yen in food aid22. In poorer countries, a majority of uneaten food is lost before it has a chance to be consumed. An estimated 15 to 35 percent of food may be lost in the field. Another 10 to15 percent is discarded during processing, transport and storage. In richer countries, production is more efficient but waste is greater. Throwing away food means all of the energy, material and human resources used to grow, ship, and process the food are wasted23.

3.2 Water Not only is the food wasted, but consequently as much as half of the water used to grow the food globally may be lost or wasted. During production of food, water is lost from the system through plant transpiration and evaporation from fields, canals, reservoirs, and high water tables. A balanced diet represents water use per capita of 1300 m3/person/year or 70 times more than the 50 litre/person/day to meet basic household needs for water24. In the United States, for instance, as much as 30 percent of food, worth some US$48.3 billion per year, is thrown away. This translates into water use similar to leaving the tap running and pouring 40 trillion liters of water into the garbage can. This is enough water to meet the household needs of 500 million people25. It is being suggested that packaged food labels indicate how much water was used in the production of the product. This procedure, policed by national standards bodies, would enhance the opportunity for the consumer to make informed choices when purchasing products26. Virtual water is an emerging concept being used to explain how and why nations such as the United States, Argentina and Brazil export billions of liters of water each year, while others like Japan, Egypt and Italy import billions of liters per year. It is not just food that is traded but also the input of water and energy required to create, process, package, and transport that food.

22

Mesure, S. 2008. The £20 billion food mountain: Britons throw away half of the food produced each year. 2 March. The Independent http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/the-16320bn-food-mountainbritons-throw-away-half-of-the-food-produced-each-year-790318.html 23 Ibid 24 Stockholm International Water Institute and International Water Management Institute, 2004. Water – More Nutrition per Drop: Towards Sustainable Food Production and Consumption Patterns in a Rapidly Changing World. 36 pp 25 Ibid 26 Faulkner, A. 2008. “Add water use” to food labels. The Australian. 25 September. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23547185-23289,00.html

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3.3 Energy The food processing industry is the fourth largest industrial energy consumer in the U.S. In industrialized food systems, it was estimated in 1974 that 5 to 10 calories of fuel were required to obtain 1 calorie of food27. Another study estimated that 10 kcal of exosomatic energy is required to produce 1 kcal of food delivered to the consumer in the U.S. food system. This includes packaging and all delivery expenses, but excludes household cooking28. The U.S. food system thus consumes ten times more energy than it produces in food energy. This disparity is made possible by nonrenewable fossil fuel stocks. Assuming a figure of 2,500 kcal per capita for the daily diet in the United States, the 10/1 ratio translates into a cost of 25,000 kcal of exosomatic energy per capita each day.

Fig. 11. Comparison of energy required to produce food in the U.S. compared with the energy content of the food. From29 http://css.snre.umich.edu/css_doc/CSS01-06.pdf Considering that the average return on one hour of endosomatic labor in the U.S. is about 100,000 kcal of exosomatic energy, the flow of exosomatic energy required to supply the daily

27

Steinhart, J.S. and C.E. Steinhart. 1974. Energy use in the U.S. food system. Science 184 (4134): 307-316. Gampietro, M. and D. Pimentel. 1994. The Tightening Conflict: Population, Energy Use, and the Ecology of Agriculture. http://www.dieoff.org/page69.htm 29 Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan. 2007. U.S. Food System Factsheets CSS01-06E07, 2 pp. http://css.snre.umich.edu/css_doc/CSS01-06.pdf 28

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diet is achieved in only 20 minutes of labor in our current system. Without fossil fuels, the daily diet would require 111 hours or nearly three weeks of endosomatic labor per capita to produce30. The energy consumed in a system is often a useful indicator of its sustainability. Figure 11 shows the enormous disparity between the energy, largely from fossil fuels, consumed in the process of delivering food to households compared with the energy in the food that reaches end users31. One of the changes suggested to reduce energy consumption in agriculture is to make much more use of animal manures32. More than 4 x 106 kcal per hectare could be saved by substituting manure for manufactured fertilizer and, as an added benefit, the soil condition would be improved.

3.4 Climate Change Food rotting in landfills contributes to global warming (Fig 12). As this wasted food rots in the absence of oxygen, it generates methane, a greenhouse gas (GHG) that is at least 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. About 38 percent of Canada’s methane emissions come from landfills33. Landfills are America’s primary source of methane emissions, and the second-largest component of landfills are organic materials. The average four-person household wastes about $600 of food each year34, most of which ends up in landfills. In 2007, 245.1 million tons of municipal solid waste were generated in the United States. Organic materials, comprised of yard trimmings, food scraps, wood waste, and paper and paperboard products are the largest components of municipal garbage and make up more than two-thirds of the U.S. solid waste stream35.

30

Pfeiffer, D.A. 2004. Easting Fossil Fuels. The Wilderness Publications. www.copvcia.com. Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan. 2007. U.S. Food System Factsheets CSS01-06E07, 2 pp. http://css.snre.umich.edu/css_doc/CSS01-06.pdf 32 Pimentel, D., L.E. Hurd, A.C. Bellotti, M.J. Forster, I.N. Oka, O.D. Schotes, and R.J. Whitman. 1973. Food production and the energy crisis. Science 182 (4111): 443 –448. 33 David Suzuki Foundation. 2008. David Suzuki’s Nature Challenge. http://www.davidsuzuki.org/NatureChallenge/newsletters/sept2008_harvestbounty/page2.asp 34 Bloom, J. 2007. The food not eaten. Food waste: out of sight, out of mind. Culinate. 19 November. http://www.culinate.com/articles/features/wasted_food 35 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2008. Wastes - Resource Conservation - Common Wastes & Materials Organic Materialshttp://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/organics/index.htm 31

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Fig. 12. Most food waste in urban areas ends up in landfills. From Telegraph Media Group Limited36 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/3321664/UK-binsandpound8bn-of-food-each-year%2C-study-claims.html

Many municipalities respond to the hazardous and unpleasant emissions of methane from landfills by capturing methane to be used as a fuel for generating energy. The Vancouver Landfill owned and operated by the City of Vancouver has an active landfill gas (LFG) collection and control system since 1990 to prevent odours and reduce greenhouse gas emissions37. In 2003, the City of Vancouver expanded the existing collection system in order to collect approximately 2000 standard cubic feet per minute (scfm) of LFG at a methane content of approximately 50%. The gas collection system includes approximately 200 vertical extraction wells, and 10 horizontal extraction laterals. The methane is burned generating 5.55 MW of electricity for sale to B.C. Hydro and an additional 100,000 GJ/year of heat for sale to the private sector. The project results in the recovery of approximately 500,000 GJ/year of energy, the total energy requirements of 3,000 to 4,000 homes, and results in a reduction of more than 230,000 tonnes per year CO2 equivalents or the emissions of approximately 45,000 automobiles. The City of Vancouver will receive revenues of approximately $400,000 per year for the duration of the 20-year contract period. The City of Winnipeg is in the process of exploring the use of technologies to capture and transmit methane from the Brady Road Landfill to the University of Manitoba to use as an 36

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/3321664/UK-bins-andpound8bn-of-food-each-year%2C-studyclaims.html 37 Henderson, J.P., C.E. Underwood, and T. Kyle. 2008. Vancouver landfill: Landfill gas collection and utilization project. City of Vancouver Engineering Services, Solid Waste. 31 October. http://vancouver.ca/engsvcs/solidwaste/landfill/CollUtilProject.htm

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energy source38. Secondly, under consideration is the injection of air into the landfill to compost the organic matter and prevent methane from being produced. The amount of harmful gas that will be reduced with this project is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from 21,700 passenger vehicles. Capturing methane from landfills produces some benefit from the organic materials disposed of in them. Nevertheless, the P in the organic materials is essentially irrecoverable. Dead-ending the P is not currently considered a resource loss. Nor is this loss factored into the cost-benefit analysis of managing municipal solid wastes.

3.5 Alternatives to Food Waste Alternatives to landfilling unwanted food are given in the box below. They vary in their implications for the associated wastage of water, energy, and the production of GHG. Growing, importing, and purchasing only the amount of food that can be healthfully consumed is the optimal action. This must occur in a society that does not tolerate hunger and ensures that all people have access to sufficient, healthy food. This is also optimal to the efficient use of P fertilizers and to the recycling of P. The P in the food largely ends up in the municipal wastewater stream where it can be recovered through tertiary treatment and recycled.

Hierarchy of Alternatives to Landfilling ..

¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾ ¾

Source reduction – creation of only the amount of food that can be consumed in a timely fashion Eating appropriately – buying only food that can be safely stored and used; ordering appropriately-sized meals in restaurants, (doggy-bagging the excess); eating the 100mile diet; avoiding obesity Feeding hungry people – food recovery and distribution from supermarkets, restaurants and institutional kitchens Gleaning – picking crops farmers plan to leave in the field when the market price doesn’t justify harvest Feeding animals – pets, livestock Diversion - fats and greases to rendering plants for biodiesel production Composting – for local recycling of the compost

From Bloom 2007

In the present world, where hunger exists to some extent in most societies, the distribution of food not consumed after purchase through regular commercial channels, should be donated. This practice has not only humanitarian and social values but also will best ensure that the P can be recovered from municipal wastewater. Gleaning will be similar in values to donation of food. If crops are left unpicked, the organic material will simply decompose on site and the P will be 38

City of Winnipeg Water and Waste. 2008. Brady Road Landfill methane gas project. 21 October. http://www.winnipeg.ca/waterandwaste/garbage/projects/BradyRoadMethaneGas/default.stm

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recycled naturally. Feeding animals is useful providing the faeces of pets are returned to the soil or flushed into the wastewater stream. Consistent with this, in most municipalities, the disposal of pet faeces are not allowed to be placed in the trash, slated for landfill. For livestock, the P will be recycled along with the manure or composted manure. Diversion of fats and grease from landfill will be neutral since pure oils contain no P-bearing cellular material. Composting is an activity that must become much more prominent in all food end use activities. It will be the primary alternative to the massive scale of landfilling of food and food waste that takes place now. A survey of a small number of businesses in Winnipeg as to disposal of unsold or unconsumed food indicated that two community-minded bakeries surveyed froze and then donated all baked goods to not-for-profit groups and to families in need. A hotel that is a member of a large chain previously donated unconsumed food from their restaurant services to group homes until a single health problem caused them to cease the practice because of the potential liability. One familyowned restaurant has started to serve smaller portions to reduce the food left on plates. One golf club composts kitchen food wastes.

3.6 Composting Astonishing though it may seem, none of the publications consulted here on food waste and landfills makes mention of P. Landfilling food and other organic waste not only wastes water and energy, it dead-ends P. For practical purposes and the foreseeable future, it takes P out of the cycle. The awareness of the imperative to recycle P, overlain on the spectre of waste of energy, water and human labour, and the creation of GHG could be the final layer, the final straw, that finally mobilizes societies to acknowledge themselves as part of the cycles of nature and to seriously engage in recycling. Composting is Nature's way of recycling39. It is simply the operation of natural decomposition through bacteria and fungi that is an essential function in every ecosystem and aspect of nature. After the death of organisms, it returns the nutrients and organic and other substances in organic materials that were involved in the reproduction and growth of living organisms back to a nonliving state where they can be used again in reproduction and growth. In addition to the continuous supply of organic food, the micro-organisms require water and oxygen. Managing the temperature of the composting material is important to make the process work. Composting decomposes and transforms organic material into a soil-like product called humus. Humus is a valuable soil amendment that can improve the texture and fertility of the soil. Food scraps, leaves and yard trimmings, paper, wood, manures, and the remains of agricultural crops are all materials suitable for composting. It does not appear that composting is yet widely seen as a means of addressing the limited supply of rock phosphate. It is expected that this realization will change the scope and scale of present composting for most citizens from a voluntary, environmentally-sensitive activity to a necessity.

39

Composting Council of Canada . undated. About composting. http://www.compost.org/natural.html

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It will be necessary for municipalities to encourage the composting of organic waste at every residence and the application on private gardens. Every establishment marketing, preparing, and serving food will need to be provided with a means to gather the food wastes on-site daily. Municipal collection systems as now occur for trash and recyclables will be required to collect these and deposit them in regional composting facilities. More private companies may become involved in composting. Facilities for citizens to deposit lawn and garden wastes, including leaves in the fall, and wood wastes, will need to be developed. As end users of the final compost, community gardens40 are appropriate candidates. Community gardens are a wellestablished reality throughout the world, including in Winnipeg41. They are newly introduced in Brandon. An expanded, distributed network of community gardens in cities and towns can provide multiple benefits including a supply of healthful foods that are particularly helpful to low-income families, outdoor exercise, responsibility and scheduled activity for young people, a sense of community, leadership and learning opportunities42. In conclusion, from the perspective of efficient use of water, energy, and fertilizers, food production in quantity, types, and timing should be matched as closely as possible to healthful, appropriate, and equitable human consumption. From the point of view of recycling P, the main imperative is to keep food and other organic wastes, including paper, out of landfills.

3.7 Wastewater 3.7.1 Municipal Wastewater Treatment Wastewater treatment is the process of making domestic wastewater suitable for returning it to natural aquatic ecosystems. Wastewater or sewage is comprised of graywater from residences, institutions, hospitals and commercial and industrial establishments. Black water is from flush toilets. As well, domestic wastewater may contain industrial and agricultural effluents and runoff from land, buildings and streets. It may include stormwater runoff. Domestic wastewater treatment includes physical, chemical and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants. Its product are a liquid waste stream (or treated effluent) and a solid waste or sludge suitable for discharge or reuse back into the environment. Both streams are often inadvertently contaminated with toxic organic and inorganic compounds. Wastwater treatment involves three stages, termed primary, secondary and tertiary treatment. In primary treatment, solids are screened from the wastewater stream and usually landfilled. In secondary treatment, further processes are designed to substantially degrade the biological/organic content of the sewage such as are derived from human waste, food waste, soaps and detergent that otherwise are decomposed in the receiving environment causing oxygen depletion. This biological oxygen demand (BOD) is removed in the wastewater treatment plants 40

This is the vision of Dr. Katherine Buckley, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Brandon Research Station, who has developed courses for designing and establishing the gardens, and for applying compost and other agronomic amendments 41 Winnipeg Community Gardens. http://food.cimnet.ca/cim/43C1_3T15T4T269.dhtm 42 As identified by Dr. Katherine Buckley

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through microbial activity. Secondary treatment produces a low BOD-containing effluent released into the receiving environment and a sludge from the settling of the wastewater following the primary treatment. The receiving environment may be aquatic ecosystems, lagoons, wetlands, golf courses or parks. The sludge is augmented by the microbial biomass produced during secondary treatment and is termed activate sludge. Activated sludge may be anaerobically digested to reduce its total volume and kill many pathogens and parasites. This process releases CO2 and methane (CH4), termed biogas. The final sludge may be disposed of or utilized in a number of ways. It may be landfilled, incinerated, applied to agricultural land, or made into commercial fertilizer products. The contents of nutrients, nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus in the original wastewater are present in the final products, effluent and sludge. Nitrogen will tend to be present in both forms, potassium, primarily ionic, more in the effluent, and phosphorus more in the sludge. Tertiary treatment is the most advanced level of treatment that removes nutrients, particularly P, toxic compounds, and increased amounts of organic matter and suspended solids. This level of treatment is utilized when the effluent is discharged to a sensitive receiving environment or in water reuse applications. The process can be accomplished using a variety of physical, chemical, or biological treatment processes to remove targeted pollutants. Tertiary treatment, as well as secondary, results in effluent that is returned to the environment, and sludge for disposal or reuse. Tertiary treatment is most commonly employed to reduce the level of nutrients, particularly P in the effluent that reaches the receiving waters, to control eutrophication. 3.7.2. City of Winnipeg The City of Winnipeg presently operates three wastewater treatment plants, termed Water Pollution Control Centres (WPCC) at the North End (NEWPCC), South End (SEWPCC) and West End (WEWPCC) of the city. In a typical year, 318 million liters of wastewater are treated daily. The incoming wastewater contains 5.5 to 6.1 mg/L total P. The effluent leaving the plants contain 3.2 to 3.8 mg/L total P. The total incoming load per day is 1933 kg of total P and the effluent to the Red River contains 1055 kg total P43. In the year 2006, the three WPCCs released 417 tonnes P to the Red River, a contribution of 5.2% to the total P input to Lake Winnipeg44. Upgrades in progress to tertiary treatment at the three WPCCs are estimated to reduce the City’s load to the Red River to 118 tonnes P/year or to 1.5% of the total input to Lake Winnipeg, other sources remaining more or less constant. This more than meets the interim provincial target of reducing the City’s input of P by 13%. The City is designing the tertiary treatment upgrades to achieve a level of 1 mg/L total P in the effluent to the Red River and thereby reduce the City’s P input to the Red River by 65%45. Presently, to recycle the nutrients in the anaerobically digested, de-watered and thickened sludge from the secondary treatment process, the City operates the WINGRO program involving the incorporation of most of material, termed biosolids, into agricultural land in the vicinity of Winnipeg. In 2007, the City produced 12,545 dry tones of biosolids with an average total solids 43

Szoke, N. 2008. Wastewater treatment plant upgrade, nutrient removal benefits and costs. Presentation to the Lake Winnipeg Foundation Conference, University of Winnipeg, 28 October. 44 Ibid 45 Ibid

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content of 26.5%. The WINGRO program applied 73% or 9,158 dry tonnes to agricultural land containing 140 tonnes of total P, and landfilled the remaining 3387 dry tonnes containing 52 tonnes of total P. The application rate was 53.9 dry tonnes per ha or 823.6 kg P per ha46. The process of upgrading the WPCCs to tertiary treatment also involves decreasing the permitted P loading in biosolids to an application rate of 25 dry tonnes per year. This would require a considerable increase in the area of farmland required for the program and an increase in the trucking distance. These conditions render the biosolids application program uneconomical. The upgrades of the WPCCs to tertiary treatment has been decided upon and planned for the major purpose of decreasing the input of P (and N) to Lake Winnipeg. An equivalent priority has not yet been given to the recycling of the P back to the land for agricultural production. The design and engineering for removal and capture of the P has not necessarily fully incorporated the technical and economic considerations to begin to close the cycle of agricultural production – food – wastewater treatment – P capture and return to the land. When it occurs, the landfilling of P in the form of biosolids or another form of recovered P is as disadvantageous to long-term P supply as landfilling edible food or food wastes. 3.7.3 Recycling Phosphorus Recovered from Wastewater Treatment The largest cities in the Lake Winnipeg Basin, Edmonton, Calgary, and Regina treat the municipal wastewater to the tertiary level, removing much of the P content as well as reducing the biological oxygen demand (BOD) in the effluent. Other cities such as Brandon and Saskatoon treat only to the secondary level, removing BOD. As mentioned above, the City of Winnipeg is upgrading its three plants, Water Pollution Control Centres, to tertiary treatment. The major recommendation of this report is that as much priority be given to the recycling of the P recovered as to the recovery of P itself during tertiary treatment. In other words, the goal of tertiary treatment should be the production of the most recyclable form of P. Presently, under secondary treatment, Winnipeg recycles about 25% of the P in the incoming waste water to agricultural land as biosolids in the WINGRO program. Of the possible routes of recycling of the recovered P from wastewater treatment and the associated sludge is the production of commercial fertilizer products. A highly notable example is that of the historic product, Milorganite47.

46

City of Winnipeg Water & Waste Department. 2008. City of Winnipeg Annual Compliance Report for Biosolids Dewatering, Temporary Biosolids Storage and Application to Agricultural Land for 2007, Environment Act Licence #1089E RR http://www.winnipeg.ca/waterandwaste/pdfs/sewage/complianceReporting/Biosolids/1089ERR_2007.pdf

47

Milorganite® Lawn & Garden Products. 2008. Our History. http://www.milorganite.com/about/history.cfm

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Milorganite® Milorganite is a highly successful fertilizer that originated in the City of Milwaukee early in the history of the city. In 1923, construction began on the first large scale activated sludge plant in the world. The production of 50,000 to 70,000 tons per year of dried solids from the microbial treatment of the wastewater was a problem for disposal. Landfilling was an option, but an expensive one. The dried solids contained 6.2 % total N, 2.63 % available P, and 0.4% soluble potash (potassium). This material resembled high-grade organic nitrogenous fertilizers and was found to support superior plant growth relative to manures and commercial fertilizers of the time. Moreover, it was 1/3 the cost of other fertilizers commonly used at the time. The material was named in 1925, Milorganite (MIL-wakee-ORGAnic-NITrogEn). By the mid-1930s, production was 50,000 tons per year at $20 per ton. Most was blended with other sources of N-P-K. Today, Milorganite is sold directly into the retail market largely to homeowners and golf courses. Research continues on nutrient leaching and runoff, the effects of different fertility regimes and sources on irrigation requirements, and the effect of Milorganite P in the environment.

Phosphorus is recoverable from wastewater through crystallisation of struvite, MgNH4PO4· 6H2O, magnesium-ammonium-phosphate48,49. It is a natural organic substance that is a constituent of kidney stones. Approximately 1 kg of struvite can be crystallized from 100 m3 of wastewater. Struvite production can be profitable compared to chemical and biological removal of P due to savings from the reduction in (i) chemicals used for precipitation and sludge disposal; and (ii) downtime for cleaning unwanted struvite formed during chemical and biological removal. The annual production of struvite from a wastewater treatment plant that processed 100 m3/d, would be sufficient to apply as fertilizer on 2.6 ha of arable land. If struvite were to be recovered from wastewater treatment plants worldwide, 0.63 million tons of phosphorus (as P2O5) could be harvested annually, reducing phosphate rock mining by 1.6%50. This figure is not large but it is associated with savings in mining costs, costs of processing rock phosphate into inorganic fertilizers, managing the toxic metals in rock phosphate, and transport to suppliers and to the end users. Struvite can be made in wastewater containing >30 mg/L P. Thus, the P in wastewater coming into the City of Winnipeg containing around 6 mg/L P needs to concentrated before struvite production is possible. A number of experimental studies show that P in struvite is as available and as agronomically effective as that in commercial phosphate fertilizers. Struvite has been shown to be an effective substance to recycle P from municipal wastewater or animal manure back to agricultural land. In pot experiments in Germany using ryegrass, struvite was as effective a source of available P and 48

Doyle, J.D. and S.A. Parsons. 2002. Struvite formation, control and recovery. Water Research 36: 3925-3940. Parsons, S.A. and J. A. Smith. 2008. Phosphorus removal and recovery from municipal wastewaters. Elements. 4(2):109-112. 50 Shu,, L., P. Schneider, V. Jegatheesan, and J. Johnson. 2005. An economic evaluation of phosphorus recovery as struvite from digester supernatant. Bioresource Technology 97(17): 2211-2216. 49

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Mg as were commercial fertilizers. The N in struvite was more available than in commercial fertilizers51. Pot experiments with struvite as a source of nutrients for the cultivation of hard and soft wheat in Libyan desert soils found that struvite and inorganic N and P fertilizers produced nearly identical results for a number of measures of plant growth52. Several amendments were compared in a greenhouse pot experiment using a P-deficient loamy sand soil and perennial ryegrass. Struvite recovered from an anaerobic digester supernatant was as effective as single superphosphate in increasing the dry matter yield and supplying P to ryegrass. Compared to struvite and superphosphate, P-rich sewage sludge from an enhanced biological P removal process and sewage sludge from conventional aerobic activated sludge process were agronomically less effective as P sources, attributed in part to the larger amount of Fe incorporated into the latter materials53. It is ideal if the P in amendments recovered from wastewater are in a readily-available P form so that when they are applied to soil, the P can replace that removed in the recently harvested crop. In an experiment with pot trials and perennial ryegrass as the test crop, 11 precipitated phosphate materials were evaluated as sources of P for plant growth. Dry matter yields of ryegrass and P removed from the soil were not different anong trials where pure laboratory- synthesized struvite or struvites recovered from municipal sewage works or other industrial waste streams in Japan, the U.S., Spain, The Netherlands, or Germany were applied. Nor were these different from trials receiving pure monocalcium phosphate. Unexpectedly, synthetic Fe phosphate gave similar agronomic results at one treatment level. Generally, Fe phosphates are considered to be insoluble and the P unavailable to plants. More research is suggested on Fe phosphates precipitated from wastewater using ferrous or ferric salts. For struvites to replace inorganic fertilizers in agriculture, they furthermore need to be available in a form that can be spread by normal farm equipment54’55. 3.7.4 Wastewater Innovations in Green Buildings New green design of multiple family dwellings and tall buildings are introducing innovations in water handling. In New York, a new skyscaper, the Bank of America Tower56 will capture rainwater and seeping groundwater and use it within the building for multiple purposes such as heating and cooling and as water for the toilets. Waterless urinals and low-flow fixtures will

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Scherer and Werner, op. cit. Ahmed, S. Y., R.S. Shiel, and D.A.C. Manning. 2006. Use of struvite, a novel P source derived from wastewater treatment, in wheat cultivation. Paper 154-33. 18th World Congress of Soil Science, 9-15 July 2006, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 53 Plaza, C., R. Sanz, C. Clemente, J.M. Fernandez, R. Gonzalez, A. Polo and M.F. Colmenarejo. 2007. J. Agric. Food Chem. 55(20): 8206-8212. 54 Richards, I.R. and A.E. Johnston. 2001. The effectiveness of different precipitated phosphates as sources of phosphorus for plants. Report to Centre Europeen d’Etude Polyphosphates, European Fertiliser Manufacturers Association, Anglian Water UK, Thames Water UK, and Berlin Wasser Betriebe. http://www.imphos.org/download/jena/johnston_prb-15.pdf 55 Johnston, A.E. and I.R. Richards. 2004. Effectiveness of different precipitated phosphates as phosphorus sources for plants. Phosphorus Research Bulletin 15: 52-59. 56 The Durst Organization. 2006. Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park. Environmental Fact Sheet. http://www.durst.org/i_bp_env.asp 52

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minimize the use of potable water. This will save 50% of the normal potable water use for such a building. A development on a former brownfield in the inner harbour in Victoria, B.C. has designed condominiums with a high level of energy and water efficiency measures57. Storm water enters green roofs and the flow is incorporated into the architecture so each unit has water for a patio garden. Stormwater is directed into naturalized creeks and waterways in a parklike setting and eventually into the ocean. Some of this stormwater is drawn off to serve the flush toilets saving an estimated 38 million gallons of potable water every year. Unlike the City of Victoria wastewater that presently receives only primary treatment and is then discharged into the ocean, the sewage from the condominium development will be treated on-site. Treated water passes through a bioswale filter and is used for landscape irrigation and some is recycled to the flow of stormwater to the flush toilets. The potable water usage is estimated to be 65% less than in traditional developments. Overall, the development saves 70 millions gallons of potable water each year, equivalent to the annual water use of 580 homes. The P in the wastewater can be captured in aquatic plants and be applied to the landscape.

3.8 The Unsavoury Truth Phosphorus recycling is not yet on the agenda in North America. Yet, in other parts of the world, it is a recognized priority. Moreover, it is recognized that human excreta (urine and faeces) are renewable and readily available sources of phosphorus58. “Urine is essentially sterile and contains plant-available nutrients (P,N,K) in the correct ratio”59. Although the Bank of America use of waterless urinals is primarily a move to save potable water, it has the potential to accomplish much more synergistically – the recycling of vital P. In fact, the World Health Organization Treatment has published guidelines for the safe use of wastewater, excreta and greywater60. These contribute towards the fulfillment of Millennium Development Goals adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 8 September 2000. The goals most related to the safe use of excreta and greywater in agriculture are: Goal 1: Eliminate extreme poverty and hunger and Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability. The use of excreta and greywater in agriculture can help communities to grow more food and make use of precious water and nutrient resources61. Urine is the largest single source of P coming from human settlements. The nutrients in a person's urine are sufficient to produce 50-100% of the food requirements for one person. 57

Dockside Green. undated. Our Triple Bottom Line. http://docksidegreen.com/images/stories/sustainability/overview/greeninitiatives.pdf 58 Cordell, D. 2008. The story of phosphorus: 8 reasons why we need to rethink the management of phosphorus resources in the global food system. Sustainable Phosphorus Resources. http://phosphorusfutures.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=29 59 Ibid. 60 World Health Organization. 2008. Guidelines for the safe use of wastewater, excreta and greywater. Volumes I to IV. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/wastewater/gsuww/en/index.html 61 World Health Organization. 2006. Preface. WHO guidelines for the safe use of wastewater, excreta and greywater. World Health Organization. 204 pp. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2006/9241546859_eng.pdf

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Combined with other organic sources like manure and food waste, the P value in urine and faeces can essentially replace the demand for phosphate rock. In 2000, the global population produced 3 million tonnes of P from urine and faeces alone. Unlike reserves of phosphate rock, existing under the control of a small number of countries, human excreta are available anywhere people live and contribute to 'phosphorus sovereignty' and food security62. Modern sanitation involving centralized domestic drinking water treatment and distribution throughout human settlements, the use of potable water for domestic purposes as well as lawn and garden and industrial uses, and the collection of human and industrial wastes to centralized wastewater treatment facilities is the basis of modern hygiene and urban life. Nevertheless, it produces the situation that water treated to ensure potability is used to dilute urine, a highly suitable fertilizer, which is then transported to wastewater treatment facilities where attempts are made to remove the nutrients contributed by urine and other human activities. If urine instead is reused directly as a fertilizer, then less P is entering waterways, reducing the potential for eutrophication. Although preventing P sources from entering water bodies is often necessary to prevent water pollution, removing high levels of P at the wastewater treatment plant is expensive and energy intensive. Capturing urine at source (at the toilet) can be much more energy efficient and costeffective and, moreover, avoids the management of heavy metals, such as cadmium, that are present in rock phosphate.

3.9 Agricultural Organic Wastes Presently in Manitoba and other hog-producing areas, hog manure is applied to agricultural as a valuable source of carbon and N and P. The difficulty of handling the raw manure as a nutrient source is that it is variable in composition from one hog operation to another, and virtually impossible to maintain in a homogeneous state due to rapid settling of heavy particulate material. Material drawn from the top of a storage tank or earthen store is highly liquid and contains low suspended solids and low P concentrations, while that from the bottom can have a high particulate content and associated high levels of P. Manure in a store cannot be adequately mixed by agitation. Thus, at the present time, little is known about actual N and P loading with time during application of manure from a tractor and umbilicus, even if the manure is constantly agitated as it is pumped from the manure store and applied to land. At best, conscientious applicators note parts of fields receiving the thick slurry and avoid applying slurry to those areas of the field in further applications. Nevertheless, overall the mean N:P ratio of hog manure is below the agronomic ratio. This means that under the manure application regulations based on N, P was routinely over-applied to agricultural land. A means of continuously measuring the nutrients in hog manure in real-time during the land application would allow P to be applied accurately to the land and GIS-mapped during the process. A second pass with an inorganic N fertilizer could be used to balance the N:P ratio. The technology of near-infrared spectroscopy has been shown in the laboratory with flowing hog manure to accurately measure particulate and available forms of N and P in real-time time63. It is expected to be subject to in-field trials and to commercialization in the near future. 62 63

Cordell. Op Cit. Malley, D.F., P.D. Martin, and P. Williams. 2005. Performance of a field-portable, in-stream hog manure

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The rapid settling of heavy particulate material in hog manure is related to the poor digestion by hogs of some grains containing the carbohydrate, phytate. Phytate is a potential source of P for hog nutrition, but because it is poorly digested, phosphate is traditionally added to the hog diet as a nutritional supplement. Recently, it is becoming the practice to add the enzyme, phytase, to hog feed resulting in improved digestion of grain by the hogs, the reduction of added phosphate to the diet, and thereby lowering of the P content in the manure. This practice appears to be favourable from several viewpoints, including more efficient management of P. The recovery of N and P from livestock manures is one potential method of enabling better control of the application of these nutrients back on to the land. The production of struvite from manure slurries may be more efficient than from municipal wastewater because the concentrations of nutrients are higher64. Another manure treatment technology as an alternative to anaerobic lagoons on hog farms includes solid-liquid separation and subsequent recovery of soluble P as calcium phosphate from the liquid phase. The agronomic performance of the calcium phosphate was evaluated in a greenhouse study using ryegrass. The total P taken up was highest for triple superphosphate (TSP), 70 % of the TSP value for recovered calcium phosphate of small particle size, and only 23% of calcium phosphate with large particle size. Chemically, over 99% of the calcium phosphate was citrate-soluble, plant-available P. Thus, calcium phosphate recovered from hog manure is a potential fertilizer source though particle size of the phosphate influences its availability65

3.10 Soil 3.10.1 Improved Understanding of P Dynamics in Soil and the Identification of Best Practices “The development of sustainable land management practices for all agroecosystems requires a fundamental understanding of the chemical, biological and physical processes in soils that affect the availability of P to terrestrial plants, and ultimately to humans and animals”66. Sustainability of the fertility of agricultural systems and the protection of aquatic ecosystems from nutrient sensor prototype in the laboratory. PDK Projects, Inc. Unpublished Report. 33pp. Summary at http://www.pdkprojects.com/pdf/PDK%20Report%20on%20manure%20flow%20cell%20Executive%20Summary.p df 64 Scherer, H.W. and W. Werner. 2002. Plant availability of phosphorus, nitrogen and magnesium applies with magnesium-ammonium-phosphate (struvite) derived from animal slurry. Poster. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/researchcuration/research/projects/phosphate-recovery/Scherrer2002.pdf 65 Bauer, P.J., A.A. Szogi, and M.B. Vanotti. 2007. Agronomic effectiveness of calcium phosphate recovered from liquid swine manure. Agron. J. 99: 1352-1356. 66 Pierzynski, G.M., R. W. McDowell, and J. T. Sims. 2005. Chemistry, cycling, and potential movement of inorganic phosphorus in soils. Chapter 3. In Sims, J.T and A.N. Sharpley (eds) Phosphorus: Agriculture and the Environment, Agronomy Monograph No. 46: 53-86.

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eutrophication both depend upon a thorough understanding of soil chemistry and soil management. Phosphorus cycling in soils is complex (Fig. 13). It is influenced by the inorganic and organic solid phases present, forms and extent of biological activity, chemistry of the soil solution (pH, ionic strength, redox potential), and environmental factors such as soil moisture and temperature. Soils, plants, and microorganisms all interact within the soil system. The largest challenge in agricultural management of P comes from its low solubility. The amount of P in solution is generally