Dr. Khosrow Farahbakhsh School of Engineering University of Guelph A SYSTEM’S APPROACH TO WATER AND WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT

Facts or Fiction? We make many assumptions about the world around us The whole is the sum of its parts Small forces have small impacts, large forces have large impacts The role of science is to help us predict outcomes Every problem has one right answer Infections are caused by the domination of infectious organisms Adding chlorine in the water distribution system prevents the formation of a biofilm and minimizes the growth of pathogens

The Web of Assumptions We live in a world of assumptions These assumptions tend to dictate our decisions and actions A collection of assumptions about the world is called a paradigm Once the paradigm is fixed, the outcomes are, more or less, predetermined To change the way we live (our world) we must then change our paradigm Birth of a paradigm often follows the death of the old paradigm

Birth of a New Scientific Paradigm Quantum Mechanics There are always multiple possibilities Relationships are more important than objects Thermodynamics Quality is more important than quantity Quantity is conserved, but quality always degrades (2 nd Law) Chaos Non-linearity and the butterfly effect Irregularities are norm rather than exception Complexity All systems are in the state of in-equilibrium and are self-organizing Dissipation is the main mode of self-organization System’s thinking All the above The whole is much greater than the sum of its component parts

The New Paradigm and Water Management

Fractal Geometry – A Patterned Universe

Change May not be as Difficult as we Think!