February 17, 2009
Stimulus Package Provides $126 Million for Water Recycling Projects
The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law February 17 by President Obama provides $126 million for water recycling projects through the Bureau of Reclamation's Title XVI program, $6 billion for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, and funding for a host of other water-related resources. The new law gives governors 45 days to certify that their state will use funds provided by the Act and the funds will be made available until September 30, 2010. For more information, click here.
California Faces Third Year of Drought
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced on January 29 that the state may be facing its worst drought in history. DWR reported that the Sierra Nevada snowpack, which California relies on for much of its water, is only 61% of normal. "The low precipitation in January and snowpack results from today's survey indicate California is heading for a third dry year," said DWR Director Lester Snow. "We may be at the start of the worst California drought in modern history. It's imperative for Californians to conserve water immediately at home and in their businesses." Many providers have already enacted mandatory or voluntary water rationing and it is likely more agencies will require some form of rationing if dry conditions persist.
New Project in Washington State Moves Forward
Officials in Quincy, WA recently awarded a $2.2 million contract to build a $1.1 million gallons per day water recycling facility. The first phase of the project will generate recycled water that will be used to irrigate parks and school grounds, as well as provide cooling at the Microsoft data center. Future plans for the project include extending pipelines to the Yahoo data center and constructing an advanced treatment plant, which will return water to the aquifer.
Southeast Queensland Potable Reuse Project Delayed Further
A plan to pipe purified recycled water into a dam that supplies drinking water in Queensland, Australia is expected to be pushed back until at least August 2009, according to the Courier Mail. In November 2008, the government announced that it was going to rethink the project just months before the scheduled launch. However, the water commission ruled that the project should launch when dam levels reach 40% of capacity. After storms put extra water in the dams late last year, officials now project that dam levels will not dip below 40% before August.
Florida Utility to Expand Reclaimed Water
Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA), a large north Florida utility, is reducing its spending in many areas, but has given priority to funding $2.4 million in projects to make reclaimed water available to more customers, according to the Florida Times-Union. The work will increase the amount of reclaimed water produced at the East Arlington treatment plant from two million to four million gallons per day. The plant's capacity is expected to eventually grow to six million gallons per day. There are also plans to add new supply lines to deliver the newly available reclaimed water to customers.
Texas Communities Take Regional Approach to Reclaimed Water
Several jurisdictions in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are considering a multimillion dollar regional plan to irrigate golf courses, highway medians, and parks with reclaimed water, according to the Star-Telegram. The Arlington City Council is considering a plan to use reclaimed water from the Village Creek Treatment Plant. The Dallas/Fort Worth Airport and Euless are considering joining a plan to sell the plant's effluent. The Fort Worth City Council has already approved a $1.8 million plan to build a pipeline to carry water from Village Creek to various entities. The regional project could eventually be extended to Six Flags over Texas, the new Cowboys Stadium, and the Texas Rangers ballpark.
New Australian Desalination Plant Leaks during Testing
A 125 megaliter per day desalination plant scheduled to open in Australia last month has been delayed several months due to faulty couplings and valves, according to the The Australian. Located in Gold Coast, Queensland, the $1.2 billion facility began leaking during routine testing. The alliance building the desalination plant will repair the problems at no cost to the public. The Gold Coast City Council originally planned a 55 megaliter per day desalination plant, but the project was taken over and expanded by the state government in an emergency effort to meet regional water needs. Recent wet conditions have eased the water supply crisis.
WateReuse California to Convene Annual Conference in San Francisco
The California Section of the WateReuse Association will convene its 2009 Annual Conference March 22-24 at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins in San Francisco, CA. The theme of the conference is "Purple, the New Green." The conference is designed for individuals, organizations, and agencies that are associated with or interested in the design, management, operation, and use of water recycling and desalination facilities and projects in California. The conference will feature more than 40 technical presentations, a pre-conference workshop, poster presentations, technical tours, receptions, an awards luncheon, the annual Gordon Cologne Breakfast, the town hall session, and the ever popular exhibition component. For more information about the conference, click here.
Georgia County Uses Drought-Proof System
While much of the Atlanta metro area is struggling to meet water needs, officials in nearby Clayton County, GA have found a solution that has rendered them nearly drought proof, according to American City & County. Clayton County returns 10 million gallons of recycled water to 21 man-made reservoirs and wetlands each day. In a plan devised 20 years ago, Clayton County sends recycled water through 300 miles of pipeline and then sprays it through 20,000 sprinklers. The water soaks into the soil and makes its way back to the reservoirs in a process that takes about two years.
Northern California Community Pursues Desalination
The Marin Municipal Water District's Board of Directors, which services an area north of San Francisco, approved the final environmental impact report for a proposed desalination plant on February 4, according to the Marin Independent Journal. Despite some local opposition to the facility, water managers plan to further explore building a five million gallon per day plant that could later be expanded to 15 million gallons per day. The proposed facility would draw water from the San Rafael Bay, treat it using reverse osmosis and other processes, and then pipe it to the taps of local residents.
Another Southern California Community Considers Potable Reuse
Officials in Escondido, CA have hired a consultant to study the feasibility of a potable reuse project, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The community, which is located in northern San Diego County, would model its project on the Orange County Water District's Groundwater Replenishment System where the water is purified and then mixed with the drinking water supply before receiving a final treatment. The idea of potable reuse also has been proposed in a neighboring community. The Helix Water District, which serves the City of San Diego and parts of East County, is awaiting an environmental study for a controversial $80 million project that could supply 12% to 15% of the local water supply.
National Database of Water Reuse Facilities
The WateReuse Association released a new version of the National Database of Water Reuse Facilities (NDWRF) on February 2, which provides comprehensive data on water reuse facilities and programs. This database is the result of a multi-team effort to accumulate and maintain data on water reuse facilities throughout the United States. The database is available to professionals, regulators, educators, researchers, and interested citizens and will serve as an industry benchmark as water reuse expands in the future. The database is segregated into key topic areas including Utilities, Facilities, Treatment Technologies, and End Use with the capability to query information by individual states as well as nationwide. To visit the NDWRF, click here.
Virginia Project May Reassure San Diego
Evidence that a proposal to augment a drinking water reservoir in San Diego with recycled water is safe can be found in a project that has been operating in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC for 30 years, the Voice of San Diego reported. The Northern Virginia project, which began operating in 1978, mixes recycled water from a treatment plant with rainfall that has collected in the Occoquan Reservoir. The recycled water, which typically makes up about 5% of the reservoir, is cleaner than the rainfall which navigates a watershed filled with cattle farms, homes, roads, and agriculture. The City of San Diego is conducting a pilot study for a similar project, which would pipe recycled water into the San Vicente Reservoir. The San Diego project would include reverse osmosis treatment, an advanced treatment process that was not commonly available when the Virginia plant was built.
New Caribbean Resort to Use Seawater Desalination
A $1.3 billion luxury resort under development in The Bahamas will use two seawater desalination plants to irrigate an 18-hole championship golf course, according to a news release. Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies has been commissioned to build a facility with a modular design allowing for ease and flexibility of installation, with limited exterior pipe runs. Manufacturing, testing and delivery of the systems will be completed within 17 weeks.
Call for Abstracts Released for 2009 Rocky Mountain Water Reuse Workshop
The Colorado Section of the WateReuse Association, the Rocky Mountain Section of the American Water Works Association (RMSAWWA), and the Rocky Mountain Water Environment Association (RMWEA) have issued a Call for Abstracts for oral and poster presentations for the 2009 Rocky Mountain Water Reuse Workshop to be convened August 13, 2009 at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, CO. Abstracts are due April 13. The workshop provides an opportunity for the water and wastewater community in the Rocky Mountain Region to give and attend presentations on water reuse related topics. The audience includes water and wastewater managers, operators, design engineers and consultants, board members, city council members, public information officers, finance officers, young professionals and students from throughout the Rocky Mountain Region. For more information on submitting an abstract, click here.