September 3, 2009
San Antonio Sues Over Shelved Water Project
Newsday
August 24, 2009
A water fight between the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) and a neighboring river authority spilled into court August 24 when SAWS sued the river authority for more than $1.2 billion. SAWS filed a lawsuit in Travis County accusing the Lower Colorado River Authority of breach of contract after the authority's board passed a resolution that effectively killed a project to recapture wastewater for use around San Antonio and Austin.
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Ruling Leaves North Georgia in a Water Crisis
USA Today
August 19, 2009
A federal judge ruled recently that metropolitan Atlanta has been illegally taking water from Lake Lanier, which he said the federal government built more than half a century ago for hydroelectric power generation and other uses - not for drinking water. Gwinnett County recently completed a $700 million water reclamation plant that will eventually recycle and return two-thirds of the water it takes from Lanier.
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Australia Calls for Water-Saving Projects
The Gov Report
September 3, 2009
The Australian Government is seeking proposals from local government bodies and urban water service providers in the Murray-Darling Basin for water-saving initiatives to help their communities prepare for a future with less water. The government is interest in projects that include elements such as water recycling and reuse, stormwater capture and reuse, desalination, and water-sensitive urban design.
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Lawmakers Propose Extension for Desalination Plant
San Diego Union-Tribune
September 1, 2009
Fearing further delay could cause problems for the ocean-water desalination plant in Carlsbad, CA, state lawmakers recently introduced legislation that would grant Poseidon Resources an automatic one-year extension of its permit to build the plant.
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Treated Effluent 'is Safe'
The Australian
August 13, 2009
An Australian study has quieted years of controversy by declaring it safe to use treated effluent in bathrooms and gardens. The research found no difference in rates of acute gastroenteritis, skin or respiratory conditions between people serviced by the nation's biggest residential recycled water scheme and those on conventional water systems.
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New Manual Helps Communities Develop Water Supplies
The WateReuse Association announces the release of an indispensible new publication designed to help communities address the need for a sustainable, drought-proof water supply. The Manual of Practice on How to Develop a Water Reuse Program provides a standardized planning approach for communities to develop and analyze new water reuse projects.
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Stimulus Funding...
Colorado Town Secures Stimulus Funds
Boulder County Business Report
August 26, 2009
Federal and state officials have awarded $3.5 million in zero- and low-interest loans to the Town of Erie to fund a new pump station that will treat wastewater to provide a supply of water that is suitable for uses such as landscape irrigation. The use of reclaimed water is included in Erie's Water Conservation Plan and is seen as an environmentally responsible way to conserve scarce and expensive water supplies.
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Virginia Governor Accepts Stimulus Funds for Water Projects
WHSV
August 19, 2009
Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine recently accepted a check on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia for $80.2 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Projects planned include six water reuse projects that will conserve limited water resources as well as reduce the discharge of pollutants to waterways.
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Arizona Town Moves Closer To Getting Treated Water Back
East Valley Tribune
August 15, 2009
The Town of Queen Creek, AZ is being offered a $35,000 grant to help design a pump and pipeline to bring its share from a water reclamation site back to the town. The grant came from the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona, which received the funds as part of the federal stimulus package. The town pumps 1.2 million gallons of wastewater to a plant in Gilbert each year, but there is currently no pipeline to return the treated water.
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New Projects...
Construction Begins on Eco-Friendly Project
The Desert Sun
August 25, 2009
The Eastern Municipal Water District, which serves most of western Riverside County, CA recently marked the start of construction on a wastewater treatment project that will reduce carbon emissions while recycling water.
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Big Firms to Build New Treatment Plant
Star News Group
August 27, 2009
A consortium of international companies has won a $90 million contract from the Victorian Government and Barwon Water to build a new water treatment plant in Geelong, Australia. The Northern Treatment plant will supply Shell's Corio refinery with recycled water to wean it off the city's drinking supplies.
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North Carolina Town Expands Water Recycling
Eastern Wake News
August 11, 2009
The Town of Zebulon, NC is now practicing what it preached during the 2007 drought. The town received permits from the City of Raleigh late last month to begin using a water reuse system at the Zebulon Municipal Complex.
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Desalination Plant Produces Drinking Water for Oxnard
Ventura County Star
August 2, 2009
Oxnard, CA's new desalination plant is an energy-efficient cavernous building on a water campus that fills about one city block and produces seven million gallons a day of drinking water.
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Fifth Singapore Water Reuse Plant Starts Up
Press Release
August 26, 2009
The Sembcorp Changi NEWater Plant (SCNP), soon to be one of the world's largest water recycling plants, has started its Stage 1 operations. By the time the second stage of construction is finished next year, the SCNP will be producing 228,000 cubic meters per day (m3d), or 60.2 million gallons per day (gpd), of treated water.
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Southern California Desalination Project Receives Approval
Reuters
July 30, 2009
West Basin Municipal Water District's Ocean-Water Desalination Demonstration Project has received all regulatory approvals needed to move forward with construction next year. The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board has recently approved the NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit. The California Coastal Commission approved the coastal development permit application in April 2009. Once built, the Demonstration Project will operate for two years.
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Marin Water Board OKs Desalination Plant
San Francisco Chronicle
August 19, 2009
Marin County's largest water utility voted recently to build a plant that will convert about five million gallons of seawater into drinking water for about 190,000 people. It's the first such project on San Francisco Bay.
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Recycled Water to Ease Pressure
The Signal
August 1, 2009
As San Joaquin Valley farmers struggle with water shortages, and the City of Los Angeles has imposed mandatory water conservation, the Santa Clarita Valley's five water suppliers have launched an ambitious water recycling plan.
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Other News...
Aussies 'Heeding Warnings' on Water
Sydney Morning Herald
August 19, 2009
A massive $30 billion investment in water infrastructure projects has made Australia a world leader in water efficiency, the peak body representing the urban water industry says. The Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) says Australians appear to be heeding warnings on water consumption with a report showing a significant reduction in usage in urban areas.
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Kraft Foods Makes Good On Promise to Reduce Water Use
KABC
August 11, 2009
Kraft Foods, the world's second largest food company, announced recently that it has exceeded its goals for reducing water consumption. A plant in Port Melbourne, Australia has reduced its use of potable water by nearly 40%. The plant is now exploring ways to reuse waste water by partnering with a road construction group to reuse water for road compaction and dust suppression.
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Florida DEP Regulations Could Cost Water Customers
The Tampa Tribune
August 17, 2009
Thousands of Tampa Bay area property owners could soon be saddled with the cost of installing backflow devises to prevent the contamination of public drinking-water supplies. The new rules, expected to go into effect by the end of the year, will affect homeowners with reclaimed water and irrigation systems that use water pumped from wells, lakes and ponds as well as businesses and multifamily residences with fire-sprinkler systems.
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California Residential 'Gray Water' Rules Eased
San Diego Union-Tribune
August 1, 2009
California regulators have opened the floodgates for using "gray water" by issuing an emergency decision that allows residents to create simple water-reuse systems without a construction permit.
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Conference News...
WateReuse California Accepting Abstracts for 2010 Conference
WateReuse California is accepting abstracts for presentations and posters at the 2010 Annual Conference to be held March 7-9, 2010 at the Paradise Point Resort & Spa in San Diego, CA. Abstracts are due September 28, 2009.
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24th Annual WateReuse Symposium to be Held in Seattle
The 24th Annual WateReuse Symposium, presented by the WateReuse Association and cosponsored by the American Water Works Association and the Water Environment Federation, will be held September 13-16 at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel in Seattle, WA. The Symposium will feature more than 100 technical presentations, pre-conference workshops, an EPA forum, regional water reuse project poster displays, technical tours, a national legislative and water policy outlook plenary session, receptions, an awards luncheon, and the ever-popular exhibition component.
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Desal Workshop to Provide Practical, ‘How To" Information
The 2009 Alden Desalination Workshop will be co-hosted by the West Basin Municipal Water District. This workshop is a follow-up to the successful 2008 Desalination Intake Solutions Workshop that was held at Alden. The 2009 workshop will be held October 15 and 16 at the Edward C. Little Water Recycling Facility in El Segundo, CA, making it accessible to the many West Coast desalination professionals. It will be a two-day program with one day devoted to intake topics and one day to outfall topics. The objective of this meeting is to provide practical "How-To" information to the attendees.
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