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2022 Arizona Water Reuse Symposium & Direct Potable Reuse Workshop

Date: July 26, 2022

The Annual Arizona Water Reuse Symposium was held July 24-26, 2022 in Flagstaff Arizona. Water Professionals from across the state of Arizona, including state departments, utilities, consultants, contractors, regulators, equipment manufacturers and laboratory services, and guests from neighboring states, attended presentations and engaged in conversations regarding water reuse in Arizona. View the Symposium’s program here.

A world-café style workshop titled Defining the Future of Potable Reuse in Arizona was designed to assist the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) in the rulemaking process for direct potable reuse (DPR) later this year. A summary of the key themes and takeaways from each discussion has been provided to ADEQ. Download the workshop notes and summary.

Symposium attendees enjoyed participating in the 6th Annual Purple Water Balloon Battle and witnessed the retainment of the trophy by Team ASU, though it was highly contested. Attendees also enjoyed dinner and entertainment at Flagstaff’s historic Museum Club.

  • The presentations are available here.
  • Photographs from the event are available here.
  • Professional Development Certificates (PDH) are available by contacting Lisa Culbert.

2022 WateReuse Arizona Awards

The Arizona section presented two awards during the 2022 Arizona Water Reuse Symposium in Flagstaff. The Program of the Year award was presented to Scottsdale Water for the Scottsdale Water DPR Pilot Program which is Arizona’s first permanent DPR permit for demonstration and education located at the Scottsdale Water Campus. The DPR pilot project has proven a focal point for conversation, education, and demonstration, helping to distill the complexities of what direct potable reuse means for Arizona and communities around the state. More than 600 people from Arizona and beyond have participated in tours of the DPR demonstration project including local citizens, operators, scientists, engineers, utility staff, elected officials, legislators, and regulators.

The Pilot has also led to the wildly successful One Water Brewing Showcase hosted by Scottsdale Water, a festival serving only craft beers made with recycled water. The events have educated more than 2000 beer connoisseurs about recycled water as a pure start for constructing the perfect pour. Additionally, the pilot project has lured hobby brewers to collect recycled water for their own home brews over the past year. Scottsdale’s voluntary DPR Pilot Project has sparked a state-wide collaboration based around awareness – with people excited to share with others that they’ve toured the facility.

Jeff Biggs – Person of the Year

The Person of the Year award was presented to Tucson Water’s Jeff Biggs for his contributions to Arizona and the water industry for over 40 years. Jeff served on the WateReuse AZ Board of Directors from 2016-2021 where his leadership on the Conference Planning Committee led to highly successful annual conferences. Specifically, Jeff was responsible for soliciting the sponsorships that made conferences possible.

Jeff’s leadership at Tucson Water included serving as project manager for the planning, design, construction, and operation of Arizona’s first state-of-the-art advanced oxidation process water treatment facility; initiating collaboration among regional water utilities to ensure local and sustainable water resources; leading utility and consultant teams to develop the Recycled Water Master Plan; and leading the development and completion of Tucson Water’s 2020 Strategic Plan.

Jeff is a certified Water Treatment & Water Distribution Operator, with extensive management experience and leadership skills that have proved essential to the success of numerous project teams and programs. Jeff is also a member of several boards and committees, including being an AWWA Life Member, and a recipient of the Water For People Kenneth J. Miller Founder’s Award for his contributions as a Chair of the Southern Arizona Golf Classic for 15 years, which raised over $410,000 for Water For People.

2022 WateReuse Arizona Scholarship Recipients

Marisa Manheim2022 WateReuse Arizona Scholarship Recipient
Lynn Carroll2022 WateReuse Arizona Scholarship Recipient

WateReuse Arizona presented two scholarships of $2,500 each to Arizona university and college students at our 2022 Arizona Water Reuse Symposium. Congratulations to Lynn Carroll and Marisa Manheim!

Lynn is a student at the University of Arizona majoring in Biosystems Engineering with expectations to earn her Bachelors of Science May 2023 before embarking on a Master’s of Science in Environmental Engineering.

Marisa is pursuing a Ph.D. in Sustainability at Arizona State University developing new approaches to collaborative decision-making about sustainability transitions. She earned her undergraduate and Master’s degrees in User Experience Design and previously served as Director of Community Projects & Policy at urban agriculture nonprofit Grow Pittsburgh. During that time she saw how the embodied experiences of eating and gardening can stimulate behavioral change, environmental agency, and civic participation.

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