March 20, 2023

Mark your calendar for April 10, when the 2023 WateReuse Symposium On Demand will launch! You can register to watch over 70 hours of recorded sessions on a wide variety of reuse topics. The theme of this year’s Symposium is Reimagining Water Together.

WateReuse Association is pleased to announce that the Biden Administration requested full and first-time funding for the Alternative Water Source Grants Pilot Program earlier this month. When funded, the program will be the first nationwide water recycling program. WateReuse held multiple meetings with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) urging the Administration to include funding for the program in its FY24 budget request.

The President’s budget request is the first step in the annual appropriations process. Congress will now begin to consider the President’s budget request as it drafts appropriations bills for FY 2024. WateReuse expects to see proposed spending bills later this spring, and will be working closely with congressional champions, appropriators, and WateReuse members to ensure that funding for critical water reuse programs is included.

Last week, the EPA proposed a National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). The proposed rule sets the first-ever legally enforceable Maximum Contamination Levels (MCLs) for six PFAS in drinking water.

The proposed rule lays out requirements for monitoring, public notification, and appropriate treatment for removal of the six PFAS. The proposed treatments for PFAS removal include processes commonly employed in water reuse systems. Key concerns for the water reuse community include a lack of proposed guidance for handling or disposal of the spent media, which may be laden with PFAS, and the financial impact that treatment and removal of PFAS may have on ratepayers.

WateReuse Association will be engaging a PFAS working group and our Legislative and Regulatory Policy Committee throughout the comment period, and we encourage all members to review the proposed rule and reach out with concerns. If you would like to share your communities' concerns regarding PFAS and water reuse, please email Aliza Furneaux.

Santa Monica County completed the construction of a 1.5 million gallon stormwater harvesting tank in November 2022, the second of such tanks to be built in the county within the last five years. The city processes this stored water at their advanced water treatment facility utilizing their Sustainable Water Infrastructure Project (SWIP). The newly constructed tank is built fifty feet beneath a parking lot and cost $96 million. SWIP treats stormwater, urban runoff, and municipal wastewater to drinking water standards. WateReuse recognized SWIP with an award for Transformational Innovation at the 2023 WateReuse Symposium earlier this month. Read more about Santa Monica's stormwater reuse and how the city aims to achieve 85 to 90% water self-sufficiency before the end of this year.

Los Angeles County is making progress towards constructing their Donald C. Tillman Advanced Water Purification Facility (AWPF). LA Sanitation and Environment (LASAN) and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) are working together to secure the city’s long-term water supplies with this project. The facility will use advanced treatment processes to purify more than 15 million gallons per day, providing a new groundwater supply source for up to 200,000 customers. Jacobs has been selected as the design-build contractor for the new facility. Read more about the developments of one of the largest potable reuse projects in the country.

Local ABC station KOCO reported on the City of Norman, Oklahoma’s plans to recycle water. Lake Thunderbird is Norman’s main source of drinking water and city officials are keen on keeping it replenished. The program would treat Norman’s wastewater and feed it back into the lake when water levels are low. Mayor of Norman, Larry Heikkila, stated, “What [reuse] really does is help us become drought-proof. Water is gold. We have to have water from cooking to going to the bathroom, to drinking, to doing everything. We have to have it for life.” The City is expected to increase by thousands of people in the near future. WateReuse recognized the City of Norman, and WateReuse member Garver, at the 2023 WateReuse Symposium earlier this month for the pilot project that proved the feasibility of the City’s reuse plan. Read More.

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) recently released a series of new reports on treatment methodologies for recycled water. These “Public Plus” reports are accessible to anyone who creates a free account on WRF’s website.

• State-of-the-Science Review: Evidence for Pathogen Removal in Managed Aquifer Recharge Systems
• Evaluation of Tier 3 Validation Protocol for Membrane Bioreactors to Achieve Higher Pathogen Credit for Potable Reuse
• An Enhanced Source Control Framework for Industrial Contaminants in Potable Reuse
• Standardizing Methods with QA/QC Standards for Investigating the Occurrence and Removal of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria/Antibiotic Resistance Genes (ARB/ ARGs) in Surface Water, Wastewater, and Recycled Water

WRF also released a Request for Proposals: Establishing a Framework for Integrating Stormwater Capture and Use into Water Supply Planning. Submissions are due on April 10.

Compliance Planning and Incorporating Non-Beneficial Discharges into your Water Supply Portfolio
March 21, 2023
9am PT | 12 pm ET
Free to attend

Florida Senate Bill 64 (SB 64) is propelling utilities to explore innovative and non-traditional projects to meet the requirement to eliminate non-beneficial surface water discharges. In this webcast, we will hear from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) on their analysis of SB 64 compliance plans submitted by utilities in the state, followed by individual plans of several utilities from different regions of the state, and the impact of regional drivers on their respective plans.

March 28, 2023 | 2:00-3:00 pm ET

This webinar covers how to find and successfully apply for EPA grants.

March 29, 2023 | 1:00-2:00 pm ET

EPA will review what grant recipients need to do and look for when they receive a grant award, discuss how to understand terms and conditions of grants, and talk through EPA’s oversight once a grant is awarded.

March 29, 2023 | 2:00-3:00 pm ET

This webinar covers how to find and successfully apply for EPA grants.

May 4, 2023 | 11:00 am -7:00 pm ET

At the public hearing, members of the public can register to attend and provide verbal comments to EPA on the rule proposal. Registration is required to attend and the last day to register to speak at the hearing is April 28, 2023.

May 4, 2023 | 11:00 am -7:00 pm ET

Kansas City, MO
August 28-31, 2023

The 2023 International Ozone Association – Pan American Group annual conference takes place this August! Submit an abstract and register today.

Boulder, CO
May 2, 2023

Flagstaff, Arizona
July 24-26, 2023

Frisco, Texas
September 20-22, 2023

Tacoma, WA
September 11-13, 2023

Indian Wells, CA
November 5-7, 2023