WateReuse News: Water Technology Bill, Lake Mead Reuse Funding, and more.

News from the Leading Advocate for Water Reuse

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May 30, 2023

Washington Update

Representatives Introduce Bipartisan Smart Water Legislation, Water Reuse Included

Last week, Representatives Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and John Duarte (R-CA) introduced the Water Infrastructure Modernization Act, which authorizes Congress to appropriate up to $25 million for smart water technology grants to wastewater utilities and another $25 million for drinking water utilities. Grants can be used by awardees for planning, design, construction, implementation, training, and operations relating to a range of smart water systems, including predictive aquifer recharge through water reuse. Congressman Gallego’s press release for the bill quoted WateReuse Association Executive Director Patricia Sinicropi, who said “the WateReuse Association enthusiastically supports Representative Gallego and Duarte’s bipartisan bill to modernize America’s water infrastructure. Water recycling and other modern water technologies can unleash economic potential, protect our environment, and make our communities more resilient. The Water Infrastructure Modernization Act of 2023 is another important step in bringing water recycling to the communities that need it most.”

Read the bill

New Funding Available for Water Reuse Projects that Conserve Colorado River Water

Last week the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) announced the next phase of its Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program. Through the program, Reclamation will provide funding for long-term durable system efficiency improvements that result in quantifiable, verifiable water savings benefiting the lower Colorado River System and Lake Mead. Qualified water reuse project proposals must be submitted by a Colorado River water delivery contract or entitlement holder, or by a Central Arizona Project contract holder. Applicants will also need to provide monitoring to ensure the proposed benefits to the system are realized.

Proposals are due electronically by July 19, 2023. View the request for proposals to see full requirements and a proposal template.

View request for proposals

U.S. EPA Funds Ventura’s Potable Reuse and Groundwater Recharge Projects

Last week, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox announced two Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans for WateReuse member City of Ventura, CA, totaling $173 million. The city will use the loans to build a new Advanced Water Purification Facility to produce up to 5,400 acre-feet of potable water and upgrade the existing Ventura Water Reclamation Facility with up to six new groundwater injection and extraction wells. The projects will increase potable water supplies by 20%. “This partnership exemplifies the power of collaboration and sets us on a path towards a resilient, thriving future,” said Ventura Mayor Joe Schroeder.

State Updates and Member Profiles

Welcome New WateReuse Member!

Atlanta Pure Water provides a combination of state–of–the–art technologies and solutions for the water filtration industry. Its team of professionals has more than 25 years of experience in the design, manufacturing, installation, and commissioning of water and wastewater treatment plants for the municipal and industrial markets. They serve multi-national corporations, national water supply companies, municipalities, and government agencies. Atlanta Pure Water has provided critical drinking water support systems in response to natural disasters and developed specialized reverse-osmosis systems aboard a U.S. Navy vessel.

Atlanta Pure Water

CA: EBMUD Celebrates 100 Years

Longtime WateReuse Association member East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) just turned 100! EBMUD serves drinking water to approximately 1.4 million customers in California’s Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, and protects the San Francisco Bay with wastewater treatment for 740,000 customers. EBMUD’s robust recycled water program currently has the capability of providing over 9 million gallons of non-potable water per day for irrigation, industrial cooling, toilet flushing, and more.

Celebrate the Centennial

CO: WateReuse Leader Gives Potable Reuse Perspective

Last week, Engineering News Record published an opinion article about the future of direct potable reuse. The author, John Rehring, is a vice president and senior client services manager with Carollo Engineers and the national representative for WateReuse Colorado. Rehring lays out the progress that the arid and semi-arid Mountain States region is making towards potable reuse, with a specific focus on Colorado, where the state department of public health recently passed Direct Potable Reuse regulations.

OR: WateReuse Pacific Northwest Plans Second Annual Summer Social

The WateReuse Association’s Pacific Northwest section, in partnership with Clean Water Services (CWS), is hosting its second annual Summer Summit and Social on Thursday, June 22, 2023, at CWS’s Durham Water Resource Recovery Facility in Tigard, Oregon. The day will include tours, lunch, and networking. Attendees will hear from many leaders guiding next steps in reuse funding, policy, permitting, education, and implementation -- including insights from Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, WateReuse Association's Executive Director Patricia Sinicropi, Clean Water Services CEO Diane Taniguchi-Dennis, and Oregon House Representative Ken Helm.

TX: Onsite Reuse Bill Passes State Legislature

The Texas legislature passed Senate Bill 1289 last week. The bill removes regulatory barriers to onsite treatment and reuse of blackwater. The bill requires the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to adopt rules to authorize a facility that treats domestic wastewater for reuse to dispose of the treated wastewater without a TPDES or TLAP permit if the facility meets certain requirements and has the consent of the wastewater collection system and wastewater treatment facility operators. TCEQ must develop these rules as soon as practicable, and WateReuse Texas will work with them to incorporate feedback from our members as these rules are developed.

Read the bill

Water Reuse in the News

Can Beer Convince Americans to Drink Recycled Water?

Last week, Bloomberg published a story on beer as a public outreach tool to educate the public about potable water reuse. To report the story, Bloomberg's Ira Boudway traveled to the 2023 WateReuse Symposium in Atlanta, and even drove out to the source of the event's official recycled water brew: Fox City Brewing in Forsyth, Georgia. Boudway tasted a pint of Revival Lager, made in partnership with WateReuse Association, H2O Innovation, and Las Virgenes Municipal Water District. The story also highlights the history of water reuse by WateReuse members including Orange County Water District, Clean Water Services, El Paso Water, and Epic Cleantec.

Read the article

WateReuse Member Resources and Benefits

Learn More About Water Reuse Research

Curious what’s going on in the world of water reuse research? WateReuse Association is supporting ongoing research such as a U.S. EPA grant on unlocking the nationwide potential of water reuse. Members can also gain access to past research findings – everything from a market analysis on the potential of water reuse in the U.S. to a research archive of technical papers on reuse.

Learn more at our research page