November 2023 Newsletter

The following awards were presented at the conference. Please read on to see how to nominate recipients for our 2024 awards!

Dr. Keisuke Ikehata won the inaugural 2023 Reuse Impact Award. He was selected for his work over the past few years keeping Texas at the forefront of national water quality issues, advancing water reuse through his research and pilot projects, and mentoring many future scientists and engineers at Texas State University.

Dr. Eva Steinle-Darling (Carollo) won the 2023 Archuleta Award. She was selected because she has played a significant role in shaping the regulatory landscape in Texas, and her contributions throughout her career have had a profound and lasting impact on the water reuse community and industry in Texas. 

The student poster presentations were evaluated by the Research Committee, who selected a first and second-place winner for monetary prizes from WateReuse Texas.

First Place ($1000 prize): From Scarcity to Abundance: Nature-Based Strategies for Small Communities Experiencing Water Scarcity in West Texas, by Luis Silva (Whitacre College of Engineering, Texas Tech University)

Second Place ($500 prize): A Case for Potable Reuse: Taste, Odor, and Appearance of Purified Wastewater by Carlos A. Espindola (Ingram School of Engineering, Texas State University)

Visit WateReuse Texas to learn more about the award nomination and poster proposal requirements, which will open in summer 2024. Who will you nominate?

Don't miss our 2024 conference the week of November 9, 2024, in Austin, TX!

Specialty Sponsors: Garver, Pape-Dawson Engineers, Freese & Nichols

Platinum Sponsors: Carollo Engineers, CDM Smith, Plummer, Prime Controls, Gupta and Associates, Hazen & Sawyer, Andritz Separation, Inc., Black & Veatch, Southwest Engineers, Hach

Gold Sponsors: MWH Constructors, PLW Waterworks, Yokogawa, IAPMO

Silver Sponsors: Lloyd Gosselink Attorneys at Law, Innovatreat, Stantec

Please contact Noelle George if you are interested in sponsoring the 2024 Conference.

Learning from DPR in Namibia

Christina Montoya, WRTX board vice president and the communications and marketing manager at El Paso Water, and Sanaan Villalobos, WRTX board trustee and the vice president of Carollo Engineers, are both quoted in this in-depth article about worldwide DPR. Beginning operations 55 years ago, Namibia's capital city, Windhoek, is featured as the first DPR facility in the world. 

“The people here get it; we need water,” says Montoya. “They understand we live in a desert, and over 80% were in favor of it without any other information.” El Paso Water was able to raise that acceptance level to 96% by running a demo facility. Their "direct to distribution" DPR plant will come online in 2026. Read More.

WRTX Donates Projectors to Local School

WateReuse Association and WateReuse Texas donated three projectors to a low-income Houston school following the WRTX conference in Frisco. Check out the lovely thank you that the students made in return. Supporting the communities that we work in helps create connections with educators and students for the future!

Report Identifies Reuse Potential in the Hill Country

In a new report, the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance (GEAA) detailed the importance of utilizing recycled water to combat water scarcity in the booming Hill Country counties. The Texas Hill Country region, due to its unique environment, is already vulnerable to water shortages caused by drought and water contamination from water disposal practices. On top of this, the region has seen unprecedented growth in recent years. GEAA used Comal County, northeast of San Antonio, as a case study, estimating that up to one-third of the county’s water needs could be served by non-potable reuse, where currently only 1.5% of the county’s water use is recycled water. Read more.

Clean Water SRF EPA Tracker

The U.S. EPA released a new interactive tool to allow the public to track and follow investments made through the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds (SRF) Programs. With the creation of this platform, the public can see how the investments are being allocated and, notably, how much funding is flowing to each state for water reuse projects. Given that states have significant discretion to shape the focus of their SRF programs, we encourage our members to engage their state SRF administrators to urge a focus on water recycling as a multi-benefit solution to water resource management challenges.

Upcoming WRTX Webcast

WRTX is planning for a webcast in early 2024. More information will be provided soon.

Noelle George, Managing Director
ngeorge@watereuse.org | (832) 619-9496