February 2024

Welcome to 2024! As the president of WateReuse Florida, I also welcome you to another year of collaboration on many ongoing initiatives and opportunities for information sharing and action. As always, we appreciate all the support from our members and sponsors for your participation and contributions.

We are busy making plans for webcasts, our annual Summit meeting and other ways to stay connected. You will see a webcast announcement on the ins and outs of grant funding coming February 27. Also, the incomparable 39^th Annual WateReuse 2024 Symposium in Denver is quickly approaching on March 11-14! 

This newsletter will keep you informed on important section updates including legislative and regulatory changes, technology advances, member news and spotlights, and other helpful resources. I encourage you to submit any ideas and content to Robyn Felix with our Public Relations, Outreach and Membership Committee or me.

Thanks for your continued passion and interest in water reuse, preserving our most precious resource.

Michael Sweeney, Ph.D. 
WateReuse Florida President 

The Florida Section is off and running in 2024! Our first webcast of the year entitled, “Exploring Opportunities for Reuse” is set for February 27 at 2 p.m. (ET) and provides valuable information for utilities and partners regarding grant funding.

Water resources and inflation continue to climb prompting a growing need to further implement the cost-effective use of recycled water. In Florida, regulations such as the state’s SB 64 requirement for beneficial reuse, watershed nutrient limits, elimination of ocean outfalls, and limitations on our traditional sources of drinking water are driving quick solutions that are usually more expensive than traditional reclaimed water projects. This creates a huge demand for State and Federal agency funding. Our expert panel will consist of:

• Greg Fogel, Director of Government Affairs and Policy for the WateReuse Association
• Robert Beltran, Vice President of Dewberry and Past President of WateReuse Florida
• Dennis Barron, Director of Public Works for the City of Jacksonville Beach and WateReuse Florida board member

The purpose of the webcast is to learn about a multitude of funding sources available to municipalities east of the Mississippi from a Federal, State and utility perspective. Topics include the application process and what to expect when awarded. Discussion and Q&A will be lively and add further insight.

The event is free for WateReuse members and $55 for non-members. Attendees are eligible for 1 PDH credit.

University of South Florida environmental engineering student Beatriz Inacio is this year’s recipient of WateReuse Florida’s USF scholarship.

Inacio participated in the WateReuse Florida January Board meeting to introduce herself and thank the Board for the scholarship opportunity. The USF senior has been interning with the USF College of Engineering for more than a year. She has also worked as a research and development engineer for PolyMaterials App LLC as well as a research assistant for the USF College of Engineering. Inacio describes herself as a highly motivated person who always gives 100% and is willing to learn anything to improve herself.

The 2024 WateReuse Symposium is enjoying an unexpectedly high level of demand. We are suspending online registration as we work through capacity challenges. Given this, we are asking those interested in registering to submit their names and information to a waitlist, available here. Staff will follow up as soon as we can to process your registration. We will process as many registrations as capacity allows. Waitlist notifications will be made as availability opens, likely between February 26 and March 1, 2024.

If you are already registered for the 2024 WateReuse Symposium, your spot is secure and no further action is needed at this time. We look forward to seeing many of you next month in Denver, CO!

The Caloosahatchee Connect project is a large, reclaimed water pipeline that will deliver up to 12 million gallons per day of reclaimed water from Ft. Myers to Cape Coral, water that would otherwise have been discharged into the Caloosahatchee River. Reclaimed water will be used for green space irrigation and reducing withdrawals from freshwater canals. This project received more than $5.2 million in grants from the South Florida Water Management District and the State of Florida. The project consists of approximately 7,300 feet of overland reclaimed water pipeline and 7,600 feet of subaqueous fused pipeline under the Caloosahatchee River. The project was completed in November 2023. Cape Coral also constructed two 5-million-gallon storage tanks and a new high-service pump station to facilitate distribution of the reclaimed water delivered from Fort Myers. Visit caloosahatcheeconnect.com for more information on the project.

If you have additional news or meetings to share, please contact:

• Ben Glickstein, Director of Communications
  bglickstein@watereuse.org