May 28, 2024

Last week, the Senate Committee on Budget held a hearing on Droughts, Dollars, and Decisions: Water Scarcity in a Changing Climate. The witnesses included Adel Hagekhalil, General Manager and Chief Executive of WateReuse member, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. During the hearing, multiple senators pointed to water recycling as a water resource management solution, including Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), who talked about communities in Maryland that are turning to water reuse to protect and enhance water supplies and limit discharges to the Chesapeake Bay. Senator Van Hollen asked Mr. Hagekhalil about the importance of federal water recycling programs to the efforts of drought resilience. Mr. Hagekhalil discussed the need to diversify water supplies to limit risk and build resilient supplies, stating, “What we need to do is manage risk. Recycling is critical, capturing water and storing it is critical, building the infrastructure to move water around is critical…all of these have to come together. Recycling, with the technology that we have, is a safe, doable, and reliable water supply strategy. When we have dry conditions, we can use that water to help support the economy and the vitality of our communities across the board.” Ahead of the hearing, WateReuse Association submitted a statement for the record, in which we discuss the value of water recycling and urge Congress to invest in key water recycling programs administered by the Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Finance Advisory Board (EFAB) held a listening session to solicit input on the potential benefits of an industrial water recycling investment tax credit (ITC). The EFAB is conducting a study including two listening sessions. The WateReuse Association helped initiate the study and has participated in each listening session. We also organized a workshop focused on the study at the 2024 WateReuse Symposium. Among other areas of analysis, the EFAB is asking for feedback on the following topics:

• Should an investment tax credit be developed to support private investment in industrial water reuse and recycling infrastructure, and why or why not?
• How can an industrial investment tax credit be structured to maximize public benefit and encourage private investments in reuse and recycling infrastructure without providing a subsidy that is too generous? Should only the entity owning the equipment be eligible for the tax credits or should it be available to others in the treatment process? Should the tax credits be transferable?
• Would a tax credit for industrial reuse and recycled water infrastructure investment look different by industrial sector or type of use, and should there be a minimum volume of recycled use to qualify?
• Should water reuse tax credits also be considered for large commercial or agricultural uses, and if so, how would you define?
• Are there any unintended consequences to public utilities, and if so, how could they be mitigated?
• Are there any other considerations that should be taken into account?

WateReuse is developing a set of comments to deliver to the EFAB regarding the scope of the study as well as the benefits and structure of an ITC. If you have feedback and are interested in helping to shape our comment, please reach out to Greg Fogel at gfogel@watereuse.org and Lydia Silber at lsilber@watereuse.org.

WateReuse member Xylem worked with Charlotte Water and Charlotte, North Carolina’s Town Brewing company to produce the “Renew Brew” IPA with purified recycled water. Last week, Wastewater Digest published an interview to celebrate Renew Brew’s success in winning “Best in Show” at Charlotte’s Queen City Brewers Festival.

WateReuse member Yokogawa announced a partnership to develop a water treatment technology to address PFAS. Synergen Met, an Australian cleantech company, will provide its foam fractionation and thermal plasma technologies that capture, concentrate, and destroy PFAS without creating harmful, residual byproducts. Yokogawa will provide sensor, control, and remote access technology to enable remote autonomous operations, along with local manufacturing, support, and services.