November 25, 2024

Last week, the Department of Interior announced a $125 million investment for five projects in California and Utah that will help create new sources of water and improve drought resiliency. These investments support the Department’s new Large-Scale Water Recycling Program, which WateReuse Association helped to create as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021. The new program incentivizes conservation projects at a larger scale and will play an important role in helping communities develop local, drought-resistant water supplies by turning unusable water sources into clean, reliable ones. “Through the Large-Scale Water Recycling program, the Department is ensuring that communities in the West have the resources they need to safeguard water supplies and ensure this precious resource is available for generations to come,” said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. The WateReuse members receiving funding are: City of Ventura, CA; Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the Inland Empire Utilities Agency, CA, and the Washington County Water Conservancy District, UT.

Industrial water use in the United State is second only to agribusiness in terms of water usage, and current industrial water reuse offsets only a fraction of this. The WateReuse Association has been working to dramatically scale up the use of recycled water by manufacturing facilities, energy facilities, data centers, and other types of facilities used by our industrial and commercial sectors. In response to a congressional directive included in FY 2023 appropriations legislation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) charged its Environmental Finance Advisory Board (EFAB) with developing a report on the potential public benefits of an industrial water reuse investment tax credit. Last week, the EFAB published that report.

In its report, the EFAB notes that a strictly financial analysis cannot capture the full benefits of water recycling and that costs must be measured against benefits such as increased local control, water quality, and water supply reliability, as well as associated economic development benefits. The report suggests that tax incentives can support both centralized and decentralized reuse approaches, and that they should be structured to attract a diverse range of large water users, including both industrial and commercial entities. In our comments to the EFAB, WateReuse argued that a tax incentive for industrial water reuse should apply to investments made in onsite reuse systems, investments made in centralized water reuse systems in partnership with municipalities, and investments made in switching from an overburdened groundwater or surface water source to a recycled water source. WateReuse is working with Congress ahead of next year’s tax policy debate to build support for a federal ITC to support greater industrial water recycling.

Read the EFAB report here.

Last week, WateReuse joined an Amicus brief in support of a challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule designating certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The Amicus brief—led by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) and the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF)—was filed last week in support of litigation brought by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Associated General Contractors of America, and National Waste and Recycling Association earlier this year. The Amicus argues that EPA’s final rule is arbitrary and capricious because it (1) fails to properly account for CERCLA’s “Polluter Pays” principle, and (2) fails to adequately consider the potential financial impacts of the designations on passive receivers of PFAS. Signatories to the brief include the National Association of Water Companies, National Rural Water Association, and the Water Environment Federation in addition to WateReuse, NACWA, and AFBF. WateReuse continues to work on multiple fronts to ensure that utilities are shielded from PFAS CERLCA liability for pollution that they did not create, and that PFAS manufacturers are held responsible for PFAS pollution. We also are continuing to urge Congress to enact a CERCLA liability shield and will be meeting with the incoming administration to discuss potential administrative actions.

Last week, U.S. EPA’s Office of Water launched a new interactive map to help users - such as technical assistance providers - identify drinking water and wastewater utilities that may benefit from water infrastructure technical assistance or capacity development assistance. The Water Infrastructure and Capacity Assessment Tool (Water ICAT) combines water utility information with compliance, community, and water infrastructure funding data allowing users to efficiently screen for utilities that may benefit from additional federal, state, or local support. The Water ICAT can be a powerful tool to help smaller communities and utilities develop complex water recycling projects.

A webinar is scheduled for January 14, 2025, and the registration form can be found here.

December 20 deadline

This summer, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees began passing their respective FY 2025 funding bills for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Bureau of Reclamation. Congress must finalize FY 2025 funding levels by December 20.  Though a Continuing Resolution through sometime next year is possible, the House and Senate are currently debating whether and to what extent to fund key programs like the Title XVI Water Reuse Grants Program and the Pilot Program for Alternative Water Source Grants in a final FY25 Appropriations package. 

We need your help to ensure that Congress fully funds critical water recycling programs!

The WateReuse Association hosted representatives of America’s largest companies and key local and national government officials in Indian Wells, CA last week to unleash manufacturing, industrial, and economic potential through water recycling. Nearly 250 business executives, sustainability experts, water managers, and WateReuse members gathered for the 2024 Industrial Reuse Road to Water Positivity Conference to explore the benefits of water recycling for growing markets such as data centers, automotive manufacturing, food & beverage, energy production, and more. Key themes that surfaced during the three-day meeting included the value of public-private partnerships in helping businesses meet water management goals and the need to address nontechnical barriers, such as regulations and costs, to advance industrial water recycling. Next year, the WateReuse Association and the Water Environment Federation will collaborate to host a single event that combines WateReuse’s Industrial Reuse Conference and Water Environment Federation’s Circular Water Economy Conference. This joint specialty conference will take place June 23—25, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio, a region that is at the center of much of the current industrial growth occurring across the country.  Mark your calendars to join us for next year’s event.

California’s State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) has now collected five years of data, with 98% compliance, on wastewater treatment plant influent, effluent, and water recycling. This data, presented at a November 6 SWRCB meeting, illuminates water reuse trends in the state. One finding is that in wet years, recycled water production is lower, because systems that use recycled water to recharge groundwater basins receive more water from rain and stormwater. The state’s Water Supply Strategy set a goal to recycle 800,000 acre-feet per year by 2030 and 1.8 MAF by 2040, focusing on redirecting wastewater discharged to the ocean to recycling. “At this point, we’re projecting that we are on the path to meet our 2030 goal of 800,000 acre-feet, but it really will require additional investments and project planning to meet our 2040 goal,” said Rebecca Greenwood, Engineering Geologist with the Recycled Water Unit of the State’s Division of Water Quality.

Bloomberg’s Lauren Rosenthal wrote last week profiling New York State’s fact-finding around interest and demands for nuclear power. Both the high tech industries and the power plants that serve them require significant water resources to operate. Interest in nuclear power is on the rise as technology companies explore small nuclear power package plants to power the AI economy - but nuclear power is only possible if freshwater is available. Water recycling provides reliable sources of freshwater and is powering much of our energy needs already. As the US Congress and the incoming Trump Administration consider how to secure our energy future, WateReuse Association will continue to encourage the adoption of incentives that help our industrial base develop reliable sources of freshwater through water recycling. Upcoming efforts to reform the tax code present a perfect opportunity to ensure American industry has reliable sources of water.

Contact us at info@watereuse.org