October 1, 2025

Water reuse has the potential to unleash opportunity and efficiency for U.S. manufacturing, data centers, and other industrial entities. WateReuse Association has worked with bipartisan cosponsors in the House of Representatives to introduce H.R. 2940, the Advancing Water Reuse Act, which would establish a 30 percent tax credit to help industrial entities scale up their use of recycled water. The original cosponsors for the act have circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter, urging their fellow representatives to join as cosponsors of the bill. In conjunction with the Dear Colleague letter from the bill’s champions, we are asking WateReuse members to contact their representatives and urge them to cosponsor the Advancing Water Reuse Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.  

How to Help: 

• Update and send our House template letter to congressional staff for your representatives and urge them to sign on to the legislation. It is best to email the DC-based tax staff for the congressional office while also cc’ing your in-district / in-state contact. If you need help identifying the right staff person and contact information, please contact Greg Fogel at gfogel@watereuse.org or 805-570-3038. 

• If you’d prefer to make a phone call, call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to reach your representatives. Ask for the staffer who handles tax issues, describe the bill and its relevance to the state/district, and make the ask. 

• Point your representative to the Dear Colleague letter being circulated by the bill’s original cosponsors.  

For the current list of cosponsors, click here.  

For a summary of the legislation, click here.  

Last week, Representatives Salud Carbajal (D-CA), David Valadao (R-CA), Troy Carter (D-LA), Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), and Brian Mast (R-FL) introduced the Water Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability Act, which reauthorizes the Small, Midsized, and Large Drinking Water System Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability Programs as well as the Clean Water Infrastructure Resiliency and Sustainability Program. The grant programs provide funding to municipalities, community water systems, wastewater utilities, and other public entities to plan, design, or construct projects that increase the resilience of drinking water and clean water infrastructure to natural hazards, including drought, or cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Funding through the drinking water programs is also available to support operations and maintenance. In advance of introduction, WateReuse joined a sign-on letter expressing support for the bill. We have also advocated for funding for the programs through the annual appropriations process.  

More than 1,000 WateReuse members and water professionals gathered in San Diego last week for WateReuse California’s annual conference. 

The conference consisted of three days of technical sessions, workshops, and panels, including a Star Trek themed “Voyage to Potable Reuse by 2050” panel featuring key California water officials. The panel focused on planning for the future of reuse in California, including identifying specific targets for scaling up reuse, wastewater monitoring and pathogen reduction, and engaging the public to advance direct potable reuse. “Although challenging, we can make a trip to 2040 and perhaps hit 128 million acre feet per year in California,” said Chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board E. Joaquin Esquivel when asked about future goals for California reuse.

Water industry veterans Richard Nagel and Marsi Steirer were honored with Presidents’ Awards for their contributions to advancing reuse, and the conference was rounded out by a performance of the Pure Water Revival band consisting of WateReuse members. Mark your calendars for the 2026 WateReuse California Conference, next September in San Francisco! 

Last week, representatives from the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources penned a piece in Maven’s Notebook outlining how counties across California can leverage the California Water Plan Update 2023 to secure funding, foster inter-agency collaboration, and deliver multi-benefit projects with an emphasis on water reuse as a state priority. The article highlights reuse projects across the state including the Orange County Groundwater Replenishment System, Pure Water San Diego, and Sacramento’s Harvest Water Program as projects that align with state water plan priorities and are well positioned for further funding and collaboration. The authors recommend that counties which have yet to implement the state water plan focus on establishing pilot potable reuse solutions among other water management strategies. The authors also highlight using the new direct potable reuse regulations to expand water recycling capacity as a strategy to further align county projects with state priorities. 

Last week, Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company announced a partnership with WateReuse member Veolia along with Marafiq and Lamar Holding to treat and recycle industrial wastewater in Jubail Industrial City. The agreement, which spans 30 years, encompasses the construction, operation, and maintenance of a $500 million water reuse plant with a capacity of almost 2.3 billion gallons per year. Veolia will lead the plant’s operations in partnership with Marafiq, focusing on maximizing resource recovery at the plant. “By innovating and advancing large-scale wastewater recycling in Jubail, Veolia reaffirms its commitment to supporting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and leading the transition to a more circular economy in the Middle East,” said Estelle Brachlianoff, Chief Executive Officer of Veolia. 

Last week, Food Industry Executive published an article outlining how food and beverage manufacturers can scale sustainable technology in their operations, highlighting onsite water reuse systems as an effective and scalable investment. The article recommends reuse solutions that incorporate membrane bioreactors with reverse osmosis and UV disinfection which can be leveraged for cooling tower make-up or boiler feed, as well as adoptions of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points assessment frameworks per a National Water Reuse Action plan report. The article cites PepsiCo’s 25% improvement in operational water use efficiency in high water-risk areas through reuse and adoption of advanced technologies as an example of the impact of successfully scaled systems. The article provides frameworks and recommended steps for developing water reuse solutions from pilot to full-scale implementation.  

Contact us at info@watereuse.org