The Utility of the Future (UOTF) Today Recognition Program returns for a fourth year to honor water resource recovery facilities for community engagement, watershed stewardship, and recovery of resources such as water, energy, and nutrients and to celebrate the achievements of forward-thinking, innovative water utilities that are providing resilient value-added service to communities.

Utilities wishing to learn more about the program and the application process are welcome to participate in an instructional webinar.

Register Now!

For more information, visit https://watereuse.org/news-events/awards/utility-of-the-future/.

Presented in partnership with the the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project Authority (SCCWRP), this webcast describes SCCWRP’s work to evaluate the robustness and utility of cell assays.

Webcast
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Eastern
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Pacific
Fee: Members: Free; Others: $49
PDHs: 1

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What’s the next big thing in recycled water quality monitoring? Utilities and regulators share a common goal of protecting public health, but traditional testing focuses on known compounds of emerging concern. In vitro cell-based assays have shown promise as bioscreening tools to assess environmental mixtures and prioritize sites requiring further investigations. These assays are designed to respond to groups of chemicals acting via a common mode of action by initiating a molecular event (e.g., cell receptor activation) associated with specific biological pathways. As such, they offer an integrative approach to complement conventional chemical and toxicity testing.

To evaluate the robustness and utility of cell assays, the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project Authority (SCCWRP) has conducted a series of laboratory and field studies. This presentation will describe SCCWRP’s work to develop performance-based protocols and apply these tools to screen water samples from various environments, including recycled water. SCCWRP’s initial work focused on the optimization and evaluation of endocrine-related cell assays, such as the estrogen receptor assay. These studies have shown that cell-based assays can successfully benchmark water of different qualities. Wastewater effluents had the highest levels of endocrine activity, while most streams and advanced treated water samples showed little to no bioactivity.

Moreover, bioscreening responses were generally in agreement with available chemical monitoring data. Additional research was conducted to characterize the relationship between cell-based and animal/community responses induced by environmental chemicals. Altogether, the findings demonstrate that cell-based assays can provide valuable information on both occurrence and biological impact of contaminants in the environment.

Presenter

Alvine C. Mehinto, Ph.D., Senior Molecular Toxicologist, Southern California Coastal Water Research Project Authority (SCCWRP)

Speakers:
Andrada Butler, Administrative Services Manager City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management
Mark Poling, Director of Business Operations Clean Water Services – Hillsboro, Oregon

Presented in partnership with Bluefield Research, this webcast will provide insight into the growth and geographic expansion in the municipal water reuse market.

Webcast
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Eastern
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Pacific
Fee: Members: Free; Others: $49
PDHs: 1

Register Now!

As the municipal water reuse market experiences unprecedented growth and geographic expansion, where are the best opportunities? Bluefield Research has tracked over 700 reuse projects across 20 states. For the first time, this includes projects in two new states, New York and Oklahoma, reflecting the spread of reuse outside of its core markets such as California, Florida, Texas and Arizona. Learn what’s changed, how reuse “pays off” for utilities, and how the market is poised to take off on a large scale.

This webcast will address:

• The impact of decentralized reuse as large commercial property owners, such as Salesforce, look to invest in onsite treatment;
• Municipal investment in potable reuse, with a case study of El Paso, Texas, the largest city to adopt direct potable reuse;
• Regulatory and geographic shifts for water reuse; and
• Innovative financing strategies and prospects for return on investment.

Presenter

Erin Bonney Casey, Research Director, Bluefield Research