Call for Abstracts: 2020 WateReuse Symposium
The WateReuse Association invites technical abstract submissions for the 35th Annual WateReuse Symposium, September 13-16, 2020 in the mile-high city of Denver, Colorado. The Annual WateReuse Symposium is the nationâs premier conference on water recycling â attracting water professionals for several days of knowledge-sharing, networking, and fun! The 2020 Symposium is being planned in collaboration with The Water Research Foundation and will include presentations on the latest reuse-related research. Abstracts are due February 18, 2020.
Washington Update
National Blue Ribbon Commission Comments on National Water Reuse Action Plan
Congress Reaches Deal on FY 2020 Appropriations Legislation
Last week, top congressional negotiators reached a deal on federal funding for FY 2020. The agreement significantly reduces the chance of a government shutdown on December 20 when the current funding extension expires. At the time of writing, the text of the appropriations package had not yet been released. The House is expected to take up the legislation on Tuesday, December 17 before sending it to the Senate for consideration. Stay tuned for detailed information about the funding levels included for key water recycling programs.
Save the Date: Join Us for Water Week 2020 to Advance Water Recycling
Make plans to join the WateReuse Association in Washington, DC for the National Water Policy Fly-In during Water Week 2020, April 26-May 1. Water Week is the only national policy event of the year that draws together water professionals from across the country to advocate for the unique needs of recycled water, drinking water, and clean water utilities. Water Week is an opportunity to advance policy priorities for water utilities, including greater federal investment in water infrastructure, and a celebration of the role utilities play in communities nationwide. WateReuse encourages our members to participate so that we can ensure that recycled water is an integral part of the Water Week message.
State Updates and Member Profiles
California: Metropolitan Water District Approves $285M for Pure Water San Diego
WateReuse Association member the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California announced it will provide up to $285.6 million in incentives to San Diegoâs Pure Water recycling project over the next 25 years. The $1.4 billion project, being developed by the City of San Diego, will use advanced treatment processes to purify cleaned wastewater to create a drinking supply for the cityâs residents. The funding will come from Metropolitanâs Local Resources Program, which provides financial incentives for the development of local water supplies, such as water recycling, groundwater recovery and desalination. Read more.
California: WateReuse California Seeks Nominations for Awards of Excellence
WateReuse California is accepting nominations for the Annual Awards of Excellence, which will be presented during a ceremony at the 2020 California Annual Conference in San Francisco, March 15-17, 2020. The awards recognize agencies, customers, and individuals that have demonstrated exceptional leadership in advancing water recycling in California. Award nominations are due January 10, 2020. Learn More.
Oregon: WateReuse Board Treasurer Diane Taniguchi-Dennis Receives 2019 Water Finance & Management Award
Diane Taniguchi-Dennis, the Chief Executive Officer of Clean Water Services and WateReuse Association Board of Directors Treasurer, was presented the 2019 Water Finance & Management Award. The award recognizes leaders in the water sector who are driving innovation and who have had a lasting and meaningful impact in their utility or field. Taniguchi-Dennis is a nationally recognized water leader serving on the boards of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, WateReuse, and The Water Research Foundation. Clean Water Services is renowned for its achievements in resource recovery and serves about 600,000 residents in the urbanized portions of the Tualatin River Watershed. Read More.
WateReuse Communications Tools and Resources
Profiles in Reuse: Flyer Explains Safety and Reliability of Potable Reuse
The WateReuse Association released a new flyer, Profiles in Reuse: Potable Reuse, which members can use to inform ratepayers, elected officials, and other stakeholders about the safety and reliability of using purified water as part of the drinking water supply. The flyer also supports WateReuseâs Medical Community Initiative, which seeks to build support for potable reuse among medical and public health officials. This flyer is the first in a series of Profiles in Reuse that will serve as resources for member communication on water recycling. Download Flyer.
Conferences and Events
Webcast: Integrating Onsite Water Reuse with Centralized Treatment Systems
Can onsite water reuse systems be successfully integrated with a communityâs centralized treatment system? Please join us December 19 to learn about successes and lessons learned in communities that encourage onsite water reuse. You will also learn about model legislation and a soon-to-be-released training manual developed by the National Blue Ribbon Commission for Onsite Non-potable Water Systems to advance more widespread adoption of onsite non-potable water systems. Register Now!
2020 WateReuse California Annual Conference
Do not miss the 2020 WateReuse California Annual Conference, March 15-17, 2020 at the Hyatt Regency, San Francisco, California! The conference is designed for individuals, organizations, and agencies that are associated with or interested in the design, management, operation, and use of water recycling facilities and projects in California. Register Now!
Mazars Presents Women of Water Summit, Women in Water Awards
Mazars USA is launching the Women of Water Summit â a dynamic event promoting industry-leading women and fostering discussion around how to enhance the position of women in the sector. The event will take place January 9, 2020 in Arlington, VA and will feature presenters from several WateReuse member organizations. Mazars USA is also accepting nominations for the Top 10 Influential Women in Water Awards. Nominations are due December 20, 2019 and winners will be announced at the Mazars Women of Water Summit.
Upcoming Events
Launching June 24 -25
Donât Miss the FIRST EVER WateReuse California virtual conference!
Join us for an easy to navigate, virtual conference experience.This is MORE than just a Replacement Event for the March 2020 Conference, this is an opportunity for our community to stand TOGETHER in these unprecedented times to recognize the good work we do and share ideas for the future. The WateReuse California virtual conference will be available online until July 31, 2020.
Join Us!
11:00 a.m. â 12:30 p.m. Pacific | 2:00 â 3:30 pm Eastern
WateReuse Members: Free
Others: $49
PDHs: 1
With many communities facing wastewater discharge limits for nutrients or temperature in Pacific Northwest waterways, reuse offers a water quality compliance strategy that can create wastewater, habitat and watershed benefits. This webcast will showcase two examples of how water reuse is being examined to address nutrient and thermal loading in marine and river water sources.
We will learn how water reuse is being looked at by the Bay Area Clean Water Agencies (BACWA) in the San Francisco Bay area to reduce nutrient loading to the estuary through a coordinated multi-utility assessment. With many parallels to Puget Sound in Washington State, BACWAâs planning can provide some ideas for how reuse might be part of the nutrient reduction plan for Puget Sound and other nutrient impaired waterways.
We will then shift attention to Western Oregon to hear from Clean Water Services in the Portland region. Clean Water Services has a long track-record of investing in innovative solutions to TMDLs. We will learn reuse is being examined to help their utility comply with thermal discharge limits.
Presenters
- Dave Clark, Senior Vice President, Wastewater Market Sector Director, HDR Engineering
- Jared Kinnear, Reuse Manager, Clean Water Services
- Susan Schlangen, Engineer, Water Systems Consulting
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Join Us!
2:00 â 3:15 pm Eastern | 11:00 a.m. â 12:15 p.m. Pacific
WateReuse Members: Free
Others: $49
PDHs: 1
Lake Lanier is a major source of water supply to the North Georgia region. Many communities surrounding Lake Lanier rely on it for both discharge of effluent as well as their sourcewater for drinking purposes. This practice, known as indirect potable reuse or surface water augmentation, provides a sustainable water supply solution for the regionâs growing population. Specifically, in Gwinnett County, Georgia, the majority of the countyâs 56 MGD of treated wastewater is discharged to the Lake, which is also the primary drinking water source. This transformation of wastewater into a valuable supply of sourcewater requires careful planning, monitoring, and protection of Lake Lanier.
While there have been various water research projects and planning efforts implemented throughout the Lake Lanier Watershed in the past, there does not exist a centralized coordinated plan that documents, facilitates, and coordinates an approach to developing the ideation, planning, prioritization, management, resourcing, and funding of applied water research projects.
In response to this identified need, The Water Tower, the new global innovation hub in Gwinnett County, Georgia, is leading the effort to create a forum through which stakeholders and researchers will work together to develop a Lake Lanier Watershed Research Master Plan. The Plan will provide a multi-year research roadmap of project concepts to address critical needs in the Lake Lanier Watershed. Funding for prioritized projects will be crowdsourced among the stakeholders and the be the focus of nonprofit, public and private grant applications. The research projects will be competitively bid, with regional and international third party technical expert oversight, and managed by The Water Tower, a 501c3 focused on research and innovation.
Presenters
- Kristan VandenHeuvel, Strategic Director of Research and Engagement, The Water Tower
- Steve Leo, Client Service Manager, Constantine Engineering
- Jeff Mosher, Principal Technologist, Carollo Engineers
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WateReuse Arizona Section Meeting & Webinar
10 am PDT | 10 am MST | 1 pm EDT
WateReuse Members: Free
Others: $49
PDHs: 2
Arizonaâs water managers and policy makers have long touted the practice of using treated wastewater in many areas of the state and putting it to beneficial use. However, every community uses effluent differently depending on their communityâs needs, history, and make-up the other sources of their water resources portfolio. Differences range from the size and locations of their reclaimed purple pipe system, to recharge facilities for Long Term Storage Credits, to exchange agreements, and the next horizon of DPR. What kind of investments are communities making to secure their water future using effluent? How and why are there differences and similarities between these communities. This panel discussion aims at asking how communities from Northern to Southern Arizona, and from East to West Valley use treated effluent as a component of their water resources portfolio.
Panel Members
- Brian Biesemeyer, City of Scottsdale
- Eric Braun, Town of Gilbert
- Barbara Chappell, City of Goodyear
- Kathryn Sorensen, City of Phoenix
- Tim Thomure, City of Tucson
- Erin Young, City of Flagstaff
Moderators
- Troy Walker
- Gretchen Baumgardner
Panel Outline
| START TIME | END TIME | DURATION | TOTAL | Description |
| 10:00 AM | 10:05 AM | 0:05 | 0:05 | Moderator Introduction to Webinar and panelist |
| 10:05 AM | 11:05 AM | 1:00 | 1:05 | Each Panelist gives a brief (10 min) presentation on their effluent uses and how that equates to their water resources portfolio |
| 11:05 AM | 11:25 AM | 0:20 | 1:25 | Q&A |
| 11:25 AM | 11:40 AM | 0:15 | 1:40 | Audience Q&A |
| 11:40 AM | 11:50 AM | 0:10 | 1:50 | Panelist each give a closing remark |
| 11:50 AM | 11:55 AM | 0:05 | 1:55 | Moderator closes panel discussion |
Questions
- Are there plans to build additional infrastructure to increase or change the way your organization uses its effluent?
- What hurdles to you see do drive that infrastructure investment, if any?
- How important do you see effluent as being a portion of your water resources portfolio? Does it play a significant role in planning for the future?
- What role has getting public buy-in to developing reuse projects?
- Regarding buy-in from your organizationâs leadership as well.
- In looking back over your organizationâs history, and hindsight is always 20/20, but can you talk about lessons learned or are there things about how the way your organization uses its effluent you would change if you could go back, knowing what you know now?
- Are there currently any regulatory hurdles that are preventing greater use of recycled water?
- In 2019 the prohibition for Direct Potable Reuse was lifted. What are your thoughts about the viability of this for your organization?
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Join Us!
11:00 a.m. â 12:30 p.m. Pacific | 2:00 â 3:30 pm Eastern
WateReuse Members: Free
Others: $49
PDHs: 1.5
Join us as we learn how water reuse is being reimagined and employed in different ways and scales. We will hear from the Portland Water Bureau regarding decentralized on-site non-potable water reuse to address water resource challenges for the City of Portland. Chris Wanner is a commissioner of the National Blue Ribbon Commission on On-site Non-Potable Reuse and will discuss how Portlandâs efforts fit into the Commissionâs work on advancing on-site non-potable water reuse. We will then shift attention to a smaller community in the Pacific Northwest, the City of Hagerman, Idaho, to learn how they transitioned from discharging to the river to recycling their water and putting it to good use.
Presenters
- Chris Wanner, Portland Water Bureau
- Dan Ayers, JUB Engineers
- Justin Hulme, Public Works Superintendent, City of Hagerman, ID
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