Home\News\WateReuse Review\WateReuse Review – December 23, 2019

Washington Update

WateReuse Association Secures Key Wins in FY 2020 Appropriations Legislation

Late last week, Congress passed and the President signed legislation to fund the government for the remainder of FY 2020, which ends in September of 2020. In total, the agreement provides $1.68 billion for the Bureau of Reclamation ($115 million above the FY 2019 enacted level) and slightly over $9 billion for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an increase of $208 million over the FY2019 enacted level. We are pleased to report that the legislation contains a number of WateReuse wins, including:

$20 million for the Title XVI-WIIN Water Reclamation and Reuse Competitive Grants Program;
More than $43 million for Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse “legacy” projects;
$20 million for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Desalination and Water Purification Program;
First time funding for the Drinking Water Infrastructure Resilience and Sustainability Program ($3 million), Innovative Water Technology Grant Program ($1 million), and Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants ($28 million); and
$6 million for the National Priorities Research Program.

The final funding agreement includes small reductions (relative to FY 2019) to the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) Program as well as the Clean and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Programs. At $60 million, the final funding level for WIFIA is higher than the level proposed by the House ($50 million), but lower than the level proposed by the Senate ($70 million). The final agreement includes the Senate’s proposed funding levels for the State Revolving Fund Programs. The House had supported significant funding increases for those programs. For a full breakdown of funding levels, you can download our appropriations chart here.

Congress has been working since March of 2019 to draft and negotiate appropriations legislation for FY 2020; however, because congressional negotiators were unable to come to an agreement before the end of the fiscal year on September 30, they had to instead pass a “continuing resolution” (CR), extending existing funding levels until midnight on December 20.

The WateReuse Association sends our sincere thanks to all of our members who made calls, held meetings, and sent emails to their representatives and senators over the last year, urging their support for key water recycling programs. Your actions played a critical role in securing these important wins!

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Bureau of Reclamation Makes Funding Available for Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Projects

The Bureau of Reclamation has published a new funding opportunity for sponsors of congressionally authorized Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse projects to request cost-shared funding for the planning, design, and/or construction of those projects. Reclamation expects to select approximately six to ten projects for funding. Applicants must provide a 75% non-federal cost share for the funding requested. The funding opportunity is available at www.grants.gov by searching for funding opportunity number BOR-DO-20-F008. Applications are due on Feb. 19, 2020 at 4 p.m. MST.

This funding opportunity is only open to sponsors of the 53 congressionally authorized Title XVI projects, provided that the Title XVI project has not reached its federal funding ceiling as specified in the Title XVI Act. A separate funding opportunity for Title XVI projects eligible under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act will be released later in the fiscal year.

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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.

Member Profiles

Welcome New Members!

The WateReuse Association welcomes the following new members:

Conferences and Events

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 nation’s premier conference on water recycling – 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.

Upcoming Events

Apr

Wed

WateReuse Pacific Northwest Meeting

Tickets

Apr 15 all-day

Categories: WateReuse Pacific Northwest

Webcast: Breaking Down Implementation Barriers for Onsite Non-Potable Water Systems

Tickets

Apr 15 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Presented in partnership with The Water Research Foundation, this presentation will cover key components of successful onsite non-potable water systems.

Webcast
2:00 – 3:00 pm Eastern ; 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Pacific
WateReuse Members and WRF Subscribers: Free
Others: $49
PDHs: 1

Register Now!

Across the nation, onsite non-potable water systems (ONWS) are becoming increasingly common as a means to conserve and recycle water. Ensuring consistent implementation is one of the principal challenges for ONWS programs, particularly when multiple, new stakeholders are involved. Water Research Foundation project 4909 sought to identify key knowledge gaps and provide the resources needed to aid in the smooth implementation of ONWS. Through interaction with the National Blue Ribbon Commission for Onsite Non-potable Water Systems, the project team identified common pitfalls that have impacted the design, operation, permitting, and implementation of ONWS.

This presentation will cover key components of a successful ONWS program including: (1) treatment goals that control public health risk, (2) effective design of both treatment and non-treatment (i.e., management) barriers, (3) strategies for effective operation and monitoring of ONWS systems, and (4) frameworks for regulating and permitting ONWS. The goal of this presentation is to convey the importance of stakeholder knowledge for consistent protection of public health at ONWS installations. This information will be presented through a survey of the projects two main deliverables: the comprehensive guidance manual and interactive training modules.

Presenters

Brian Pecson, Ph.D., P.E., Principal Engineer, Trussell Technologies
Brie Post, P.E., Senior Engineer, Trussell Technologies
Paula Kehoe, Director of Water Resources, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

Categories: Featured Webcasts

Apr

Tue

Webcast: America’s Water Infrastructure Act – Implications for Water Reuse and COVID-19

Tickets

Apr 21 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Are water recycling utilities well prepared to address the COVID-19 crisis and other potential future risks?

Join Us!
2:00 – 3:00 pm Eastern ; 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Pacific
WateReuse Members: Free
Others: $49
PDHs: 1

Register Now!

The America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) requires all utilities serving 3,300 or more people to complete a risk and resilience assessment (RRA) for their water systems, followed by the completion of an emergency response plan (ERP). The RRA’s are part of an overall effort to improve the ability of water systems to prepare for and respond to events from water resource limitations to cyber attacks, from extreme weather to an assault on the utility, and from contamination to treatment and distribution infrastructure, among others. In short, it is an all-hazards approach to managing risk.

This webcast will discuss how water reuse interacts with the RRAs and highlight some the ways that risks are viewed and managed from an AWIA perspective. It will also discuss how we are interpreting and acting upon risk in the midst the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and how we can use RRAs to prepare for future risks. This webcast will offer a fresh look at risk and resilience through the lens of preparation and response. The presentation will begin with an overview of AWIA requirements, RRAs, and the role of water reuse in those assessments followed by a focus on risk and risk perceptions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Presenters

Dr. Ben Stanford is an Associate Vice President with Hazen and Sawyer in the Denver office where he leads the implementation of innovations in water, wastewater, and water reuse. He is currently leading or supporting over a dozen risk and resilience projects in FL, NC, TX, CO, AZ, and CA.

Dr. Douglas Crawford-Brown is Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was Founding Director of the Institute for the Environment, and at the University of Cambridge, where he was Director of the Cambridge Centre for Climate Change Mitigation Research.