February 18, 2019
Washington Update
Join Hundreds of Water Professionals from Across the Country for Water Week 2019
President Trump Signs Legislation on FY 2019 Appropriations Legislation – Including EPA Funding
Title XVI-WIIN Water Recycling Bill Introduced in the House
WateReuse Submits Recommendations to Army Corps of Engineers for Implementing America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018
Senate Permanently Reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund
On February 12, the Senate voted to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which funds, among other conservation efforts, fish and wildlife habitat restoration. It also authorizes or directs the transfer of ownership of Bureau of Reclamation projects to states, tribes, and other non-federal entities. The House is expected to take up and pass the measure before sending it to the President for his signature.
State Updates and Member Profiles
Welcome New Members!
The WateReuse Association welcomes the following new members:
California: WateReuse California Supports Recognition of Environmental Benefits of Water Reuse
WateReuse California signed onto a joint letter to Felicia Marcus, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, with recommendations on how to recognize the environmental benefits of recycled water within the current reporting requirements in the state’s recycled water policy. The letter recommends adding an “Other Beneficial Uses” category to separate the reporting of recycled water discharges from the discharge of other treated wastewater. The letter states that recycled water use in natural systems and habitat supports beneficial uses and should not be characterized as primarily a discharge of waste. Read More.
California: Legislation to Make It Easier for Breweries and Wineries to Recycle their Water
Association News
New Issue of World Water Features Commentary by WateReuse Executive Director
Recording Available for February Webcast: Community Engagement for Potable Reuse
The WateReuse Association hosted a webcast last Wednesday, Community Engagement for Potable Reuse Success, presenting the latest techniques in engagement and public education to build support for potable reuse. Panelists from California, Colorado, and Texas described key elements that have helped their past efforts and discussed new outreach tactics they are relying on to take their outreach efforts to the next level. View the recording.
Research Update
Research Survey to Uncover Career Challenges for Women in the Water Sector
Researchers from Boston University, Portland State University and University of Rhode Island have opened a first-of-its-kind survey that focuses solely on career advancement of women in the water sector. The survey is open to women and men at any career stage and the deadline to respond is March 14, 2019.
Conferences and Events
Webcast: What are the Best Opportunities for Industrial Water Reuse?
Please join us on March 13 at 2 pm eastern to learn which industries are investing in water reuse and in what ways. Learn about new data from Bluefield Research that will reveal reuse strategies for key industries, drivers for investment in reuse, the best geographic opportunities for industrial reuse, how industries are collaborating with municipalities, and more. Register Now!
Register for the 2019 WateReuse California Annual Conference
Registration is open for the 2019 WateReuse California Annual Conference to be held March 17-19, 2019 at the Hyatt Regency Orange County in Garden Grove, CA. 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!
Save the Date: 34th Annual WateReuse Symposium in San Diego, California
Mark your calendar for the 34th Annual WateReuse Symposium is in San Diego, California on September 8-11, 2019. This year’s theme is “Collaborate to Innovate.” We will showcase recycled water collaborations among utilities, farmers, and industry; regulators working together at both the state and federal level; sustainability; public/private partnerships; and, for the first time, the latest in reuse research led by the Water Research Foundation. Learn More.
Upcoming Events
Launching June 24 -25
Don’t 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!
2:00 – 3:00 pm Eastern | 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Pacific
WateReuse Members: Free
Others: $49
PDHs: 1
Champion Sponsor: CDM Smith
This presentation will give an overview of the COVID-19 research in wastewater that CDM Smith is conducting with multiple clients in the U.S. and Canada. The second half of the presentation will link the findings and learnings from the COVID-19 research to water reuse. For example, an understanding of viral loads, variability among communities and within communities, and online or field qPCR methods are essential to measuring the Sars-CoV-2 virus in wastewater and predicting future reemergence. This detailed, increased monitoring of sewersheds coupled with fast-tracked development of more mobile analytical methods may lead to better monitoring and understanding of wastewaters, as a source for IPR or DPR.
Presenters
- Anna Mehrotra, PhD, PE – Environmental Engineer, CDM Smith
- Greta Zornes, PhD – CDM Smith Practice Leader for Reuse & Industrial Treatment
Join Us!
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Pacific | 2:00 – 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, BACWA’s 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
Join Us!
2:00 – 3:15 pm Eastern | 11:00 a.m. – 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 region’s growing population. Specifically, in Gwinnett County, Georgia, the majority of the county’s 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
WateReuse Arizona Section Meeting & Webinar
10 am PDT | 10 am MST | 1 pm EDT
Arizona’s 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 community’s 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 organization’s leadership as well.
- In looking back over your organization’s 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?
Join Us!
11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Pacific | 2:00 – 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 Portland’s efforts fit into the Commission’s 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