Washington Update
Mark Your Calendar for Capitol Hill Visits during Water Week 2020
Continuing Resolution to Maintain Funding for Water Recycling Programs as FY 2020 Negotiations Continue
House and Senate leaders have agreed to pass a second continuing resolution (CR) to keep the Government running until December 20. Congress uses CR’s to extend current federal funding levels when it is unable to reach an agreement on new funding levels for the upcoming fiscal year. The current CR expires on November 21. The House of Representatives will vote on the bill this week, and the Senate is expected to do so shortly thereafter, assuming the bill passes in the House. Under a second CR, Congress would have another month to negotiate funding levels for defense and non-defense spending for the remainder of FY 2020, which began on October 1. For a full breakdown of where funding stands for key water reuse programs, see our previous reports.
WateReuse Continues Work on National Water Reuse Action Plan
On September 10, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a draft of its National Water Reuse Action Plan, and began to solicit feedback through a public comment period, which closes on December 16. WateReuse recently held a meeting with our water sector association partners to discuss the Action Plan, its implementation, and opportunities for collaboration moving forward. We continue to work with WateReuse members and our Policy Committee to develop comments ahead of the December 16 deadline. Members may also submit individual comments through the public docket (docket number EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0174).
State Updates and Member Profiles
California: Palo Alto and Valley Water Partner on Recycled Water
WateReuse Association members the City of Palo Alto and Valley Water are moving forward with a regional recycled water deal in which Palo Alto will desalt its wastewater and ship it to Valley Water for reuse throughout Santa Clara County. While Palo Alto currently receives water supplies from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the deal will give Palo Alto a backup source of both potable and non-potable water from Valley Water. The terms of the agreement, which is supported by the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is set for a city council vote on November 18. 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.
Florida: Manatee County Tests Treatment to Improve Reclaimed Water Quality
WateReuse Association members Manatee County Utilities and the Southwest Florida Water Management District are pilot testing a treatment technology aimed at reducing nutrients in reclaimed water. The pilot program will treat 1 million to 1.5 million gallons of the 8 million gallons of reclaimed water a day delivered from Manatee County. The pilot will test biochar filtration to meet Florida’s advanced wastewater treatment standards. Read more.
WateReuse Customer Communications Tools and Resources
How Can You Offer Recognition to Your Recycled Water Customers? Participate in the Recycled Water User Network
Are you interested in recognizing recycled water customers as community water stewards or offering an incentive for new customers to come onboard? Participate in the Recycled Water User Network, a members-only network for businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations that use recycled water, including customers of water utilities and organizations that recycle water onsite. The network gives businesses, governments and nonprofits that use recycled water the opportunity to receive a green designation, Water StarTM, and access to information and resources on recycled water. Learn More.
Conferences and Events
Green Building Professionals Learn about Onsite Water Reuse
Incoming WateReuse Association Board of Directors member Paula Kehoe of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission discussed onsite water reuse at GreenBuilder 2019, a conference hosted by the U.S. Green Building Council. The session focused on the drivers, practicable understanding, and resources for design and monitoring of onsite non-potable water systems and how these projects relate to LEED water efficiency credits. The session also highlighted the work of the National Blue Ribbon Commission for Onsite Non-potable Water Systems, which includes a guidance manual and training materials. Read More.
Closing the Water Loop with NEWater: The Story of Recycled Water in Singapore
Singapore, a small densely populated island nation, has made international headlines with its innovative NEWater, a high quality purified water produced using advanced membranes and ultraviolet technologies. Please join us for a webcast on November 20 at 4:30 pm PST for an in depth presentation on Singapore’s NEWater. Two engineers will join us live from Singapore to discuss R&D efforts and strategies implemented to overcome various operational challenges. Register Now.
Upcoming Events
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:Â 1
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
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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:Â 1
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.
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Section Meeting & Webinar at Stantec
– featuring Brian Biesemeyer, Scottsdale Water “Arizona’s First Direct Potable Reuse System”