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November 9, 2020

Resilience Redefined: WateReuse Seeks Proposals for Presentations at the 36th Annual WateReuse Symposium

Washington Update

U.S. Department of Agriculture Invests $1.3 Million in Water Reuse Projects

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) awarded grants to two water reuse projects as part of its commitment to support the National Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP). Under the 2020 Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) Program, White River Regional Irrigation Water Distribution District in Arkansas received $700,000 to incorporate water reuse volume and quality data in their Irrigation Water Management Plans. In Louisiana, the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center received $595,172 to develop irrigation strategies to decrease the salinity and suspended solids in agriculture tailwater for reuse. NRCS’s incorporation of water reuse in to the CIG Program is the result of conversations between WateReuse and USDA, as well as the ongoing federal coordination on the WRAP. Read more.

Feedback Requested: WateReuse Seeks Member Guidance on Implementation of National Water Reuse Action Plan

The WateReuse Association is seeking member guidance on implementation of the U.S. EPA’s national Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP). To help guide implementation of a range of actions, please complete our survey here.

The WRAP was developed in partnership with WateReuse and other stakeholders. WateReuse is leading or co-leading a variety of actions, including developing a database to track and report state-level policies and regulations related to water reuse; establishing a water reuse award to recognize significant achievements in adopting and promoting water reuse in the industrial and corporate sectors; and helping to organize events related to stormwater reuse, inter-state collaboration, and workforce development.

State Updates and Member Profiles

Welcome New Member!

The WateReuse Association welcomes the following new member:

Arizona: Flagstaff Developing Master Plan to Increase Water Reuse

Flagstaff Water Services is developing a Reclaimed Water Master Plan to identify opportunities to use more recycled water to secure the city’s water future. Flagstaff currently finds beneficial, non-potable uses for one-third of the water that the city reclaims, reducing potable water use by 20 percent. A Community Stakeholder Committee on Reclaimed Water has been established to review and discuss potential strategies for the community to grow its water reuse program.  Read more.

Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Earns First Gold LEED Rating with Water Reuse

Gallogly Hall at the University of Oklahoma in Norman has received a LEED Gold rating, thanks in part to a water recycling system that captures stormwater and condensate recovery systems for reuse in the building’s purified water system. Although the university has other LEED-certified buildings, the water reuse system paired with four additional strategies helped the university earn its first Gold LEED certification. The building also is expected to have an energy cost savings of 39 percent.  Read more.

Texas: Rice University Researchers Look to Enhance Desalination Technology

Researchers at the Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment Center (NEWT) developed a new cost-effective technology for desalinating high strength industrial brine. Dr. Qilin Li, co-director of NEWT, and his team developed a thin coating of the 2-D nanomaterial hexagonal boron nitride, which they have found to increase desalination efficiency when treating industrial brine. NEWT is looking for industrial partners to help the research team scale-up their new coating process. Read more.

COVID-19 Research

UC Berkeley Launches Pop-up Lab to Monitor Bay Area Wastewater for COVID-19

A team of UC Berkley scientists, wastewater utilities, and public health agencies are working to monitor the Bay Area’s wastewater for signs of COVID-19. The team set up a temporary lab to test high-throughput wastewater in the region. The pop-up lab allows the region to track the community’s spreading of COVID-19 and can provide early warning for potential outbreaks. Read more.

International Update

UNESCO Releases Water Reuse Circular Economy Report

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) highlighted water reuse within a circular economy context in a recent report. The report covers water reuse principles, decision making, understanding challenges, water reuse and key stakeholders, and technology for water reuse through the lens of case-studies across the globe. Read here.

Egypt Explores Water Reuse to Bridge Water Gap and Reduce Pollution

The Egyptian government is in discussions with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on the possibility of EBRD partnering with Egyptian banks to finance water reuse projects. Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Mohamed Abdel Aaty, recently met with EBRD representatives to discuss developing modern projects that would treat wastewater and agricultural runoff for reuse to minimize pollution and close the country’s water gap. Additionally, Egypt is interested in seawater desalination. Read more.

Water Reuse Europe Opens 2020 Innovation Prize Applications

Applications are open for the Water Reuse Europe Innovation Prize 2020. The aims of this prize are to reward the professionals who are breaking new ground in the design and delivery of water reuse projects and showcase projects and initiatives which are at the forefront of reuse practice in Europe. The award will be given to the Most Innovative Water Reuse Scheme in Europe. Three finalists will be invited to participate in the Water Reuse Europe Webinar December 3, 2020. The application deadline is November 15, 2020. Apply here.

Member Resources and Benefits

Have a Question You’d Love to Ask a Peer? Use WateReuse Connect to Find the Answer

In this time of social distancing, opportunities for peer-to-peer networking are more important than ever. WateReuse members can use WateReuse Connect to access a member-to-member network of more than 7,000 water recycling practitioners, business leaders, regulators, academics, and technology providers. Recent discussion topics have included innovative partnerships, scheduling of recycled water deliveries, downstream flows, and COVID-19. Post your questions, observations, and unique challenges on our online platform to benefit from the unique experiences of other members across the nation and around the world. It’s simple to use with your member login information. For help accessing WateReuse Connect, please email Member Services.

Conferences, Webcasts and Events

Save the Date: 36th Annual WateReuse Symposium – Resiliency Redefined

Mark your calendar for the 36th Annual WateReuse Symposium, presented virtually March 15-25, 2021 as a series of live, fully interactive roundtable discussions. Each live roundtable includes breakout rooms that allow you to turn on your camera and interact face-to-face with presenters and other attendees. To prepare attendees to fully participate in this unique interactive experience, a group of pre-recorded, on demand roundtables will provide prerequisite education. Experience the 2021 WateReuse Symposium from the comfort of your own office in manageable chunks, and earn professional development hours! Learn more.

National Water Research Institute 2020 Clarke Prize Virtual Ceremony

Join the National Water Research Institute in congratulating the 2020 Clarke Prize awardee, Dr. Karl Linden of the University of Colorado-Boulder. The award ceremony will be streamed live on YouTube on Tuesday, November 10 at 12:25 pm PT. Linden is the Mortenson Professor in Sustainable Development at the University of Colorado in Boulder and is an innovator in wastewater treatment technology. Currently, Linden’s research focuses on UV light-emitting diode (LED) and UV disinfection for water treatment systems.  Watch the event here.

Free Virtual Event: National Alliance for Water Innovation Annual (Virtual) Meeting

The National Alliance for Water Innovation (NAWI) will hold its annual meeting as a virtual event November 18-19, 2020. NAWI’s Annual Meeting provides an opportunity to directly connect with interested members of the NAWI Alliance community through an innovative process called the NAWI UnConference. In this event on Thursday November 19, participants will be given their own Zoom Room to host other NAWI meeting participants who want to learn about their organization, research needs, capabilities or interests. Register here.

Free Webinar: City of Vancouver – Rainwater Harvesting & Non-potable Water System Design

The City of Vancouver is hosting a free webinar November 20, 2020 from 1 – 2:30 pm PT. How can rainwater harvesting help a new building meet its onsite rainwater management requirements? This seminar addresses the use of rainwater and groundwater for non-potable applications (such as toilet flushing, irrigation and cooling towers) from the perspectives of the Vancouver Building By-law and Vancouver Coastal Health. It will be of benefit to architects and building design consultants, engineers and technologists. Register here.

Free Virtual Event: Water Utility Resilience Forum

Water utilities will come together on December 1-2, 2020 for a virtual discussion of how utilities can be resilient and sustainable now and for the next one hundred years. Featuring insights from industry leaders and subject-matter experts, the Water Utility Resilience Forum will be a rich dialogue on what utilities are doing today to be resilient and what a resilient future looks like. The Forum is free to attend and is being convened by the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) and the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) in partnership with the Water Research Foundation (WRF) and the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center (WaterISAC). Learn more.

U.S. EPA Webinar: Workforce Technology Adoption – It’s All About the People

Join the U.S. EPA and speakers from MCES (Minnesota) and the Water Tower (Georgia) on December 9 for a discussion of Technology Adoption to support the workforce of the future. The speakers will discuss the motivations, challenges, and benefits they are experiencing as they work with their own employees and others to ensure their people get the best support possible to meet the technology and water quality challenges of the 21st century. This presentation is part of an ongoing webinar series sponsored by EPA, with support from water associations. Register here.

Upcoming Events

May
10
Fri
WateReuse California Legislative-Regulatory Committee Meeting
May 10 @ 9:00 am – 10:30 am
Please find below the 2024 schedule for the Legislative-Regulatory Committee. All in-person meetings will be held at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s Sacramento offices located at: 1121 L Street, Suite 900, Sacramento.]   Both in-person and virtual meetings will occur from 12:30 to 2:00 pm. Those indicated as virtual will occur over Zoom and a link will be provided on the agenda.   The 2024 WRCA Annual Conference will be at the: Hyatt Regency Orange County.   Please save the date for our 2024 meeting dates:   1. January 19 – in person 2. March 8 – virtual 3. March 22 – in person 4. April 12 – virtual 5. May 10 – in person 6. May 31 – virtual 7. June 21 – virtual 8. August 9 – virtual 9. September 16 – in person (at annual conference)
May
16
Thu
Central Coast Chapter Meeting
May 16 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Our next WateReuse Central Coast chapter meeting will be on Thursday, May 16th from 12:00pm to 2:00pm at the City of Camarillo North Pleasant Valley Groundwater Desalter. We will follow a hybrid in-person and online format with a presentation and chapter update from 12-1p followed by a site tour of the facility from 1-2p for the in-person folks. The facility transforms unusable brackish groundwater into a local source of high-quality and affordable drinking water while also removing damaging salts from the regional watershed. The treated groundwater can produce up to 3,800 acre-feet per year of potable water. The desalter was just named the Outstanding Water/Wastewater Treatment Project of the Year by ASCE Region 9.

Please RSVP here for in-person or online by May 10th if you plan to join the meeting. Lunch will be provided for those who attend in-person. Due to space constraints, in-person attendance will be limited to the first 20 people who RSVP.

WateReuse California Agricultural Reuse Committee
May 16 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
May
17
Fri
Northern California Chapter Meeting
May 17 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

The meeting will be May 17 at Mitchell Park Community Center 3700 Middlefield Rd, Palo Alto. The topic is Commissioning, Operations and Compliance perspectives and we will have presentations from:

  • Steven Garner, Director of Certification for AWWA Cal-Nevada will be presenting what it takes to get an AWTO Certification for purified systems
  • Vincent Gruffat and Brandon Jacka, Engineer and Operations Managers for Natural Systems Utilities (NSU) will be presenting the perspectives from operating Onsite non potable water systems
  • Derrick Mansell, Operations Manager of Orange County Water District will be presenting the challenges and lessons learned from operating the world’s largest IPR system
May
21
Tue
Pacific Northwest Section Meeting
May 21 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
May
22
Wed
WateReuse Florida 2024 Reuse Summit
May 22 all-day
May
28
Tue
Joint Meeting with S.C. DHEC @ SCAWWA/WEASC Offices in Columbia, SC
May 28 all-day
May
30
Thu
Central Valley/Sierra Foothills Chapter Meeting
May 30 @ 10:00 am – 12:30 pm

Please Save-the-Date for our chapter meeting on May 30 at the City of Roseville’s Dry Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. The draft agenda is attached. Also, please note that this is an in-person meeting only.

Please RSVP to me (jayaprakashl@sacsewer.com) by May 27 to confirm your attendance.

May
31
Fri
WateReuse California Legislative-Regulatory Committee Meeting
May 31 @ 9:00 am – 10:30 am

Please find below the 2024 schedule for the Legislative-Regulatory Committee. All in-person meetings will be held at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s Sacramento offices located at: 1121 L Street, Suite 900, Sacramento.]

 

Both in-person and virtual meetings will occur from 12:30 to 2:00 pm. Those indicated as virtual will occur over Zoom and a link will be provided on the agenda.

 

The 2024 WRCA Annual Conference will be at the: Hyatt Regency Orange County.

 

Please save the date for our 2024 meeting dates:

 

1. January 19 – in person

2. March 8 – virtual

3. March 22 – in person

4. April 12 – virtual

5. May 10 – in person

6. May 31 – virtual

7. June 21 – virtual

8. August 9 – virtual

9. September 16 – in person (at annual conference)

Jun
6
Thu
WRCA Potable Reuse Permitting & Compliance Meeting
Jun 6 @ 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm

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