Home\News\WateReuse Review\WateReuse Review – October 21, 2019

Washington Update

Contact Your Member of Congress to Advocate for Water Recycling Funding

Now is the time to reach out to your Member of Congress to ask them to support investments in water reuse through the federal appropriations process. Appropriators are in the process of making funding decisions for key programs that support water recycling, and they need to hear from their constituents about the importance of water recycling programs.

Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have passed FY 2020 funding bills for EPA and Bureau of Reclamation programs, including the Title XVI-WIIN Water Reclamation and Reuse Program, the State Revolving Fund programs, and the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act Program. The levels contained in the two bills are quite different, and in some cases, would mean significant cuts to these critical programs. To take action, review our Member Advocacy Alert for details on funding asks and call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. When you call, ask for the staffer who handles water issues and tell them that you are calling about FY 2020 appropriations. If the front office transfers you to that staffer’s voicemail (which is common!), leave a message.

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Member Survey: Share Your Comments on the Draft National Water Reuse Action Plan by Wednesday

The WateReuse Association is seeking member comments on the draft National Water Reuse Action Plan released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the 34th Annual WateReuse Symposium in San Diego, California. WateReuse will use member comments to inform the association’s response to the draft document. Please complete our member survey on the action plan by Wednesday, October 30.

The draft National Water Reuse Action Plan outlines a set of proposed actions aimed at supporting and advancing water reuse across the country. These include actions that can be led by federal government agencies, as well as actions that can be led by industry experts, the private sector, and the research community. The survey asks for your feedback regarding prioritization and implementation details for each specific action.

EPA is soliciting public input on the draft plan through a public comment period (docket number EPA-HQ-OW-2019-0174). Members may comment directly to EPA and participate in the member survey. Comments to EPA are due December 16.

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State Updates and Member Profiles

Welcome New Members!

The WateReuse Association welcomes the following new members:

City of Davis, California
Cyclopure, Inc.

California: WateReuse California Surveys Water Reuse Funding Needs

WateReuse California is surveying California utilities to support a 2020 water bond strategy that could include significant funding for water recycling projects. To best position reuse in these ongoing discussions, WRCA is asking California water agencies to share their funding needs for reuse over the next 5 to 10 years. To complete the short survey, click here.

California: Metropolitan, Sanitation Districts Launch New Water Recycling Facility

Two WateReuse Association members, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County, celebrated the start of operations at the Regional Recycled Water Advanced Purification Center. The 500,000-gallon-per-day demonstration facility takes effluent from the Sanitation Districts’ Joint Water Pollution Control Plant and purifies it using a process that begins with membrane bioreactors followed by reverse osmosis, ultraviolet light and advanced oxidation. The 15-month pilot is in preparation for a full-scale plant that could potentially produce up to 150 million gallons of purified water daily – enough to serve more than 500,000 homes and industrial facilities. Read More.

California: Ventura Approves $200 Million Plan to Purify Water for Drinking

The City of Ventura approved a $200 million plan to increase drinking water resources and reduce the treated wastewater released into the Santa Clara River estuary. Through indirect potable reuse, the new plant will add about 4,000 acre-ft. of water per year to the city’s groundwater supplies. When the new treatment plant is up and running in 2025, about 1.9 million gallons per day of treated water will be released to the river, compared to the 7.9 million gallons per day currently released. Read More.

Kansas: Hays Overhauls Treatment Plant, Expands Reuse Capacity

WateReuse Association member the City of Hays recently completed an upgrade to the Chetolah Creek Water Reclamation and Reuse Facility, which was overhauled to meet future nitrogen and phosphorus limits. Hays uses its recycled water for irrigation at sports fields and the municipal golf course. Recycled water is also available to the community through an adjacent fill station. Read More.

Research Update

Bureau of Reclamation Announces Funding for Desalination Research

The Bureau of Reclamation has released a funding opportunity for research under its Desalination and Water Purification Research Program. Funding of up to $250,000 is available for laboratory scale projects and up to $800,000 per proposal for pilot-scale projects. Applicants for desalination and water purification research project funding must submit their proposals by December 4. Learn More.

WRF Seeks Proposals to Assess Research Needs for Stormwater Reuse

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is seeking proposals for a project to evaluate the state of the knowledge and research needs for stormwater reuse. The project will examine variations in stormwater harvesting at regional and state levels and develop a synthesis document, which will include recommendations on preliminary project concepts. Applicants may request up to $20,000 from WRF with at least 33 percent of the project costs coming from other sources. Learn More.

Conferences and Events

Upcoming Events

Dec

Fri

2020 4th Quarter Meeting of the Board of Directors

Tickets

Dec 4 @ 11:00 am – 2:00 pm

Categories: Board Meetings

Dec

Tue

Los Angeles Chapter Meeting @ Zoom Video Conference

Tickets

Dec 8 @ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErcOypqjgsHtwmGaUIM0hd5mvgjfwX4pgY

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Categories: Los Angeles WateReuse California

Dec

Wed

Water Reuse in Palestine: Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainability, Food Security, and Economic Growth

Tickets

Dec 9 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Join Dr. A. Rasem Hasan, a professor and researcher at An-Najah National University in Nablus, West Bank, to learn about recent challenges, social and technical, and proposed solutions to increase water recycling in Palestine.

Register Now!

Join Us!
1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern | 10:00 am – 11:00 am Pacific
WateReuse Members: Free
Others: $49
PDHs: 1

Although a small country with many water resource challenges, Palestine relies on agriculture as a critical component of its economy. About 50 percent of the land is designated agricultural yet only 7 percent is irrigated, creating an opportunity for water reuse to play a key role in water conservation, food security, and economic growth. Join Dr. A. Rasem Hasan, a professor and researcher at An-Najah National University in Nablus, West Bank, to learn about recent challenges, social and technical, and proposed solutions to increase water recycling in Palestine.

Dr. Hasan will present research on how to overcome funding limitations to develop water reuse projects of varying sizes in a semi-arid to arid region. The presentation will discuss rural wastewater management and reuse, industrial wastewater management, brackish water desalination for drinking and irrigation, and climate change adaptation.

Join us for a presentation organized by the WateReuse International Committee that will offer insight into the unique experiences of communities where low funded projects can have significant impact on society.

Moderator

Dr. Zoreh Movahed, WATEK

Presenter

Dr. A. Rasem Hasan is currently the Director of Water and Environmental Studies institute, and faculty member of Civil Engineering Department, at An-Najah National University in Nablus, West Bank, Palestine. He has as a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Miami, Florida, USA, MSc in Water Engineering from Birzeit University, Palestine, and B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Mutah University, Jordan. Dr. Hasan received several academic awards and has 20+ years of work experience as consultant and academic in the fields of water and environmental engineering. His research interests are water desalination, wastewater treatment and management, water reuse, and hazardous waste management.