
Washington Update

Draft National Water Reuse Action Plan Posted for Public Comment
EPA Discusses Water Reuse with House Infrastructure Committee
Senate Committee Advances Funding for Water Recycling
Trump Administration Withdraws 2015 Clean Water Rule
State Updates and Member Profiles

Arizona: Scottsdale Receives State’s First DPR Permit, Sponsors Craft Beer Brewing Event
WateReuse Association member Scottsdale Water received Arizona’s first direct potable reuse (DPR) permit, making its advanced water treatment plant one of only three permanent facilities in the nation permitted for DPR. Scottsdale Water has performed indirect potable reuse via aquifer recharge for more than 20 years. While Scottsdale Water does not plan to make immediate changes in how it manages water, the utility will use its DPR permit for educational purposes, including providing water for a craft beer brewing event in November. Read More.
California: Legislature Directs State Water Board to Update Non-Potable Reuse Rules
Earlier this month, the California Legislature unanimously passed a bill, AB 1180, which requires (based on available funding) the State Water Board to update its non-potable reuse regulations by 2023. It also requires the Water Board to include the use of swivel ell connections for its update to cross connections regulations. WateReuse California has been requesting this update for more than 10 years to address a number of outdated provisions for non-potable regulations involving dual plumbing, outdoor eating facilities, and more. The bill now goes to the Governor for his signature.
California: Metropolitan to Assess Supply Potential of Stormwater Reuse
WateReuse Association member the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is launching a new three year, $5 million pilot program to learn the most efficient and cost effective methods to capture and use rainfall and stormwater runoff. The program will help fund the construction of new direct-use stormwater capture projects and the installation of monitoring equipment on existing projects. The pilot program is aimed at direct-use projects, like cisterns and permeable pavement with underground collection systems, that capture rainfall and stormwater and use it onsite for nonpotable needs such as irrigation. Read More.
Texas: Report Forecasts Increased Water Recycling in Oil and Gas Industry
The Texas Alliance of Energy Producers released a report September 16 that forecasts that the reuse and recycling of water produced during oil and gas extraction is poised to expand as the amount of water produced during these processes is expected to nearly double by 2023. The study, titled Sustainable Produced Water Policy, Regulatory Framework, and Management in the Texas Oil and Gas Industry: 2019 and Beyond, predicts that Texas oil and gas producers will be forced to continue sourcing water for fracking from an area in West Texas where water is scarce and freshwater sources are depleting. The report also finds that current and emerging treatment technologies can support cost-effective recycle and reuse in the oil and gas industry. Read More.
Research Update
RFPs for Six New Water Reuse Research Projects Open
The Water Research Foundation announced six new water reuse research projects that will be funded under a grant from the California State Water Resources Control Board. Requests for Proposals (RFPs) are open for research that addresses log removal credits, real-time monitoring, advanced oxidation processes, antibiotic resistance, and more. View RFPs.
Research Consortium to Study Scientific Gaps in Produced Water Recycling
New Mexico Environment Department and New Mexico State University have entered into a memorandum of understanding, which will create a produced water research consortium. The consortium will develop a framework to fill scientific and technical knowledge gaps necessary to establish regulations and policies for the treatment of produced water that protect public health and the environment while encouraging the oil and natural gas industry to rely less on fresh water and more on the reuse of produced water. Read More.
Conferences and Events
Call for Abstracts: 2020 WateReuse California Annual Conference
The California Section of the WateReuse Association is accepting abstracts for presentations at the 2020 WateReuse California Annual Conference to be held March 15-17, 2020 at the Hyatt Regency, San Francisco, California. 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. Abstracts are due October 18. Learn More.
Upcoming Events

8:00 am PT | 11 am ET | 5:00 pm CET (1 hour 30 minutes)
WateReuse Members: Free; Others: $49
PDHs: 1.5
Germany’s Approach to Water Reuse for Agricultural and Landscape Irrigation
Despite Germany’s temperate climate and history of adequate water resources, the country is experiencing droughts and extreme weather trends as a result of climate change. Germany’s increasing interest in employing water reuse for agricultural and landscape irrigation can serve as a model for other temperate regions facing these trends.
Join us for this 90-minute webcast covering the full timeline of reuse in Germany, including reuse initiatives which have existed for decades, future outlooks for reuse in Germany, and the recent European Water Reuse Regulation (2020/741) which went into effect in June 2023. Our panel of research and utility experts will also present ongoing research related to non-potable reuse of municipal wastewater for agricultural and landscape irrigation, which is part of the German BMBF Water Technologies: Reuse (WavE) funding program.
Moderator:
- Dr. Veronika Zhiteneva, Project Manager, Kompetenzzentrum Wasser Berlin
Speakers:
- Dr. Christina Jungfer, Project Manager, DECHEMA
- Prof. Dr. Jörg E. Drewes, Chair of Urban Water Systems Engineering, Technical University of Munich
- Markus Büttner, Environmental Engineer, Stadtentwässerung SCHWEINFURT
- Prof. Dr. Thomas Wintgens, Chair of Urban Water Management and Institute of Environemtnal Engineering, RWTH Aachen University
- Prof. Dr. Thomas Dockhorn, Director, Institute of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Braunschweig
- Prof Dr. Aki S. Ruhl, German Environment Agency, Technical University of Berlin
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11:00 am PT | 2 pm ET (1 hour)
WateReuse Members: Free; Others: $49
PDHs: 1
High-recovery desalination processes offer the benefit of increasing water recovery, generally with increasing cost and complexity. Reverse osmosis and electrodialysis desalination processes will be reviewed and compared with respect to high-recovery water reuse applications.
Moderator:
Erin Young, R.G.
Hydrogeologist | Water Resources Manager
City of Flagstaff Water Services
eyoung@flagstaffaz.gov | w: (928) 213-2405
Presenter:
Shane Walker, Ph.D., P.E.
Director, Water Resources Center
Professor, Civil, Environmental, & Construction Engineering
Texas Tech University
806-834-0823
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Please join the Emerging Professionals Committee for a tour of MWD’s Weymouth Water Treatment Plant on November 1, 2023, from 10 am – 12 pm! Tour capacity is limited to 30 people so please RSVP ASAP to reserve your spot at the link here: https://forms.gle/gxGhtcBLVwWMTG1F7
Constructed in 1941, the Weymouth Water Treatment Plant is the first water treatment plant constructed by the MWD and now has a treatment capacity of 520 million gallons per day! Please check out the fact sheet here for more information: water-treatment-plants-fact-sheet-final_web.pdf (mwdh2o.com)
Event Address: 700 Moreno Ave, La Verne, CA 91750
Parking is available on site.
Following the tour, anyone who is hungry is open to join us at In-N-Out Burger:
Restaurant Address: 2098 Foothill Blvd, La Verne, CA 91750
For more information, please contact Seto Cherchian at 714.944.4726 or