Washington Update

WateReuse Association Urges Lame Duck Action on Western Water Investment Programs

The WateReuse Association and the Family Farm Alliance sent a joint letter to House and Senate leadership last Tuesday urging support and action on several western water investment programs during the lame duck session of Congress. Specifically, the letter urged movement on a package that includes reauthorization of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse competitive grant program, the reauthorization of the desalination program, and the reauthorization of the western water storage program, as authorized in the 2016 Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act.

With the enactment of the FY 2019 Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill, the authorization for the Title XVI-WIIN competitive grants, as well as the desalination program and the western water storage program, has been reached. WateReuse and the Family Farm Alliance are working jointly to urge reauthorization of these three vital water supply programs during the lame duck session. The Title XVI program has been an extremely successful program focused on water recycling in the West. The desalination program, along with the western water storage program, work together with water recycling to give growers and communities alike the range of tools and opportunities to address stressed water sources to provide a safe and secure source of sustainable water supplies. The joint letter follows on the heels of a broad water sector stakeholder letter that the WateReuse Association submitted to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House Natural Resources Committee and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee before the mid-term election.

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WateReuse Association Joins Water Sector in Urging Passage of Legislation to Fund Water Research

The WateReuse Association signed onto a joint water sector letter sent to House and Senate appropriation chairs November 13 in support of swift action to pass the FY2019 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations bill upon returning into session, which includes $4.1 million for the National Priorities Water Research Grant program. This program is one of the few federal programs that sponsors extramural research to address the most pressing needs of the water sector, including water recycling research sponsored by the Water Research Foundation. Although Congress has supported funding for the program since 2012, funding of this grant program would be less certain under a Continuing Resolution.

State Updates and Member Profiles

Welcome New Member!

The WateReuse Association welcomes the following new members:

Hitachi, Ltd.

California: Water Board Set to Revise CWSRF Policy

On November 28, the California State Water Board will revise the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) Policy to help manage the extreme demand the program has experienced in recent years. The CWSRF is a major source of funding for recycled water projects in California. One of the significant changes contained in the draft CWSRF Policy is replacing a Project List with the “Fundable List.” The primary purpose of the Fundable List is to identify potentially eligible projects the Water Board intends to finance during a particular state fiscal year. Only the projects listed on the Fundable List would be eligible to receive financing. WateReuse California submitted comments to the Water Board and will testify at the hearing. WRCA has also asked the Water Board to request additional bond financing to help fund the huge backlog of recycled water projects.

Maryland: Water Reuse Initiative Aims to Increase Reuse; Update Regulations

Although water reuse is not new to Maryland, the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) is a year into a water reuse initiative intended to raise awareness, improve business certainty with clear reuse guidelines, offer financial and technical resources, and incorporate water reuse into long range planning for Chesapeake Bay restoration and Maryland’s statewide water supply plan. Maryland currently recycles water for non-food crop irrigation, golf course irrigation, power plant cooing, and data center cooling. As part of this initiative, MDE is exploring ways to remove barriers to increasing the volume of reuse and expanding the types of reuse. Learn More.

New Mexico: EPA, New Mexico Release Draft White Paper on Water Reuse in the Oil and Gas Sector

The State of New Mexico and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a draft white paper that addresses state and federal regulatory management of produced water, along with opportunities to treat and reuse the water to help alleviate water scarcity issues across the state. New Mexico is the third largest oil producing state in the United States and is seeking ways to reuse the water that is produced during oil and gas extraction and the EPA has a goal of promoting wastewater as a resource. The final white paper is scheduled for release at the end of 2018. Learn More.

Association Update

Webcast Introduces Recycled Water User Network

The WateReuse Association hosted a webcast on November 15 to introduce the new 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 Recycled Water User Network™ is a resource for members of the WateReuse Association to market and provide support to current and potential customers of recycled water, while building public acceptance of recycled water.

A signature component of the new program is a new green industry designation – Water Star™ – which recognizes the partnership between water utilities and recycled water users as essential to ensuring safe and sustainable water supplies and highlights the important role recycled water plays in a community’s economic health. The Water Star™ designation and Water Star™ label are available to recycled water utility members and their customers that join the Recycled Water User Network™ as partners. This new member benefit is available to all water utility members at no additional cost.

Those interested in the program can watch the webcast or visit the website for more information. Member utilities can also sign up to become partner utility.

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Conference and Events

Webcast: Using Onsite Water Recycling Systems to Transform Water Management

Please join us on December 11 at 2 p.m. ET to learn how communities such as San Francisco and Denver are incorporating onsite non-potable water systems to diversify their water supply portfolios and transform the way water is managed in buildings. Increased interest in sustainable resource management has resulted in the adoption of a diverse array of water recycling and reuse techniques that maximize valuable water supplies to meet the challenging water demands of the 21^st century.

Paula Kehoe, the Director of Water Resources at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, will present on San Francisco’s innovative Non-potable Water Program. Established in 2012, San Francisco’s Non-potable Water Program allows for the collection, treatment, and use of alternate water sources for non-potable uses in buildings, and provides a streamlined permitting program for onsite water systems. In addition, she will present on the recent work of the National Blue Ribbon Commission for Onsite Non-potable Water Systems, a group of public utilities and health agencies building consensus on water quality standards and permitting approaches, to help municipalities build local permitting programs for onsite water systems.

Brian Good, Chief Administrative Officer of Denver Water, will present on upcoming regulatory changes and remaining challenges for onsite water recycling in Colorado. He will also present on two of Denver Water’s projects that are moving forward with design and construction guided by a One Water approach to water management. Register Now!