October 29, 2018
Washington Update
President Trump Signs Legislation in Support of Water Reuse
WateReuse Association Attends Grand Water Challenge Kick-Off Meeting and Summit
EPA Announces WIFIA Information Sessions
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced three new dates for Information Sessions designed to give utilities the opportunity to learn about funding opportunities for water, wastewater, and recycled water infrastructure available under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA). WIFIA program staff will provide an overview of the program, explain the financial benefits of WIFIA loans, and discuss the application process. The announced dates are:
- November 13, 2018, Chicago, Illinois
- December 11, 2018, Boston, Massachusetts
- January 15, 2019, Atlanta, Georgia
State Updates and Member Profiles
California: West Basin to Receive Up to $35 Million for Water Recycling in New Federal Package
America’s Water Infrastructure Act, the comprehensive infrastructure legislation signed by the president on Oct. 23, will allow West Basin Municipal Water District to access an additional $35 million in federal funding for its Harbor South Bay Water Recycling project. This major federal water infrastructure package includes a specific provision to allow West Basin to pursue significant funding through the Army Corps of Engineers to upgrade and increase capacity at the Edward C. Little Water Recycling Facility in El Segundo. S. 3021 includes provisions to double the original project authorization from $35 million to $70 million, which will assist West Basin in ensuring that an adequate water supply for the Los Angeles region is met for current and future demands. Read More.
California: Mike Bloomberg Names San José Winner in Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge
WateReuse Association member the City of San José was one of 20 cities to win the Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge, a $70 million program that will accelerate efforts to tackle climate change and promote a sustainable future for residents. Through the Climate Challenge – which is part of Bloomberg’s American Cities Initiative, a suite of more than $200 million in investments to strengthen city halls and advance critical policies – San José is accepted into a two-year acceleration program and will be provided powerful new resources and access to innovative support to help meet or beat the city’s near-term carbon-reduction goals. Bloomberg Philanthropies selected San José as a winning city because of its innovative and ambitious climate action plan, Climate Smart San José, which will reduce air pollution, save water, and improve quality of life. Read More.
Oregon: Clean Water Services Highlights One Water, Resource Recovery
WateReuse Association member Clean Water Services released its Annual Report highlighting a focus on “One Water” and the use of creative approaches to improve water quality, recover resources, gain efficiency, create value, and connect people to their ecosystems. In Oregon’s Washington County, Clean Water Services and a network of partners promote the healthy flow of One Water. As a Utility of the Future, Clean Water Services is committed to services the whole community – families and businesses, plants, and wildlife. View the Annual Report.
Conferences and Events
Webcast: Learn about the New Recycled Water User Network
Please join us on Thursday, November 15 at 2:00 pm EST to learn about the WateReuse Association’s newest membership opportunity, the Recycled Water User Network. The network gives businesses, governments and nonprofits that use recycled water the opportunity to receive a green designation, Water StarTM and to access information and resources on recycled water and access to the Association’s membership benefits, including access to monthly webcasts, weekly newsletter, and discounts on conference registration fees. To learn more about how your utility can take advantage of the Recycled Water User Network, register today for the webcast.
Webcast: Reducing the Cost of Concentrate Disposal: Using a Novel Hybrid NF-RO to Enhance Sodium Chloride Removal
Concentrate disposal is a major cost for desalting operations, and for many water-recycling applications only partial desalting is needed, often targeting sodium chloride specifically. Please join us on Wednesday, November 14 at 2 p.m. EST to learn about a pilot study that was conducted to demonstrate the viability of a two-pass system, combining an NF pass with a second RO pass and blending the NF concentrate with the RO permeate. Findings indicate that sodium chloride can be preferentially removed from the recycled water, chemical and power consumption can be reduced when operated at system recoveries comparable to typical RO systems, and much higher recoveries are achievable with modest increases in power and chemical usage. Register Now!
Upcoming Events
WateReuse Pacific Northwest State Workshop series.
WateReuse Pacific Northwest State Workshop Series
Join Us!
11:00 am – 1:30 pm PT | 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm ET
Fee: Free
This webinar is hosted jointly by this year’s Water Week Water Association Partners and will provide attendees the opportunity to hear directly from key EPA officials and Members of Congress on the important regulatory and legislative water policies they are working on now and in the years ahead.
Join us for a lively discussion with leaders from across the water sector about the future of water reuse and its importance as a tool to address the impacts of climate change and meet local water demands.
Register Now!
Please join us for a free webinar on April 29, 2021, from 2:00 to 3:30 PM EDT to celebrate the first year of the National Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP), including accomplishments of action leaders and partners and anticipated 2021 outcomes.
The Resilience through Collaboration: First Year Highlights and Future Directions of the National Water Reuse Action Plan webcast will feature remarks from Radhika Fox (EPA’s Acting Assistant Administrator for Water), Felicia Marcus (William C. Landreth Visiting Fellow at Stanford University’s Water in the West Program), and a roundtable discussion with WRAP action leaders and partners and other water reuse practitioners from around the United States. This event is hosted by EPA in collaboration with the WateReuse Association and other water sector partners.
The roundtable panelists include:
- Gilbert Trejo, El Paso Water, WateReuse President (moderator)
- Pinar Balci, New York City Department of Environmental Protection
- Mike Markus, Orange County Water District
- Melissa Klembara, U.S. Department of Energy
- Brandi Honeycutt, Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment
- Paula Kehoe, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Chair of the National Blue Ribbon Commission for Onsite Non-potable Water Systems
The WRAP collaborative was launched on February 27, 2020 with federal, state, tribal, local, and private sector partners to build technical, financial, and institutional capacity to spur further consideration and implementation of water reuse across the country. The story of the WRAP’s first year of implementation is one of incredible dedication and determination by a growing community of over 100 different organizations. The WRAP collaborative has enabled the formation of new action-based partnerships across the water community to help address local water resource challenges through holistic thinking and integrated efforts to ultimately strengthen our Nation’s water security, sustainability, and resilience.
Join May Wu, Principal Environmental System Scientist with Argonne National Laboratory, for a webcast on the role of water reuse in bioenergy production.
11:00 am – 12:00 pm PT | 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm ET
WateReuse Members: Free | Others: $49
Production of bioenergy from a range of feedstocks and biorefining pathways requires a substantial amount of water for irrigation, conversion process, cooling, and steam generation. Because the feedstock varies with climate and soil regions, an increased production will have implications in the availability of regional and local freshwater resources across the U.S. It is critical to understand how fit-for-purpose water recycling can be used to conserve freshwater.
This webcast presents findings from an Argonne National laboratory analyses of potential recycled water use to produce biofuels from conventional crops and algae and generate power by incorporating technology, climate, and geospatial-temporal components. Findings suggest a significant potential of producing advanced biofuel while doubling the amount of recycled water in use nationally. Results from this project support informed decision-making and strategic planning for water sustainable bioenergy development.
Presenter
May Wu is a principal environmental system scientist at Argonne National Laboratory. Her research interests are water resource use, water quality, and wastewater management in the production of biofuels and conventional energy.
WateReuse Pacific Northwest State Workshop Series
WateReuse Pacific Northwest State Workshop Series
WateReuse Pacific Northwest State Workshop Series
Save the date! More information to come soon.
Learn how digital platforms that include artificial intelligence and machine learning can be used to improve asset management strategies and operational efficiencies.
11:00 am – 12:00 pm PT | 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm ET
WateReuse Members: Free
Others: $49
PDHs: 1
In this webcast, our presenters will introduce how digital platforms that include artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can be used to improve asset management strategies and operational efficiencies, as well as enhance source control, validate unit process performance, predict product water quality and make sound decisions for assessing suitability of product water for human consumption.
The data collected from pilot and full-scale potable reuse treatment trains have been used to develop artificial neuron networks as part of an ML platform. The platform clearly demonstrates that ML can be used to predict, for example, the product water total organic carbon (TOC) concentration of a pilot advanced treatment facility and the specific fluxes on the third stage of a full-scale advanced treatment facility as the feed quality and operating conditions are changed.
The methodology used and model outputs will be discussed during the webcast. The presenters will also examine how we can couple AI/ML concepts with the Internet of Things (IoT) and next generation of the SCADA systems to operate and maintain assets efficiently while significantly enhancing public and regulatory confidence in potable reuse projects.
Presenters
- Ufuk Erdal, Arcadis
- Jim Cooper, Arcadis
- Raluca Constantinescu, Arcadis
- Ozan Erdal, University of Washington