Home\WateReuse Review – October 8, 2018

October 8, 2018

 

Washington Update

Congress Wraps Up Work on Fiscal Year 2019 Appropriations…For Now

WateReuse Urges Supreme Court to Consider Challenge to Underground Conduit Theory

Metropolitan Water District Discusses California Water Issues on Capitol Hill

WateReuse Association member the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) organized a congressional briefing last Tuesday to highlight California water issues, present solutions, and solicit congressional support. MWD Board Chairman Randy Record and General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger presented information on the $16.7 billion California WaterFix project and other projects such as the California EcoRestore and Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan. More than 50 people attended to learn about Southern California’s great endeavor in securing water.

 

State Updates and Member Profiles

Welcome New Members!

The WateReuse Association welcomes the following new members:

Arkansas: $4.3 Million Federal Grant Awarded to Study Agricultural Reuse

A University of Arkansas, Fayetteville researcher has won a $4.3 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to work with farmers on ways to recycle water. The grant, awarded to Professor Lauren Greenlee, also involves evaluating whether water technology used in other industries might work for agricultural applications. Greenlee’s project is one of seven receiving a total of $34 million through the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative: Water for Food Production Systems Challenge Area. Greenlee plans to work with dairy and hog farmers on ways to recycle water used in their operations. Read More.

 California: Community Leaders Celebrate Completion of Monterey Pipeline Project

WateReuse Association member California American Water held a ceremony last week to celebrate the completion of a 7-mile, $50 million pipeline that will carry new sources of water to the Monterey Peninsula. The new water sources include a recently approved seawater desalination facility and water from the advanced-treatment project, Pure Water Monterey, currently under development by Monterey One Water and the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District. Pure Water Monterey expects to deliver water in late 2019. The desalination project should be online in 2021. Read More.

California: OCSD and OCWD Receive Regional Public Relations Award of Excellence

WateReuse Association members the Orange County Water District and Orange County Sanitation District received the 2018 Award of Excellence from the Orange County Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America for the “GWRS Bottled Water Campaign.” The project included a year-long California tour to bring bottled water and information to about 17,000 people from San Diego to Sacramento to educate audiences about the reliability and quality of this new source of water. The two agencies, with WateReuse California, helped to pass Assembly Bill 2022, which now allows the bottling of advanced purified water for educational purposes. Read More.

Florida: Pinellas County Names Megan Ross Director of Utilities

WateReuse Association member Pinellas County named Megan Ross as the new Utilities Director, effective October 1. Ross has been with Pinellas County for five years and has more than a decade of experience in public and private sector utility and engineering project management. She joined Pinellas County in 2013 and assumed the role of interim utilities director – leading the department since late 2017. She also served as primary facilitator for the Wastewater Stormwater Partnership. Read More.

Massachusetts: Natural Systems Utilities Awarded Contract for Onsite Reuse in Boston Development

WateReuse Association member Natural Systems Utilities has been awarded a contract to provide a two million gallons per day onsite water treatment and recycling facility to serve the Union Point development just south of Boston. Envisioned as a technologically advanced and environmentally conscious city, Union Point will comprise nearly 4,000 homes and apartments and 8 million square feet of commercial development opportunity balanced with more than 1,000 acres of green space and 50 miles of hiking and biking trails. The site also has direct pedestrian access to a commuter rail station. Read More.

Nevada: Water Innovation Campus Finds Success, Studies Advanced Purification

The Nevada Water Innovation Campus (NWIC), a partnership of the University of Nevada, Reno and regional agencies and cities focusing on sustainable water management, is marking its one-year anniversary with a celebration of successes. The university helps develop new approaches and the agencies implement them. One program that NWIC has added to its portfolio is OneWater Nevada, which evaluates treatment technologies and determines if advanced purified water can offer long-term benefits to the region. OneWater Nevada also has multiple demonstration trailers to inform the public about the treatment technology. Read More.

 

Association News

New Analysis Quantifies Resources Recovered from Wastewater

Each year, American communities recycle 2.2 billion gallons of water recovering 7 percent of the municipal wastewater produced, according to a new analysis supported by the WateReuse Association and led by the Water Environment Federation (WEF). The ReNew Water Project, the first analysis of resources recovery by U.S. Water utilities shows significant opportunities for expanding water reuse. The project uses data from national and state databases, publications, and a utility survey, which represents about 25 percent of municipal wastewater flow and about 20 percent of biosolids produced in the U.S. The ReNew Water Project will set goals for water utilities to increase resource recovery from baseline levels. New data will be collected on a biannual basis and expanded to Canadian water facilities. Other supporting organizations for the ReNEW Water Project include the Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA), National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), The Water Research Foundation (WRF), as well as Réseau Environnement in Quebec. Learn More.

 

Conferences and Events

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 November 14 at 2 p.m. 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!

Webcast: Learn about the New Recycled Water User Network

Please join us on Thursday, November 15 at 2 pm eastern 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. To learn more, register for the webcast.

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:

Upcoming Events

Nov
13
Thu
Water Recycling: Past, Present, and Future Through the Eyes of the Nation’s First Potable Reuse Project to Use Surface Water Augmentation
Nov 13 @ 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Water Recycling: Past, Present, and Future Through the Eyes of the Nation’s First Potable Reuse Project to Use Surface Water Augmentation

10:00 am EST | 7:00 am PST (1 hour)
WateReuse Members: Free; Others: $55
PDHs: 1

Register Now!

Join WateReuse Ohio to learn about Upper Occoquan Service Authority’s water recycling history & journey.

Upper Occoquan Service Authority (UOSA) is a regional water recycling facility that protects public health and the environment as trusted stewards of our most precious resource – water. They have a long track record and will discuss their story along with how they are facing new challenges, such as emerging contaminants (PFAS), changes to influent load from water conservation, and changes to treatment targets.

UOSA was formed on March 3, 1971 by concurrent resolution of the governing bodies of Fairfax and Prince William Counties and the Towns (now Cities) of Manassas and Manassas Park. UOSA’s product water flows via Bull Run to the Occoquan Reservoir, one of two major water supply sources for Virginia residents served by Fairfax Water. Fairfax Water serves nearly two million people in Fairfax County, the City of Alexandria, and portions of Prince William County and Loudoun County.

Moderator:    
  • Jessica Langdon, Assistant Policy Director, Ohio EPA
Presenter:    
  • Brian Steglitz, Chief Executive Officer, Upper Occoquan Service Authority
Implementation of Florida’s Potable Reuse Rules: Case Studies in Permitting
Nov 13 @ 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm

Register Now!

Implementation of Florida’s Potable Reuse Rules: Case Studies in Permitting

In February of this year, after much engagement, coordination, and collaboration between the
Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and industry/utility representatives,
Florida became the third state in the US to adopt statewide rules for both direct and indirect
potable reuse.

Join us for an in-depth discussion as we examine two case studies for potable reuse projects
that were permitted under the new rule. Hear representatives from JEA and Palm Beach County
discuss the permitting process for the H2.O Water Purification Project and the Green Cay Phase
II Project, respectively. Learn about some of the challenges along the way and hear from FDEP
about potential ways permittees may be able to alleviate permitting delays and impediments.

Please plan to join us for this collaborative and insightful discussion.

1:00 pm EST | 2:03 pm PST (1:30 hour)
WateReuse Members: $55; Others: $75

Moderator:

  • Lynn Spivey, Utility Director, City of Plant City

Presenters:

  • Sydney Cummings, Environmental Administrator, Division of Water Resource Mgmt., FDEP
  • Suzanne Mechler, Vice President, CDM Smith (Representing Palm Beach County)
  • Ryan Popko, Engineering Manager, JEA
  • Jo Ann Jackson, One Water National Practice Leader, Black & Veatch (JEA Consultant)

 

 

Nov
18
Tue
Pacific Northwest Section Meeting
Nov 18 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Nov
21
Fri
Central Coast Chapter Officer’s Meeting
Nov 21 all-day
Dec
10
Wed
California Communications Collaborative Group
Dec 10 @ 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Dec
12
Fri
Meeting of the Board of Directors & Executive Session – Fourth Quarter 2025
Dec 12 @ 11:00 am – 3:00 pm

Remote

Dec
16
Tue
Pacific Northwest Section Meeting
Dec 16 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Dec
18
Thu
Orange County Chapter Meeting
Dec 18 all-day
Jan
20
Tue
Pacific Northwest Section Meeting
Jan 20 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Feb
17
Tue
Pacific Northwest Section Meeting
Feb 17 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

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