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:
- Ecolab
- Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (Minnesota)
- Pasco County Utilities (Florida)
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:
- November 13, 2018, Chicago, Illinois
- December 11, 2018, Boston, Massachusetts
- January 15, 2019, Atlanta, Georgia
Upcoming Events
Join us on Tuesday, October 14, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at the Eastern Municipal Water District Board Room in Perris, CA for the Q3 Inland Empire WateReuse Chapter Meeting.
This meeting will bring together nationally recognized leaders in potable reuse, offering a rare opportunity to learn about and engage with transformative projects in San Diego, Los Angeles, and the California inland region.
Why attend:
- Hear directly from experts driving landmark reuse projects.
- Connect with engineers, utilities, vendors, and regulators.
- Gain insights that will accelerate innovation and resilience.
Lunch will be provided for all attendees.
We also encourage you to extend this invitation to colleagues in the field who would benefit from this unique opportunity to connect, learn, and collaborate. To help spread the word, we are providing a flyer which you can share or post in break rooms, lunchrooms, bulletin boards, or other common spaces (as allowed) where your teams and colleagues will see it.

Date & Time:
Thursday, October 16, 2025
10:30AM PST _ 1:30PM EST
In Spring 2025 Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) codified the Advanced Water Purification (AWP) rule. Under this rule, an applicant is required to conduct an Initial Source Water Characterization (ISWC) and implement an Enhanced Source Control Plan (ESCP). These two requirements are intertwined and require coordination. The purpose of the ISWC is to understand the baseline Advanced Water Treatment Facility (AWTF) feed water quality. The ESCP serves as a mechanism to identify, control, or eliminate constituents of concern (COCs), as identified during ISWC sampling, that are discharged to the collection system.
An ESCP extends beyond federal Industrial Pretreatment Program (IPP) requirements. Given the lack of environmental buffers inherent to AWP, a primary goal of an ESCP is to provide additional control measures to protect public health, as well as instill public confidence in the safety of AWP. As part of the AWP rule, an ESCP must incorporate monitoring of industry and regulated contaminants as required through an IPP, as well as consider monitoring of unregulated but possibly problematic chemicals (harmful or pass-through/interference) discharged to the sewer. The regulations also stipulate the development of an excursion response plan covering the source(s)/collection system, the Water Reclamation Facility, and the AWTF.
The ISWC lays the groundwork for developing the ESCP. Several approaches used at various utilities implementing potable reuse programs will be showcased to help navigate the requirements of the AWP rule. Additionally, utilities will need to consider other complexities, such as overlap with Tier 1 (Safe Drinking Water Act) constituents and chemicals that undergo changes during advanced treatment as part of the chemical inventory. Ultimately, the core questions that this presentation aims to address are: a) How do the ESCP and ISWC support safe and successful implementation of Arizona’s AWP rule, and b) What are strategies, using examples as a guide, Arizona utilities may use to meet their ESCP and ISWC regulatory requirements?
In-Person Location: Black & Veatch 2231 E Camelback Rd, Ste 300, Phoenix, AZ 85016
Moderator:
- Erin Young, Water Resources Manager, Flagstaff Water Services, WRAZ President
Presenter:
- Doug Rice, Process Engineer, Black & Veatch
- Mary Kate Forkan, Lead Scientist, Carollo Engineers
The third edition of Water Reuse Europe’s Knowledge Exchange Day will take place on 21 October 2025 in Brussels, Belgium.
This event will showcase the outcomes of recent and ongoing water reuse research projects delivered across Europe, providing a valuable platform for knowledge transfer between WRE members and non-members.
Water Reuse Europe’s Knowledge Exchange Days offer an excellent opportunity for researchers to present their findings, share innovative tools, and engage with potential partners in the water reuse sector. The event fosters collaboration among researchers, commercial companies, utilities, and public bodies, driving innovation and advancing the sector.
Professionals involved in the design and operation of water reuse schemes will benefit from insights into cutting-edge research, networking with key industry players, and discussions on the future of water reuse.
This edition will particularly highlight the impact of EU and nationally funded water reuse projects, including those supported by Horizon Europe. Attendees will gain insights into the latest advancements in R&D, connect with experts, and explore opportunities for future funding and collaboration.
More information and registration at: https://www.water-reuse-europe.org/event/water-reuse-europe-knowledge-exchange-day-2025/
Chapter Meeting: Agenda and Details TBD
Join Florida water reuse professionals to hear about legislative efforts, new technologies, WRFL will provide an update on our future activities, plus hear from a Florida representative.
COST:
Members: $50
Non-Members: $75
Do you need a hotel? Check out these hotel options:
Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort (across the street from Sapphire Falls Resort)
Universal Terra Luna Resort
Drury Inn & Suites Universal Orlando
Parking for the event at the Sapphire Falls Resort has been discounted to $15/day.
The in-person Sacramento location is different for this meeting only:
925 L Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
First Floor Conference Room

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