WE&RF To Receive $4.5M Grant From California State Water Board For Recycled Water Research

The California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board), at their June 6, 2017 board meeting, approved a $4.5M grant for the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF) to fund research that will to advance potable and non-potable reuse in California. Under this grant, WE&RF will identify, prioritize, solicit, and select for funding research studies related to potable reuse and non-potable reuse.

Under the Water Recycling Funding Program guidelines, the State Water Board has dedicated funding for recycled water research and development. In addition, the State Water Board’s Recycled Water Policy in 2009 (amended 2013) included goals to increase the use of recycled water over 2002 volumes by at least one million acre-feet per year by 2020 and by at least two million acre-feet per year by 2030. The Recycled Water Policy includes a mandate to increase the use of recycled water by 200,000 acre-feet per year by 2020 and an additional 300,000 acre-feet per year by 2030. To achieve these goals and mandates, the State Water Board is investing in research to enhance the understanding and acceptability of all types of water reuse in California.

The potable reuse research projects funded under this grant will be informed by a recently completed State Water Board sponsored expert panel on the development of direct potable reuse (DPR) regulations.  In December 2016, the State Water Board published a legislatively mandated report that determined it is feasible to develop uniform water recycling criteria for DPR in California. That report, which relied in part on WE&RF research findings, identified scientific and technical challenges that must be addressed before criteria can be adopted to ensure that public health is reliably protected at all times. Also, the expert panel recommended several areas of research that would enhance the understanding and acceptability of DPR in California. These research recommendations included conducting a literature review on potential health risks of contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) likely to be present in recycled water, improving monitoring of pathogens in raw wastewater, and developing comprehensive analytical methods to identify unknown compounds.  

Under this grant, non-potable research projects will address water recycling for industrial, agricultural, and produced water (from energy). Potential topics include: health, social, and environmental issues; potential for non-potable reuse; critical gaps in treatment technologies and water quality; assessment of economic benefits; implementation best practices; acceptance by users; approaches to optimize these processes; and analyzing the need for new reuse approaches in future non-potable water reuse management.

WE&RF, a non-profit organization, has a longstanding research program that has a portfolio over $200 million in research projects. WE&RF conducts research to treat and recover beneficial materials from wastewater, stormwater, and other impaired sources of water, including water, nutrients, energy, and biosolids. WE&RF research materials help policymakers and the public understand the science, economic value, and environmental benefits of recycled water and the feasibility of new technologies. This grant builds on WE&RF’s existing recycled water research portfolio, which has helped to establish potable reuse — indirect and direct potable reuse — as a solution to the nation’s water supply challenges and as a reliable and sustainable component of integrated water management.  

“This research partnership between the State Water Board and WE&RF underscores California’s commitment to advancing recycled water and the Foundation’s capabilities to manage and conduct research,” explains Michael Markus, Co-Vice-Chair of the WE&RF Board of Directors and General Manager of California’s Orange County Water District. “This commitment of funding illustrates the value our Foundation provides to California and states across the U.S. that are implementing projects to improve water reliability,” he continued.  

Announcements on opportunities for researchers to be involved will be shared on www.werf.org later this summer.