WateReuse Association

Thank you Water Replenishment District for being a Visionary Tier sponsor of the #WateReuse25 Symposium. The Water Replenishment District (WRD) is the largest groundwater agency by population in the state of California, managing and protecting local groundwater resources for four million residents. WRD's service area covers a 420-square-mile region of southern Los Angeles County, the most populated county in the United States. The 43 cities in the service area, including a portion of the City of Los Angeles, and other unincorporated parts of LA County use about 220,000 acre-feet (72 billion gallons) of groundwater annually which accounts for nearly half of the region's water supply needs. WRD ensures that a reliable supply of high-quality groundwater is available through replenishment with recycled water and stormwater capture. WRD owns three water treatment facilities: two advanced water treatment facilities and a groundwater desalter. Furthermore, WRD leads the robust Regional Groundwater Quality Monitoring Program, a Safe Drinking Water Program, and a Water Education Program.

Thank you to Peter Fiske, the National Alliance for Water Innovation, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and all our presenters for making the Second Annual Technology Showcase a success at #WateReuse25! These innovations will enhance water quality, improve operational efficiency, and help scale water recycling systems to serve diverse communities.

From California and Colorado to Florida and beyond, new regulations and policies are creating new opportunities to expand water recycling. Robert Beltran, P.E., DEE of Dewberry, Tricia H. Kilgore, P.E. of Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority, John Rehring of Carollo Engineers, Paul Sciuto of Monterey One Water, David Sloan of Freese and Nichols, and Troy Walker of Hazen and Sawyer joined us to discuss their states’ progress towards implementing water reuse. #WateReuse25

Sharon Nappier from US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined us to celebrate five years of the Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP). The WRAP has grown to include over 150 partners collaborating across 100 actions aimed at accelerating the adoption of water reuse across the country. “We need to be not just reacting, but planning for resilience,” Sharon said. #WateReuse25

“In the past 25 years we have funded over 200 projects related to water reuse.” Kenan Ozekin provided an overview of the essential work being done by The Water Research Foundation (WRF). #WateReuse25

We’re starting off Wednesday of the #WateReuse25 Symposium with a panel on integrating onsite and centralized water reuse systems. Our panelists are no longer talking about one vs. the other: we’re in the era of creating synergy between building-scale, district-scale, and community-wide reuse systems. Sybil Sharvelle Damian Higham Paula Kehoe Alan Cohn Zach Gallagher

A wonderful night at The Florida Aquarium! Well done all staff at WateReuse Association!!! Terrific event!

“Once you see it, you can believe it.” Andrew Toth of Burns & McDonnell and Kira Barrera of City of St. Petersburg delivered a presentation on their campaign to enhance public acceptance of direct potable reuse, and how to use the “three legged stool” — stories, statistics, and trainings — to foster public acceptance of recycled water.

How do you win the hearts and minds of community members and rate payers? Recent survey trends show that many of the same concerns that echoed throughout the 2024 election still surface across the United States: cost of living and distrust of government. Our speakers helped cut through the noise with clear, proactive, and consistent messaging about water reuse. Sara Katz, Katz & Associates Robyn Felix, APR, Southwest Florida Water Management District Christina Montoya-Halter, El Paso Water Leila Easmeil Rice, APR, HRSD Richard Bernard, Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3 Research) Moderator: Wendy Broley, P.E., Brown and Caldwell

Vijay Sundaram, PhD, PE and Nick Carlson of AECOM , Janet Clements of One Water Econ , Katie Spahr, PhD, PE of Denver Water , and Shannon Spurlock of Pacific Institute delivered a great session this morning on quantifying the economic benefits of water recycling projects for elected leaders. Discussing comprehensive cost-benefit analyses, Shannon noted, “When we prioritize the co-benefits to the community, we have more equitable outcomes across diverse geographies.”