WateReuse Currents

Online Registration Available for the 21st  Annual WateReuse Symposium
TThe 21st Annual WateReuse Symposium will be held September 10-13 at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Hollywood, CA. Click here to register online. This year’s expanded Symposium features a record 123 presentations and four technical tours. Symposium topics include advanced treatment technologies, desalination, indirect potable reuse, micropollutants, regulatory issues, public outreach, and much more. The conference is sponsored by the WateReuse Association, the American Water Works Association, and the Water Environment Federation. For more information on the conference program, registration, and exhibitor and sponsorship opportunities, click here.

Revised Title XVI Legislation Introduced in Congress
U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced new legislation on July 12 revising Title XVI of the Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to help local governments receive a dependable and timely supply of federal assistance for water reuse projects. Representative Grace F. Napolitano (D-Norwalk) also introduced a companion bill in the House. The WateReuse Association has recommended changes to the Title XVI program during congressional testimony in recent months and has met with congressional staff in an ongoing effort to bring greater efficiency and effectiveness to the program. The Senate's Water and Power Subcommittee is expected to hold a hearing on July 27 to review the proposed legislation, which is called the Reclaiming the Nation’s Water (ReNew) Act. Along with the ReNew Act, the senators introduced legislation authorizing specific water recycling projects in California. For more information about the legislation, click here.

WateReuse and USDA to Host Joint Conference on Agricultural Reuse
The WateReuse Association and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will cosponsor Opportunities and Challenges in Agricultural Water Reuse, a specialty conference to be held October 29-31, 2006 at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek in Santa Rosa, CA. The conference is a unique opportunity for stakeholders in the water reuse and agricultural communities to become better informed about potential water reuse applications for agricultural production. For more information, click here.

GE Water Executive Elected to Foundation Board
Philip M. Rolchigo, Ph. D. of GE Water was elected to the WateReuse Foundation Board of Directors during a May 16 Board meeting in Phoenix, AZ. Dr. Rolchigo has worked in research and development since 1988 and now serves as Water Technologies’ Business Program Manager in GE’s Global Research Center.

Wade Miller, Executive Director of the Foundation, noted that “Dr. Rolchigo will bring a couple of important dimensions to the Foundation Board. First, GE’s Global Research Center is out on the ‘cutting edge’ of advanced treatment technologies; this knowledge will help the Board to fund projects that are truly ‘value added propositions.’  Second, Dr. Rolchigo has been involved with the Joint Water Reuse & Desalination Task Force (JWR&DTF) activities over the past two years and therefore understands what the Foundation and the Task Force are trying to achieve in desalination.  We look forward to having Phil serve on the Board.”

Association Gives Testimony on USBR's Future to House Subcommittee
The WateReuse Association testified before the House Committee on Resources' Subcommittee on Water and Power during an April 5 hearing seeking comment on a report prepared by the National Research Council (NRC) entitled Managing Construction and Infrastructure in the 21st Century Bureau of Reclamation. “We agree strongly with the NRC report findings that the Bureau of Reclamation’s mission is evolving and that additional emphasis needs to be placed on water conservation, recycling, reuse, and desalination technologies,” said Wade Miller, the Association’s Executive Director.
View the complete testimony.