DECEMBER 2022

WEBINAR – Water Recycling in Israel: U.S. Lessons from Israel’s Water Reuse Approach On January 18, Israeli hosts and members from the U.S. delegation to Israel will share their experiences with water reuse and key takeaways from the event this fall. Webinar attendees will learn about the innovative approaches Israel is taking to ensure adequate and resilient water supplies in their country and how these lessons may be applied by others in their own communities. (Action 11.1: Facilitate U.S.-Israel Collaboration on Water Reuse) Learn more and register here!

Administration Support for Water Reuse

Biden-Harris Administration Invests Over $84 Million in 36 Drought Resiliency Projects — This investment will help 36 communities throughout the West prepare and respond to the challenges of drought and ensure more resilient water supplies through innovative drought resilient efforts and projects such as groundwater storage, rainwater harvesting, aquifer recharge, water reuse, and ion exchange treatment.

Inflation Reduction Act Provides $250 Million to Improve Federal Buildings’ Environmental Performance — The Inflation Reduction Act is the most ambitious investment in clean energy in our nation’s history. It includes more than 20 new or modified tax incentives and tens of billions of dollars in grant and loan programs to unleash new clean energy technology investment and deployment and supercharge our transition to a clean energy economy. Eligible uses for spending on federal buildings include those that that reduce energy, water, and material resource use; improve indoor environmental quality; reduce air and water pollution and waste generation; increase the use of environmentally preferable products; increase reuse and recycling opportunities; integrate systems in the building; and reduce the environmental and energy impacts of transportation to and from the building.

President Biden Tours a Semiconductor Factory in Arizona that will Operate Primarily on Recycled Water — The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is building a fabrication facility (fab) as part of a 4.5 million square foot construction effort. The fab will include an industrial water reclamation facility onsite which will nearly eliminate sewer discharges. According to this article, “Company officials have previously said that each drop of water used at the facility will be recycled an average of 3.5 times, and water that no longer can be fully treated will be used in other ways, as in cooling towers.”

NEW Reuse Applications Included in the REUSExplorer The REUSExplorer is searchable by state, source of water, and end-use application. The following set of end-uses were recently added: Water reuse for environmental restoration  Water reuse for impoundments The tool already included information on potable water reuse, onsite non-potable reuse, centralized non-potable reuse, water reuse for agriculture, water reuse for consumption by livestock, and water reuse for landscaping applications. (Action 3.1: Compile Existing Fit-for-Purpose Specifications)

Federal Grants and Funding

EPA Awards Research Funding to 25 Small Businesses to Develop Environmental Technologies — At the end of December, EPA announced nearly $2.5 million in research funding for 25 small businesses to develop technologies that address some of our most pressing environmental problems, including two reuse projects:

• J-Tech LLC (Lakewood, Colorado) was funded to develop a septic tank technology that enables low-cost, sustainable disinfection of wastewater for onsite non-potable reuse.
• LeapFrog Design (Bend, Oregon) was funded to develop a modular ecological water treatment system for onsite capture and non-potable reuse from single-family residences.

These awards are part of EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program which runs an annual, two-phase competition for funding. Awardees are receiving up to $100,000 in Phase I funding for six months for “proof of concept” of their proposed technology. (Completed Action 7.5: Coordinate and Promote Water Reuse Technology in Federal SBIR Programs)

Bureau of Reclamation Releases Funding Opportunity for Development of Water Reuse and Desalination Projects — Reclamation is providing funding assistance for the preparation of feasibility studies and planning activities for potential new Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse projects, desalination construction projects, and large-scale water recycling projects. Funding will be provided under two groups where applicants can request: 1) up to $1 million in federal funding for projects with an anticipated cost of less than $500 million, or 2) up to $5 million in federal funding for projects with an anticipated cost of more than $500 million. Learn more here. A webinar will occur on January 11, 2023 at 12 pm ET to discuss eligibility, project activities, and evaluation criteria. Applications are due on February 28, 2023.

The Department of Energy Announces $23 Million in Research and Development Funding to Support Decarbonizing Our Nation’s Water Treatment Sector — This funding opportunity announcement is intended to drive innovation to decarbonize the entire life cycle of Water Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRFs). These facilities, which treat wastewater from public water systems, are among the country’s largest industrial electricity users with full lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on par with direct emissions from the food and beverage industry—one of the largest GHG-emitting industries in the United States. The concept paper submission deadline is January 27, and the full application is due April 03, 2023.

EPA Announces $52 Million in Grants for States to Support Clean Water, Flood Resilience, and Water Equity — EPA announced the availability of $52 million in state-available grant funding for stormwater infrastructure projects through the Sewer Overflow and Stormwater Reuse Municipal Grants Program. The grants will be used by states to invest in projects that reduce flooding and help prevent contaminants from polluting waterways. This grant funding is in addition to $11.7 billion in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that EPA is investing in the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to improve wastewater and stormwater infrastructure in communities across the country. 

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Offers Opportunities for Technical Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Funding  — There is still time to apply for FEMA’s hazard mitigation grants. FEMA’s competitive mitigation grant programs provide states, local communities, tribes, and territories funding to address future risks to natural disasters such as wildfires, drought, hurricanes, earthquakes, and increased flooding to foster greater community resilience and reduce disaster suffering. The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program funds natural hazard mitigation projects, which can include water reuse projects that mitigate drought. FEMA and EPA are collaborating in the WRAP to better integrate water reuse into their funding programs. FEMA is offering Direct Technical Assistance to all communities which may not have the resources to begin climate resilience planning and project solution design on their own. Grant applications are accepted through January 27, 2023. (Action 2.14: Integrate Water Reuse into FEMA Hazard Mitigation Programs) 

Clean Watersheds Needs Survey (CWNS) Closing Soon! The 2022-23 CWNS data collection is open until February 28, and multiple reuse end-use applications are now included. Municipalities need to contact their state coordinator to make sure their community is being counted! EPA’s CWNS is an assessment of capital investment needed nationwide for publicly-owned wastewater collection and treatment facilities to meet the water quality goals of the Clean Water Act. These capital investment needs are reported periodically to Congress.

Reuse Publications

Texas Direct Potable Reuse (DPR) Guidance — In November 2022, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality published a guidance manual for DPR. This document provides details on how DPR is regulated in Texas, and the requirements that public water systems must meet to have such projects receive approval and a permit.

Water Reliability in the West – 2021 SECURE Water Act Report — This Bureau of Reclamation report assesses climate change impacts to water uses in the western states and shares Reclamation’s climate change research, data, and related developments. The report mentions water reuse throughout as a strategy for water management and includes a section titled “Diversifying Water Supplies through Water Reuse” (p. 41). This document is updated every five years.

Upcoming Reuse Activities and Events January 11 — Bureau of Reclamation webinar on funding for the development of water reuse and desalination projects. Join here. January 17-18 — Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Federal Advisory Committee Public Meeting. Register here. January 18 — Webinar hosted by EPA: “Water Recycling in Israel: U.S. Lessons from Israel’s Water Reuse Approach.” Register here. January 24 — Assessing Water Quality Monitoring Needs, Tools, Gaps, and Opportunities for Potable Water Reuse webinar hosted by the Water Research Foundation. Register here. January 24 — National Primary Drinking Water Rule Potential Revisions Public Virtual Meeting. Register here. January 27 — Deadline for FEMA applications for Technical Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Grants. Apply here. February 28 — Grant applications due for Reclamation funding for water reuse and desalination projects close. Apply here. February 28 — The Clean Watersheds Needs Survey closes. March 5-8 — WateReuse Symposium in Atlanta, GA. Register here. April 1 — Application deadline for EPA Fellowship in Water Reuse Policy, Technology & Regulation Research. Apply here.

For more details about water reuse highlights and events, please visit the Recent and Upcoming Water Reuse Activities page.