National Water Reuse Action Plan: Join the Effort The National Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP), spearheaded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is helping to build the technical, financial, and institutional capacity for communities of all sizes in the United States to consider and pursue reuse practices, enhance their resilience, and strengthen local water infrastructure. The program’s collective success is directly tied to contributions and collaborations from members of the water community. More than 100 federal, state, tribal, local, and water-sector partners have stepped forward to identify needs, develop actions, and implement their plans to drive
progress on water reuse, and others are invited to join in the effort.
The Need for Reuse The changing climate is challenging many communities to meet their long-term water needs. Reuse of treated wastewater and stormwater for agricultural, nonpotable, and even potable uses provides an alternative source of water that can be more reliable than traditional raw water sources. The capacity to incorporate water reuse into a community’s water portfolio can provide resilience against climate-induced impacts.
Ultimately, the WRAP collaborative strives to ensure that water reuse is accessible, straightforward to implement, and sensitive to climate and environmental justice considerations. Over time, the collective efforts of the organizations and entities participating in WRAP actions can grow the body of reuse knowledge and best practices for the benefit of all.
Current Actions The WRAP collaborators recently completed 165 implementation milestones that help to advance water reuse around the U.S. They also delivered critical documents to advance reuse and lay the groundwork for further advances in the coming years. Released in March 2022 and April 2021, these documents highlight some of the key accomplishments of the program. To mark the program’s progress, EPA, with the WateReuse Association and other watersector partners, hosted the “Resilience Through Collaboration: First Year Highlights and Future Directions of the National Water Reuse Action Plan” webinar. The event featured a lively discussion with leaders from across the water sector about the future of water reuse and its importance as a tool to address the impacts of climate change and meet local water demands.
Getting Involved There are many ways to get involved in WRAP: Stay in the Loop Join the WRAP listserv for periodic updates by emailing waterreuse@epa.gov. Learn About Actions Find details on the actions, including their outputs, in the WRAP online platform. For those entities interested in WRAP actions being implemented in their geographic area, EPA has designated water reuse contact persons for every EPA region. Continued on page 6
4 April 2022 • Florida Water Resources Journal
