US EPA WATER REUSE PROGRAM: BUILDING CAPACITY FOR CLIMATE RESILIENCY

By Dr. Sharon P. Nappier and Mrs. Ashley S. Harper, Office of Water at the US EPA

Communities around the United States are feeling the impacts of climate related water challenges, which can manifest as too much or too little water. At the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), we work to ensure all communities, including those that are small and historically underserved, have tools to help mitigate the impacts of climate change. While water conservation and efficiency are often effective, in some arid regions they aren’t enough - communities must take more drastic measures such as water reuse to supplement water supplies, which may include reclaiming municipally treated wastewater for both potable and non-potable applications. Other, typically wetter, communities are turning to water reuse to combat water quality challenges that are exacerbated by climate change, such as excessive nutrients in streams, collapsing aquifers, saltwater intrusion, and combined sewer overflows.

In 2020, EPA created the Water Reuse Program (WR Program) to expand the technical, financial, and institutional capacity of states and communities interested in water reuse when they need an alternative water supply or to protect existing supplies. To build this capacity, our program serves three core functions: ʞ ʞ ʞ

1. Implement the National Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP), which has over 135 participating organizations and 63 actions, that have created 100+ open-source resources.

2. Integrate water reuse into EPA programs, including stormwater, permitting, and pretreatment.

3. Lead the Federal Interagency Working Group for Water Reuse, a group of 15 agencies coordinating water reuse efforts across the federal government.

Since the inception of the WRAP, we have been engaging the water sector to identify the biggest barriers to water reuse projects facing states and communities. Based on this feedback, we focus our impacts in four key areas: 1) supporting states in the development of water reuse policies and regulations; 2) infrastructure investments; 3) research and innovation; and 4) improving public perception of water reuse and communications.

1. STATE POLICY AND REGULATORY SUPPORT

In the US, states have primary authority to develop water reuse regulations for different sources of water and end-use applications (potable and non-potable); there are no federal reuse regulations. Yet many states lack the capacity, resources, or ability to conduct risk assessments for new regulations or permits, despite the co-benefits of adopting water reuse. To help support states, the WR Program, with partners, developed the Regulation and End-Use Specifications Explorer (REUSExplorer), a tool that summarizes the technical basis of all state regulations or guidelines for a variety of water reuse applications. Additionally, the WR Program serves as a convenor of state associations and regulators, providing regular fora to discuss reuse implementation issues.

Finally, we continue to develop topical resources to support states, such as the recently released Water Recycling for Climate Resilience Through Enhanced Aquifer Recharge ad Aquifer Storage and Recovery and stormwater infographics.

2. INFRASTRUCTURE

Historic droughts in the western US, especially those affecting the Colorado River basin, have alerted the Biden-Harris Administration to the urgency of planning for water security. This administration has prioritized drought contingency planning and supported major investments in water reuse infrastructure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The BIL has boosted EPA's ability to fund water infrastructure projects, with over $50 billion in funding flowing through the State Revolving Funds. Across the government, we are looking at ways to better highlight water reuse eligibilities in existing funding programs, especially to allow small or underserved communities to gain access to reuse infrastructure. For example, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is leveraging their hazard mitigation funding programs and providing direct technical assistance at the state and local level for drought mitigation, stormwater capture and use, and other resiliency projects.

The government is also helping the private sector evaluate and adopt climate mitigation tools. For example, we are looking to better understand if tax incentives could support future private infrastructure investments in water reuse; and GHD, a WRAP partner, is identifying opportunities to implement water reuse within the beverage industry.

3. RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

The water sector continues to identify health and environmental issues that can benefit from additional research, such as for pathogens and chemicals of emerging concern. Additionally, innovation is needed to reduce costs and energy requirements associated with various advanced treatment processes and to increase the adoption of smaller modular systems for decentralized reuse – for onsite and agriculture. Since 2020, the EPA has invested more than $14 million for research and $3 million to support innovation among small businesses. Additionally, our partners at DOE have invested $110 million to support the advancement of treatment technologies of alternative water sources under the National Alliance of Water Innovation Hub.

4. COMMUNICATIONS

Public perception is a leading barrier for many reuse projects and improving our ability to communicate the safety of reuse is a key priority for EPA and WRAP partners. EPA and the Centers for Disease Control are collaborating to develop a website for the public and companion materials for medical professionals, a trusted source of information. Recently, we helped support the Santa Clara County Medical Association, in collaboration with Valley Water, develop a suite of articles by and for medical professionals on water reuse. Finally, EPA supported WateReuse Association in the development of a communications library consisting of ready-to-use outreach materials and examples of materials used by other utilities.