News Leaks Winter 2023/24

NewsLEAKS OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE INDIANA SECTION AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION

WINTER 2023/24

Public perception and circular economy in water

EXAMINING THE EVOLVING WATER SECTOR INSIDE: 2023 Water Institute and Equipment Expo in French Lick, IN

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Table of Contents www.inawwa.org

Features

P.O. Box 127 Brownsburg, IN 46112 Office: 866-213-2796 Fax: 866-215-5966

Public Perception and Circular Economy in Water – Examining the Evolving Water Sector

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2023 Water Institute and Equipment Expo in French Lick, IN

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2023-2024 Board of Trustees CHAIR Jaimie Foreman 317-571-4144 jforeman@carmel.in.gov

CHAIR ELECT Cathy Lance 574-850-4561 cathy.lance@peerlessmidwest.com VICE CHAIR Neal McKee 765-648-6420 ext. 4402 nmckee@cityofanderson.com PAST CHAIR John Crider 260-589-2811 water@cityofberne.com DIRECTOR Chris Harrison 574-377-4563 charrison@contactcei.com SECRETARY-TREASURER Larry McIntosh 812-358-3654 manager@jacksoncountywater.com ASSISTANT SECRETARY-TREASURER Josh Castor 765-602-6721 jcastor@cityofanderson.com

Departments Message from the Chair

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Direct from the Director

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From Your Small Systems Trustee

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Committee Reports

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Agency Updates

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Retirement Announcements – Rob Coghill & Gale Gerber

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Advertiser Product & Service Center

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TRUSTEE – SMALL SYSTEM NORTH Justin Shaffer 260-692-6909 jshaffer@townofmonroe.com TRUSTEE – NORTHWEST DISTRICT Chris Johnsen 219-221-3916 cjohnsen@mcwaterdept.com TRUSTEE – NORTHEAST DISTRICT Chad Plummer 574-274-1736 chad.plummer@peerlessmidwest.com TRUSTEE – CENTRAL DISTRICT Paul Dicken 317-710-0097 pdicken@citizensenergygroup.com TRUSTEE – SMALL SYSTEM SOUTH Bill Jones 812-350-1732 bjones@edinburgh.in.us TRUSTEE – SOUTHWEST DISTRICT Jon Craig 812-296-0103 jcraig@midwesterneng.com TRUSTEE – SOUTHEAST DISTRICT Linda Sanders 317-753-4319 lindas@wesslerengineering.com

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Message from the Chair Jaimie Foreman, Chair, Indiana Section Board of Trustees

Happy Holidays “A good reputation is measured by how much you can improve the lives of others.”

– George Eastman

T

he Executive Board members of your Indiana Section AWWA recently set aside time out of their busy schedules to review, evaluate, and establish a revised strategic plan for our Section. The goals and objectives established were based on serving membership, both utility and MAC, and creating sustainability that aligns with AWWA’s most current goals. Some of the discussion topics were focused on operator certification/workforce development, communications, and the website, just to name a few.

Thank you to all board members, committee chairs, and to our membership for answering honestly and assisting in this process. We will continue to build our organization, on top of the strong foundation established by so many leaders that served before us, to continue to serve our members.

I am pleased to say that the volunteers and staff of the Indiana Section have been working diligently throughout this year to bring current and relevant topics and tools of interest to our membership.

For 2023 we have provided opportunities and education through: • Two Conferences held in Indianapolis and French Lick; • 10 Specialty Workshops including topics such as excavation safety, line locating and valve exercising, and PFAs litigation; • 10 Power Lunch Hours (First Friday of every month); • Nine Cybersecurity Tool Trainings made possible by funding through the Indiana Finance Authority at no cost to attendees; • 10 District Meetings; • Five Small System Focused Workshops including the northern and southern symposiums and RCAP EPA grantfunded webinars; • Operator Boot Camp; • Operator Schools in various locations throughout the State; • Various Philanthropic Fundraisers; including the Annual Golf Outing, the Sunset Cruise, the 5k Walk for World Water, and the Evansville concert, just to name a few.

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Please keep an eye on our website for the events that are already scheduled for 2024. If you have an educational idea or would like additional information on a specific topic, please do not hesitate to reach out to Megan Fleming at megan.fleming@inawwa.org. If it is an interest to your utility, it may also be an interest to others.

I would like to personally wish every member a wonderful holiday season and a very happy New Year.

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Direct from the Director Chris Harrison, INAWWA Director

Leveraging Our Water Resource!

E

veryone recognizes water as “essential to all life” but most of us often take this critical resource for granted. In Indiana, the availability of water resources is becoming a major focal point for economic development. Throughout the State, workforce housing is the number one topic on every communities list. Followed by high-paying advanced manufacturing and public utilities. Planning and infrastructure development have naturally risen as topics in assessing the needs of a community. Most proactive communities are evaluating their current water and wastewater utilities on sustainability in attracting new development.

Water is pulsing through everything we do from our strong agricultural base to manufacturing, energy, tourism, and recreation, and how we transport freight. It allows us to expand our economies, creating new jobs and opportunities for future generations.

We are seeing a revitalization of manufacturers investing in Indiana, preparing for the future. These core companies bring advanced manufacturing and high-skilled paying jobs to create a trickle effect with subsidiary companies feeding materials and supplies. The groundwork is being laid today and in the next 20 years Indiana will face multiple challenges. Top of the list will be water rights, transportation of water, and strategic planning based on the use of water.

Indiana is a forward-thinking state, and we must arm community leaders, planning groups, and policymakers with strong data to steer Indiana’s water resources in the future. Being the “voice for Indiana water” the Indiana Section of AWWA must be engaged and participate in developing these strategies to secure the safety and clear direction of water in Indiana.

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From Your Small Systems Trustee

See You at the Annual Conference Justin Shaffer, Small Systems North Trustee It is that time of year again. Water Institute has come and gone – thank you for your participation in the small system-focused sessions. The Small Systems Committee is working hard to bring small systems a value-packed year, every year. We had a couple of workshops formatted specifically for small systems this year that were hosted by the Town of Edinburgh and also the Utility Supply Company in Peru. We are hoping to continue these events in the future with the hopes of being able to help not just the water operator but also the wastewater operator.

We were able to get wastewater technical hours for both of these meetings and we are very grateful to IDEM for allowing that to happen. If there are any topics you would like to see discussed, please let us know. The Small Systems Committee is eager to help you and we are always here, ready to assist you however we can. As many of you may have noticed, we did something a little different this year at Water Institute by having a table where you could stop by and discuss items or areas of concern that you may need assistance with at your facility. By doing this, we were able to work towards planning our Small Systems Round Table at the Annual Conference, coming up in April. There is sure to be a great deal of discussion and hopefully, many of your questions and concerns can be answered.

As we look ahead to the Annual Conference, we are always looking for abstracts that deal more specifically with small systems. If you have a topic that concerns you and information

to share with your peers, please consider a submission. With your involvement, we become a stronger Section. A Section that says the small system matters just as much as the large system.

We are all in this together. On another note, please welcome Bill Jones of Edinburgh, as your Small Systems Trustee South.

We are very excited to have him as part of the Small Systems Committee and are looking forward to his experience in the small system and what he will bring to the table. If you are interested and would like more information about the Small Systems Committee, please reach out to either myself, Jeremy Hardy, Chris Johnsen, or your local district officers, and we would be glad to get more information to you.

Thank you all for all you do for the water and wastewater industry and we will see you at the Annual Conference in April.

As we look ahead to the Annual Conference, we are always looking for abstracts that deal more specifically with small systems. If you have a topic that concerns you and information to share with your peers, please consider a submission.

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Committee Reports

Young Professionals Committee Briyana Stewart, Chair The Indiana Water Environment Association (IWEA) held its Annual Conference from August 22 – 24, 2023, in Fort Wayne, IN. The Joint Committee, a collaborative committee between INAWWA and IWEA held a young professionals educational track on August 23, featuring one presentation, geared towards younger industry professionals, on how teamwork between the engineer and contractor results in a successful project for the owner.

The Young Professionals Committee reception was also held on August 23, with a great turnout and several new faces.

Since then, the committee has continued to work on getting college and university student chapters re-engaged. The committee has been able to share ideas on student chapter engagement, talk through IWEA and INAWWA committee involvement, and gauge interest in additional volunteer opportunities within the committee. On October 25, members of the committee attended a site tour at the Peerless Pump Facility near downtown Indianapolis. During the tour, we were given the history of the Peerless Pump Company, learned about the various products they offer, and walked through their warehouse to see the different stages of product design, product testing, and product maintenance.

This December, the committee will once again participate with the Lord’s Pantry at Anna’s House Adopt-a-Family Sponsorship Program to sponsor a local Indianapolis family this holiday season. We are looking forward to seeing an outpouring of gifts and generosity for this family.

Lastly, if you are interested in joining or learning more about the Young Professionals Committee and are under 35 years old or have been in the industry for 10 years or less, please reach out to us at indianaawwaiweayp@gmail.com for more information.

Arrangements Committee Cara Lance-Emerick, Chair

INAWWA Annual Conference April 8-11, 2024

Indianapolis Marriott Downtown

CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS (a.k.a. Blue Coats) Blue Coats are needed on Tuesday and Wednesday from 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. each day* *For as long as you’re available; you don’t have to commit to the entire day.

To Volunteer, please contact Cara LanceEmerick at cara@ mesimpson

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Committee Reports

Technical Program Committee Scott Dompke, Chair

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Committee Reports

Philanthropy Committee Michael Simpson, Chair Hello, fellow water professionals! Welcome to the Fall/Winter update on all things happening with your Philanthropy Committee.

Our committee continues the process of revamping the Section’s Operator Scholarship Program. The goal is to create a more robust and engaging program that benefits operators and enhances their educational experience. Our goal is to have a new and improved Operators Scholarship Program for 2024.

We continue to promote our Youth Water Science Educational Grant. This grant is available to Indiana Schools, grades three through eight, to teach and promote the water cycle. Educational classes/programs regarding understanding, protecting, and conserving the supply and quality of our natural resources for both drinking water and wastewater purposes. Typical areas of these projects may include topics like: • Promotes understanding, protecting, and conserving supply as well as quality of water • Hydrologic cycle • Water quality impacts • Treatment of drinking water

• Treatment of wastewater • Usage of drinking water • Usage of recycled water The Indiana Section AWWA plans to award a total of $7,500 of grants in 2024. The intention is to award three grants, each being from a different area of the state. The typical grant is approximately $2,500. Please promote this with your school systems and go to the website for the application.

Our committee is looking to expand its membership and we need your involvement and engagement with and on this committee!

Participation with and on this committee will serve to enhance our Section’s endeavors to accomplish our goals of helping others throughout Indiana as well as the world achieve clean and safe water. The committee desires everyone’s engagement so that we may continue reaching for our shared goals to educate students, provide additional training to even more operators, and ensure that our waters here at home remain clean and safe as they have for over a century now.

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Committee Reports

Source Water Protection Committee Ginger Davis, Chair

New Source Water Protection Areas set for Conservation Funding around the State Technical and financial assistance programs through the USDA Farm Bill are available for source water protection in both surface water and groundwater areas that are at elevated risk. For more information reach out to your local NRCS district conservationist.

You can also join them in their local work group meeting to set priorities for conservation efforts and make source water protection a high priority.

The latest meeting of the Indiana State Technical Committee for Indiana Natural Resource Conservation Services (NRCS) made recommendations to their national headquarters to help encourage and protect more source water

protection areas that had elevated risk.

Recommendations came from a source water protection sub-committee that was composed of members of the AWWA Source Water Protection Committee along with others knowledgeable of water issues.

As a result, the source water protection areas for this fiscal year will include considerations of the drinking water quality with nitrates over 5mg/L, surface water sources that are included in the 303(d) list of impaired water, and areas that have seen recurring water quality issues or serve a significant portion of the State. These recommendations put additional focus on improving or

protecting land practices to waters that eventually make it into a water treatment plant. For example, the 303(d) list of impaired waters indicates where Indiana’s water quality problems exist and the nature of those impairments.

Impaired waters for drinking water must be treated, so improving these waters with source water protection helps decrease the treatment costs. If you are interested in hearing more about these efforts, or want to learn more about source water protection efforts in Indiana, consider joining the Source Water Protection Committee. Contact Ginger Davis, Committee Chair at gindavis@iu.edu.

For more information reach out to your local NRCS district conservationist. You can also join them in their local work group meeting to set priorities for conservation efforts and make source water protection a high priority.

Operator School Committee Chris Johnsen, Chair The Operator School for 2023 in Fort Wayne, Evansville, and Michigan City has just concluded. We had 30 students who paid to attend the classes at the three sites. Out of the 30, three students attended under the Section’s One AWWA Operator Scholarship, which paid for the classes, books, and other expenses of the students.

While I was instructing in Michigan City, I want to recognize and thank Chris Cottom and Brenna Caudill from Evansville, and Sarah Block from Fort Wayne for instructing this year. I would also like to thank the utilities that allowed

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the training to be done at their facilities.

I would like to also specifically acknowledge Bruno Trimboli. After many years of teaching the operator school, including long after retiring from Mishawaka Utilities, Bruno decided it was time to fully retire. I would like to thank Bruno for his years of instruction and commitment to the operator school and wish him well in his retirement.

We now have two additional operator school class sites that will begin in late Winter. The Indianapolis class and a recently added Crawfordsville class will be starting the week of January 15.

There will be registration information on the Indiana Section website long before the article makes it into your hands.

For those who have asked for a virtual offering, the Operator School Committee and the Section are developing a program. We have hired a contractor to help us develop a virtual curriculum with IDEM. There will be more information as this develops.

If you are interested in serving on the Operator School Committee, have questions about operator school and study materials, or have suggestions on how we can better serve, please contact me at cjohnsen@mcwaterdept.com.

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Committee Reports

Membership Committee Josh Dixon, Chair Fall 2023 Member Update The Indiana Section of the AWWA added 10 individual member main contacts, 11 individual members, one student member, and seven operations/admin members.

Individual Members Rod Kelsheimer – Ford Meter Box Company, Inc. Mark Low Scott Young – FPG Chelsie Smith – Lawson-Fisher Associates Michael Isakson – American Structurepoint, Inc. Hannah Enabnit Scott Laborsky Ken Kaniewski – Rockwell Automation Caroline Jankowski

Travis Maupin – Strand Associates, Inc. Jamey Bontrager – City of Goshen Operations and Administrative Members Tanya Peters – Utilities, Inc. Bob See – Peru Utilities Nicholas Rieger – Town of Bargersville Jamel Wofford Chris Taylor – C&J Well Company Service Pump and Drilling Caden Swanson – City of Bloomington Utilities David Lovins – Town of Bargersville Individual Member – Main Contacts Dylan Croyle – Town of Ridgeville Trent Schaffer – Town of Geneva

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Jacob Axsom – East Monroe Water Corporation Melissa Copeland – Town of Shelburn Ben Brickman – Ferdinand Water and Wastewater Jeff Zehner – Walkerton Utilities Stefani Lutz – Gripp, Inc Stephen Webb – Greenville Water Utility Adam Dunlap – Avilla Water Department Dylan Schaefer – Patoka Lake Water and Sewer Dist.

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Indiana Section Membership Snapshot (September) Utility Members – 296 Individual Members – 1099 Service Providers – 15 Total Section Membership – 1410

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Committee Reports

Competitions Committee Justin Shaffer, Chair Congratulations to all of our district winners of the Meter Challenge Competition! We had a total of six competitors, one from each district as well as the returning champion from last year’s event, all competing for a chance to represent Indiana at the national competition, to be held at ACE24 in Anaheim, CA. A big congratulations go out to Zach Tobe from the City of Carmel, for winning the Section Meter Challenge Championship at Water Institute! There

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were some really fast times leading up to the Section Championship and it was a very exciting competition leaving nothing to the imagination.

Hydrant Hysteria made a spectacular comeback as well, pitting four teams from three different utilities, to battle it out for their shot at a trip to the national competition at ACE24 as well. Fort Wayne, Valparaiso, and Carmel put up some amazing times with the winners being Valparaiso’s

‘Team New Blood’. We are looking forward to seeing how well all of our Section winners do, as they advance to the national competitions at ACE24 in Anaheim, CA in June 2024. Good luck to all of you at ACE! If you are interested in one of these competitions and think you have what it takes to be a competitor in one of these two events, please don’t hesitate to sign up for our contests next year. We look forward to seeing you in action.

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Committee Reports

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Agency Updates

Recent Statute Revision Information: HEA 1245 Jason House, Branch Chief, Compliance and Enforcement Branch, Office of Water Quality The Office of Water Quality’s Compliance and Enforcement Branch has this update regarding amendments to the current Wastewater Operator Certification Program regulations found at 327 IAC 5-22.

IDEM Wastewater Operator Certification Program Update: On August 9, 2023, The Environmental Rules Board unanimously approved IDEM’s rulemaking regarding amendments to the current operator certification program regulations. The goal of the amended rulemaking was to provide more streamlined administrative processes, to provide updates to the rule to allow for third-party administration of the operator examination, as well

as provide more flexibility in approving applications from prospective operators.

Information on the new rules can be found here:

allowable substitutions for education and experience requirements to sit for operator certification examinations. The NPD can be found below:

Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator Certification, LSA #18-365 • #18-365 Rules Information Sheet [PDF] • #18-365 Response to Comments from 1st Public Hearing [PDF] • #18-365 Proposed Rule as Preliminarily Adopted with IDEM’s Suggested Changes Incorporated [PDF] To coincide with the new operator certification rules, IDEM presented a corresponding Non-Rule Policy Document (NPD) which details

Wastewater Operator Certification Allowable Substitutions, Water-020-NPD • Water-020-NPD Final Pending NPD [PDF] The new rules (327 IAC 5-23) and associated NPD will become effective sometime in late 2023 or early 2024.

Questions regarding the wastewater operator certification program can be addressed to Kim Rohr, krohr@idem.in.gov, Section Chief, Wastewater Inspections, or Jason House, jahouse@idem.in.gov, Branch Chief, Compliance and Enforcement Branch.

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Public perception and circular economy in water

EXAMINING THE EVOLVING WATER SECTOR

By Roya Pishgar

This article was originally published in the Winter 2023 issue of Western Canada Water, a Craig Kelman & Associates publication

A

n evolution in the water sector is underway.

Facilitated by the third industrial revolution, the advent of the internet, and the exchange of ideas, water economy is gradually transitioning from the conventional, linear “takemake-consume-dispose” model of growth, to a circular format.

Water reclamation and reuse is at the core of the circular water economy (Figure 1), enabling the economy to grow alongside sustainable development of the water industry and resourceefficient water supply/demand.

Circular water economy redefines the relationship between markets, customers, and natural resources to alleviate freshwater stressors, such as excess withdrawal and anthropogenic pollution.

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Figure 1: Circular Economy in Water Sector (recreated based on Voulvoulis, 2018).

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Water reclamation and reuse offer numerous benefits, including providing additional supplies of water, environmental protection through reductions in effluent discharge, opportunities for expanding agriculture, aquifer recharge, and monetizing wastewater potentials to produce energy, fertilizer and other added-value products (e.g., biochar). The primary driver for a circular water economy is water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions. Diverting nutrient discharge to surface waters has served as a secondary driver in some areas of the world, such as Florida and California in the United States (US) as well as the United Kingdom (UK) and Europe. Redirecting the effluent from discharge to reuse, either year-round or for part of a year, can open windows of opportunity for municipalities and water companies to expand capacity while maintaining discharge load allocations.

In Western Canada, Alberta has recently implemented Public Health Guidelines for Water Reuse and Stormwater Use in January 2021 and has had Guidelines for Residential Rainwater Harvesting Systems since 2010. British Columbia (B.C.) has a Reclaimed Water Guideline which was issued in July 2013. It serves the practitioners as a comparison document to B.C.’s Municipal Wastewater Regulation.

The circular water economy faces numerous challenges particular to water reuse, including cost of supply, technological advancement, health and safety, public perception, and regulatory requirements. Reuse purposes include potable and non-potable water reuse initiatives. Potable water reuse branches into indirect (IPR) and direct

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potable reuse (DPR), with IPR including either surface water storage and augmentation, or managed groundwater recharge. Non-potable water reuse encompasses a wide range of activities, such as irrigation, toilet flushing, filling ponds, decorative uses (e.g., fountains on public property), environmental preservation (e.g., habitat rehabilitation), and industrial uses. Defining necessary water quality for each end use is another challenge that municipalities, communities and regulatory agencies have been encountering.

Generally speaking, the overall idea of water reclamation and reuse as an alternative source of water is positively perceived by the public, especially when awareness about the growing water scarcities and stresses on freshwater resources exist within communities. People are becoming more environmentally concerned about water supply, and seem to see water recycling as naturally as they view other recycling approaches. However, this inference is very broad and driven by local acceptance surveys with different reuse purposes and variable levels of public awareness and determinants. A general acceptability toward water recycling and reuse, without the consideration of the nuances of individual cases and challenges particular to each region, could be a misleading “thin narrative”.

Public acceptance vs. public opposition Public acceptance can be volatile and prone to quick turnaround in the wake of contamination accidents, political

debates, rumors, media reports, etc. In the past, public opposition has halted water reuse projects after years of planning and significant investments.

So, social science researchers and water industry experts have found value in examining similarities and discrepancies in water reuse acceptance surveys conducted in different regions of the world in order to distinguish between general trends and regionspecific causes. This would allow evaluating local circumstances with a better understanding of acceptability determinants and consideration of the factors applicable to local cases. Some of these similarities and discrepancies are discussed here in further detail.

Since the beginning of research in this field in the 1960s and 1970s, a decrease in acceptance of water reuse with close-to-person end uses, such as bathing, cooking, and drinking, has been a common, stable observation in the case studies. The famous “yuck” effect of encountering previously dirty water is caused by psychological effects, cultural influences and social terms.

Public events, such as introducing beer brewed with recycled water while public figures and celebrities drink from it, can reduce the “yuck factor”. Getting further from the close-to-person uses, the exact preference order depends on the location of collection (e.g., rainwater versus recycled water), reuse purposes, and the characteristics of the water provided to the consumers. Labeling the recycled water with acceptable names can help with water reuse acceptability, such as recycled water or NEWater (in Singapore)

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with positive psychological effects as opposed to “Toilet to Tap” or “Sewage Beverage”. In addition, it has been observed that accepting one resource type in a region does not guarantee the willingness to automatically adopt other types. As an example, desalination (i.e., reused seawater) is the main source of domestic and industrial water in the Gulf countries, and is used in agriculture to a limited extent, but the use of recycled water in agriculture is not largely accepted or practiced in that region.

Recycled water and reclaimed water are generally the same thing, meaning water recovered from wastewater.

In a circular format of water economy, truly valid concerns arise regarding water quality due to the remaining contaminants in the effluent. The main issue with close-to-person uses is the constituents bringing on potential health concerns. The two main

categories are pathogens and residual organic constituents which are either not obstructed, or are generated by conventional and advanced wastewater treatment processes. The main concern stems from the presence of priority pollutants, endocrine-disrupting constituents, pharmaceutically active compounds, and other potential unregulated trace contaminants in reclaimed water. Residual organic compounds in recycled water either originate from human activity (e.g., pharmaceuticals and personal care products), occur naturally in the drinking water supply, or are generated through biological wastewater treatment (e.g., soluble microbial products).

Reuse systems, particularly for potable applications, should be designed in multi-barrier layouts composed of advanced unit processes, with microfiltration and reverse osmosis

at the core of the system, and should incorporate resiliency (i.e., ability to adapt to upsets), redundancy (i.e., backups), and robustness (i.e., combination of processes to address multiple contaminants) in design, according to site specific conditions and end uses.

El Paso Water has been planning for a new pipe-to-pipe, direct-todistribution DPR system since 2012, which is anticipated to be started up in 2027. The plant is designed to receive treated effluent as source water to generate up to 38,000 m3/d of potable water, to meet water demands when surface water is not available and also to reduce groundwater usage. The El Paso advanced water purification facility is designed to include microfiltration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet (UV) advanced oxidation, granular activated carbon, stabilization and ground water blending, and chlorine disinfection.

Table 1: Solutions for increasing social acceptability of water reuse developed based on contextual analysis of acceptance studies. (courtesy of Al-Saidi, 2021) Components of Water Reuse Social Acceptability Process

Traditional Acceptance Studies

Narrative and Psychological Studies

Economic and Institutional Acceptance Studies

Social Legitimacy and Justice Studies

Public perception

• Awareness campaigns.

• Information on control, multi-barrier systems, safety and quality criteria.

• Public consultations.

• Engagement through role models.

• Promotion of trust in authorities and decision-making processes.

• Information on economics of recycling, risk– cost/benefit tradeoffs, valuations and externalities.

• Impartiality and credibility of information.

• Transparency and promotion of quality suppliers (e.g., quality standards certification training).

Politicization

• Media engagement to increase public interest.

• Effective crisis and emergency management, and communication.

• Consensus-building and political activism.

• Making recycling issues “influenceable”, i.e., participatory planning and policymaking.

• Independent panels of prominent experts.

• Complaint and monitoring arrangements.

• Participatory economic regulation (e.g., boards, public-private partnerships).

• External accountability in monitoring and evaluation.

• Technical publications on quality and success stories.

• Involvement of local authorities and advisory boards.

Individual acceptance

• Stakeholder and consumer engagement.

• Community involvement.

• Branding and terminology (e.g., recycled instead of treated water).

• Adequate pricing policies.

• Information on environmental costs and benefits.

• Frequent contacts with utility managers.

• Increasing consumer representation in reuse schemes.

Use adaptation

• Educational programs.

• Guidelines and information for household level and farm level.

• Branding and terminology (e.g., recycled instead of treated water).

• Testimonies of users.

• Use of financial incentives such as subsidies to water bills or to production costs of small recycling schemes.

• Tasting, demonstration and selfexperimentation.

• Different products of recycled water (e.g., bottled water).

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As a general trend, awareness and knowledge within societies about the quality of reclaimed water and the associated risks are low. This is supported by the high demand from consumers for more information about water recycling processes and risk of water reuse. However, different determinants can affect awareness, acceptance and trust regarding water reuse initiatives.

The weight of determinant categories can vary from case to case due to local conditions, heterogeneity of the survey methods, and vagueness of the measured conceptual matters as to whether the survey seeks to determine the incidents, perceptions and/or risks related to acceptance, or the opinion of individuals, stakeholders, communities or the public in general.

Education, economy and climate conditions have had significant effects in large acceptance surveys in the US, while gender, age, location, and the last monthly water bills do not stand out. Some surveys indicate that risk perception is significantly correlated with employment status and gender. While gender is not found to be a determinant in Turkey, it plays a role in Greece, among many other determinants. While some studies identify media as an important method for informing the community, some other studies do not see any impact by media coverage on public reactions

in comparison to other factors such as expert knowledge, technical plans, and the involvement of communities.

A key discussion is related to risk perception and risk factors associated with the use of recycled water. Concerns and consequences revolving around water reuse can vary from region to region as a result of the governments’ approaches to water reuse initiatives as well as public trust. The communities’ confidence in potentials, capabilities and their willingness within the local and federal administrations to mitigate and adapt to the associated risks seems to be central to societal acceptability.

Risk perception and trust are identified shoulder to shoulder as determining “psychological” factors in acceptance surveys, among many other factors in this broad category, such as social norms, fairness, disgust, environmental concerns, knowledge, etc.

An article by Hartley was published in 2006, reporting the results of an interdisciplinary and integrative social science study on public perception and participation in water reuse within the US, funded by the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF). The lessons learned from this WERF project resulted in proposing a framework with five critical categories: 1) manage information for all; 2) maintain individual motivation and demonstrate organizational commitment;

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3) promote communication and public dialog; 4) ensure fair and sound decision making and decisions; 5) build and maintain trust. In a recent literature review

by Al-Saidi published in March 2021 in the Journal of Frontiers in Environmental Science, it was recommended to view acceptability of water reuse projects holistically as a multilayer, complex social acceptability process, with interactions between humans, technology, and nature.

It is emphasized that water reuse should not be seen entirely as an individual or group viewpoint issue, neither is it merely related to public opinion. This is due to the fact that – as discussed so far – water reuse acceptance cannot be modeled with a simple set of determinants. While individual acceptance and public perception are intertwined with a two-way influence direction, the latter is the most difficult, yet the most important component of social acceptability in water reuse. In the public perception context, debates from different perspectives such as political, technical or scientific, and religious and cultural take place where individuals with different societal positions participate in, such as policymakers, practitioners, regulators, scientists, public and religious figures. Water reuse acceptance should be investigated in a nuanced and contextual approach based on social norms and processes, to gain a broad understanding of the problem. This can result in drawing structured conclusions from the current case studies to provide broader recommendations applicable to regions with different local conditions (Table 1).

Social acceptability of water reuse should be framed with having four components in mind, including public perception, politicization, individual acceptance, and use adaptation. Within the context of these components, the debates occur, and the views are shaped.

In each of these components, one or more of the three aspects of water reuse (water resource, treatment technology and reuse purpose) can be of more significance from region to region. Scanning through solutions provided in Table 1, three key elements are embedded in almost all the recommended solutions: information, engagement and transparency, which should be adopted in public dialogs of all water reuse projects in one way or another.

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2023 Water Institute and Equipment Expo in French Lick, IN December 5 – 7

Operator of the Year......................................................28 Gambold Education Fund Scholarship Awardee.............28 Hoosier Water Awardee.................................................28 Exhibit Hall....................................................................29 Sessions and Candid.....................................................30 Indiana Department of Environmental Management ......31

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Operator of the Year Operators of the Year – Water and Wastewater System Large Dallen Hedges (left), Jon Berry (right), Citizens Westfield

Operator fo the Year – Water System Small Donald Bennet, Cicero Water Department

Operator of the Year – Water and Wastewater System Small Steve Lechner, Town of Ferdinand

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Scholarship Awardee

Hoosier Water Awardee

Gambold Education Fund Scholarship Awardee Austin Wethington, Edinburgh Water

2023-2024 Hoosier Water Awardee Larry Haag, Beam Longest and Neff – Egis Co

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2023 Water Institute and Equipment Expo Exhibit Hall

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Sessions and Candid

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2023 Water Institute and Equipment Expo

Indiana Department of Environmental Management Our Water and Wastewater Regulatory Agency

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Retirement Announcements

Robert Coghill Director of Public Services – Chandler Utilities We congratulate Rob Coghill on his recent presentation of the Distinguished Hoosier Award bestowed upon him by Governor Eric Holcomb. This award recognizes Rob as an outstanding Indiana resident. One of the highest honors that can be given to Indiana citizens by the Governor, the Distinguished Hoosier Award is given to individuals who distinguish themselves through significant contributions to their communities, whose qualities and characteristics reflect the best of the great State of Indiana, and whose actions endear them in the hearts and minds of all Hoosiers.

Taking the Chandler Utilities’ Director of Public Services position back in 1999, Rob is retiring at the end of December 2023. His exemplary service and contributions to the Town of Chandler, Warrick County, and the southwest Indiana region will be felt for generations to come.

Is announcing the retirement of

May 10, 1999 – December 29, 2023

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Retirement Announcements

Gale Gerber City of Nappanee We congratulate Gale Gerber on his retirement from the City of Nappanee at the end of 2023!

A celebration was held on December 9 in honor of Gale’s achievements and contributions.

Congratulations Gale!

Find us online

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Advertiser Product & Service Center NewsLeaks is made possible by the companies below who convey their important messages on our pages. We thank them for their support of INAWWA and its publication and encourage you to contact them when making your purchasing decisions.

To make it easier to contact these companies, we have included the page number of their advertisement, their phone number, and, where applicable, their website. You can also go to the electronic version of NewsLeaks at www.inawwa.org and access direct links to any of these companies.

COMPANY

PAGE

TELEPHONE

WEBSITE

AMERICAN Ductile Iron Pipe

12

205-325-7701

www.american-usa.com

American Structurepoint, Inc.

31

317-547-5580

www.structurepoint.com

Bastin-Logan Water Services

10

317-738-4577

www.bastinlogan.com

Baxter & Woodman, Inc.

18

815-459-1260

www.baxterwoodman.com

Beam, Longest and Neff, LLC

19

317-849-5832

www.b-l-n.com

Brenntag Mid-South

34

812-454-4658

www.brenntag.com

Commonwealth Engineers, Inc.

36

317-888-1177

www.commonwealthengineers.com

Curry & Associates, Inc.

15

317-745-6995

www.recurry.com

Dixon Engineering, Inc.

15

616-374-3221

www.dixonengineering.net

E.J. Prescott

2

800-357-2447

www.ejprescott.com

Ford Meter Box Company

26

260-563-3171

www.fordmeterbox.com

George E. Booth Co., Inc.

32

317-247-0100

www.gebooth.com

Gripp, Inc.

32

317-896-3700

www.grippinc.com

GRW Engineers, Inc.

7

317-347-3650

www.grwinc.com

Hawkins

4

877-418-3330

www.hawkinsinc.com/groups/water-treatment

HWC Engineering

9

317-347-3663

www.hwcengineering.com

Jones & Henry Engineers, Ltd.

4

419-473-9611

www.JHeng.com

Kokosing Industrial, Inc.

38

317-891-1136

www.kokosingindustrial.com

Lewis Municipal Sales

38

317-606-0554

www.lewissales.com

M.E. Simpson Co., Inc.

6

800-255-1521

www.mesimpson.com

McMAHON

24

219-462-7743

www.mcmgrp.com

Midwestern Engineers, Inc.

11

812-295-2800

www.midwesterneng.com

Mission Communications, LLC

39

877-993-1911

www.123mc.com

National Water Services, LLC

8

812-723-2108

www.national-water.com

Neptune Technology Group Inc.

12

800-633-8754

www.neptunetg.com/home

Oldcastle Infrastructure

18

888-965-3227

www.oldcastleinfrastructure.com

Ortman Drilling & Water Services

8

765-459-4125

www.ortmandrilling.com

Peerless-Midwest, Inc.

40

574-254-9050

www.peerlessmidwest.com

Pittsburg Tank & Tower Group Inc

8

270-826-9000

www.pttg.com

S & K Equipment Company, Inc.

3

812-886-0245

www.skequipment.com

Strand Associates, Inc.

38

812-372-9911

www.strand.com

USG Water Solutions

16

855-526-4413

www.usgwater.com

Waller's, Inc.

19

888-485-7018

www.wallersmeterinc.com

Water Solutions Unlimited, Inc.

18

800-359-3570

www.getwsu.com

Wessler Engineering

22

317-788-4551

www.wesslerengineering.com

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Serving All Of Indiana www.kokosingindustrial.com

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Matt Coridal , LEED AP dmc@kokosing.biz 317-866-1167

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Mission is Simply More Intelligent Advanced Monitoring • Low Cost • Managed SCADA

Celebrating 50 Years of Better Water Peerless Midwest was founded in 1973 in a small shop in the then small community of Granger Indiana. We opened the doors with just 11 employees, a few pieces of equipment, and a belief that a commitment to utilizing the latest technologies would best serve our customers, and us, in the long run.

Fifty years later, we’re employeeowned (since 2021), and find ourselves employing over 100 water supply and repair professionals working out of 6 offices in 4 states.

We’ll be forever appreciative of our success, and thankful to the special relationships we’ve enjoyed with our customers and employees that helped make it possible.

Water Supply Services • Well Drilling • Well & Pump Repair and Rehabilitation • Water Treatment • SCADA and Controls • Hydrogeological Services

Mishawaka, IN 574.254.9050

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Ionia, MI 616.527.0050

peerlessmidwest.com

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