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Investigating Inland Indirect Potable Reuse for Norman, Oklahoma
Lake Thunderbird
T
he City of Norman, Oklahoma, and engineering firm Garver recently secured a $700,000 grant through the Bureau of Reclamation’s Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Program for a pilot inland indirect potable reuse (IPR) program. The pilot program aims to determine the viability of using reuse water to supply Lake Thunderbird, the primary source of drinking water for Norman, turning it into a drought-resistant source. In this interview, Garver Water Reuse Practice Leader Michael Watts, who coauthored the successful grant application, explains the motivations and aims of the pilot project and discusses how municipalities can best make use of Title XVI. Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
20 | MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
Municipal Water Leader: Please tell us about Garver as a company. Michael Watts: In fall 2019, Garver celebrated 100 years of consulting engineering. The company provides a diverse array of services, including design, engineering, planning, architectural services, and environmental services. We have
PHOTO COURTESY OF GARVER.
Michael Watts: I spent pretty much all of my twenties as a graduate researcher at a couple of universities studying water reuse technology, particularly ultraviolet disinfection and advanced oxidation processes that are used to polish water and remove microconstituents and contaminants of emerging concerns from reclaimed wastewater—things like pharmaceuticals, personal care products, flame
retardants, and other anthropogenic organic contaminants that we find trace residuals of in municipal discharges. I spent about 10 years researching how to remove those constituents and create nearly pristine reclaimed water for potable applications. My first career stop was in higher education, teaching environmental engineering and leading an externally supported water research laboratory. In 2013, I met folks at Garver and learned that they were developing a team of technologists to focus on water reuse projects in the western states, where the scarcity of freshwater resources is a driver for alternative water supply projects. I’ve been at Garver for almost 7 years now, and I very much enjoy overcoming the technical challenges of municipal water reclamation and reuse.
