2022 WATER REUSE CONFERENCE

Excerpt from the Winter 2022-2023 Newsletter; pages 13 & 15:

The 13th Biennial Water Reuse Conference was successfully convened on December 7, 2022 at Ala Moana Hotel on Oahu with 150 registered attendees. Participants included local government leaders, reuse policy makers, reuse community advocates, agriculturalists, water treatment plant operators, researchers, engineers, and consultants. Ten presentations were given by a variety of fantastic speakers, ranging in topic from community-based water reuse implementation to evaluation of on-site and decentralized wastewater treatment systems in Australia. We were fortunate to hear from Water Reuse experts not only from Oahu, but also from California, Arizona, Nevada, and Australia.

Highlights from the conference included a presentation on small scale demonstration projects for public buy-in on water reuse by Andy Salveson of the Carollo Engineers California office. Through the use of small demonstration scale systems, appropriate data was collected to demonstrate the safety and reliability of recycled water as a new water supply. The presentation highlighted water use demonstration systems implemented across the United States and the important role of local leaders in encouraging the public to be comfortable with recycled water.

Sina Pruder of the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH), Wastewater Branch gave a presentation providing a status update on the DOH-regulated water reuse facilities in Hawaii, and the latest quantities of water reuse that occur on an annual basis. She also reviewed present trends in water reuse in Hawaii, as well as how water reuse regulations may change in the future.

Ben Kele from Arris Water in Australia shared his experiences with robust and reliable decentralized wastewater treatment and reuse for tropical locations. Because reliable power is an issue in remote locations of Australia, especially on nearby islands, their research has shown that low input and passive systems can provide a more reliable water quality, especially for sites that have dramatic changes to inflow volumes over time. Their research has involved examining solutions from around the world and applying relevant best practice techniques to low input systems.

Moving onto the University level were two speakers, Dr. Tao Yan from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Dr. Erica Marti from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Dr. Yan spoke about microbial risks of viral pathogens in water reuse – the presence, detection, and mitigation, while Dr. Marti shared highlights from research projects that focus on chemical uptake in plants irrigated with reclaimed wastewater.

Following Dr. Marti was an educational presentation regarding the technical analysis for potable and non-potable reuse and methods with or without reverse osmosis for reuse applications from Kevin Daniels from Stantec’s Phoenix office. The audience learned about different treatment schemes for producing recycled water in terms of contaminant removal, cost, and operation and maintenance.

Informative presentations continued after lunch, as there was a roundtable discussion about Hawaii’s Fresh Water Initiative to more than double the amount of water currently being reused to provide an additional 30 mgd by 2030. The panel was moderated by Christin Reynolds of One World, One Water and speakers were comprised of Dr. Roger Babcock, Jr. and Dawn Szewczyk (City and County of Honolulu), Barry Usagawa (Board of Water Supply), and Dana Okano (Hawaii Community Foundation).

The roundtable was followed by Fred Layi of Veolia who presented on the Honouliuli Water Reclamation Facility expansion project, which produces 14 million gallons of recycled water to customers throughout Kapolei, Ewa, and other areas of West Oahu. The recycled water must be deemed to be suitable for industrial processing, irrigation, and other non-drinking uses.

Stevie Whalen, the President of the Kunia Water Association, shared the challenges and opportunities of agricultural use of R-1 effluent on several acres in the Kunia area. The water is produced by Schofield Wastewater Treatment Plant and the farmers collaborate daily on how to distribute the water.

The last presentation of the day was given by Garrett Leong of Brown and Caldwell where he presented on the State of Hawaii and City and County of Honolulu goals of One Water and agricultural sustainability for the island of Oahu. These programs are finally coming together, as shown in their support of using the treated effluent from Wahiawa Wastewater Treatment Plant for agricultural irrigation on State lands, after 30 years of discussion, planning, and interagency efforts.

To finish off the day, attendees enjoyed a pau hana where they had the opportunity to develop existing relationships or add new connections to their network. Mahalo nui loa to our generous sponsors, speakers, conference committee volunteers, and staff at Ala Moana Hotel, without whom this event would not have been possible. §

Download the Conference Program (here).

Registration

Register online - https://www.hwea.org/index.php/hweaevents/conference/2022-water-reuse-conference

Registration rates are as follows:

Registration closes after November 30, 2022.  No refunds will be issued following November 30, 2022. 

 If you have any questions, please contact the Water Reuse Committee Chairs at water-reuse@hwea.org or (808) 748-5944.

Mahalo,
Adrienne Fung & Lorna Heller
Water Reuse Committee Chairs

*** Call for Abstracts - due October 7, 2022 ***

Please submit the Abstract Submittal Form (including a 150 to 300-word abstract). Abstracts must be typed, single-spaced, and not exceed one 8.5 in. by 11 in. page. See this link for detailed Speaker Information.

Please email your abstract to Adrienne Fung or Lorna Heller AWWA-HI Water Reuse Committee at water-reuse@hwea.org, (808) 748-5944 no later than October 7, 2022. Abstracts will be provided to attendees as part of the conference package.

Should you have any questions, please contact: Adrienne Fung or Lorna Heller at water-reuse@hwea.org or (808) 748-5944.

Updated: 03/13/2023_JS