A White Paper published by the National Water Research Institute (NWRI) and co-sponsored by WateReuse California highlights the need for more effort in advancing the use of recycled water in the State of California.
The 52-page NWRI White Paper, entitled Views on the Status of “Water Recycling 2030: Recommendations of California’s Recycled Water Task Force,” provides an overview of the progress made in the last six years to address the challenges associated with implementing water recycling projects. It concludes that, while some progress has been made, further and significant effort is necessary to increase the use of recycled water throughout the state.
Progress was determined based on whether recommendations made in 2003 by the California Water Recycled Task Force had been implemented and, if so, what level of success had been achieved in moving water recycling forward in the state.
The Task Force recommendations come from the 2003 report, Water Recycling 2030: Recommendations of California’s Recycled Water Task Force, which was developed by the California Department of Water Resources, State Water Resources Control Board, and California Department of Public Health to determine the regulatory, economic, and societal issues affecting the implementation of water recycling projects. Twenty-six issues were identified (such as increasing state funding for water recycling projects), and recommendations were made on how to best address them.
According to the NWRI White Paper, the importance of these 26 issues has changed since 2003, with the new top five priorities being: Communication with the public; State leadership and advocacy; Regulatory consistency; Funding; and Public support.
The NWRI White Paper can be downloaded at www.nwri-usa.org/epublications.htm. WW
