Senate committee passes water reuse bill

The Environment and Public Works committee of the United States senate has passed new legislation to support water reuse and critical investment in water infrastructure. The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), passed on 28 April 2016, is the main vehicle for authorising water projects to be developed by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Water management is controlled locally, which makes it difficult to predict how much water will be reused nationally. Municipalities work with state regulatory agencies to develop plans to provide water to meet the needs of local communities. In the U.S., less than 10 percent of wastewater is reused for beneficial purposes but that is changing,” Meeker added.

“Two things must happen for us to see significant progress. First, we have to stop thinking of water that we have used once as a waste product. It is actually just wasted water. Second, we have to stop thinking of water reuse an emergency measure to combat drought. Water reuse is a locally-controlled, sustainable, climate-independent water supply,” said Melissa Meeker, Executive Director of the WateReuse Association. Click here to read more.