California State Water Board Grant
In 2018, The Water Research Foundation received a grant totaling $4.5M from the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWB) to support non-potable and potable reuse research. This funding has been leveraged by WRF and other key partners, including Metropolitan Water District (CA), utilities in CA and across the United States, engineering firms, and manufacturing companies to fund WRF reuse research launched in 2017–2019. The funding from SWB is broken into the following two grants.
Grant 1
The first grant ($1.4M, D1705002) funds 5 projects which were recommended by the SWRCB Expert Panel in their report on the feasibility of developing criteria for Direct Potable Reuse (DPR). The research findings will be used to develop regulations for DPR, driven by CA legislation SB 574 (2017), which established a deadline of 2023.
The following projects were launched by WRF in late 2018:
- Tools to Evaluate Quantitative Microbial Risk and Plant Performance/Reliability
- Pathogen Monitoring in Untreated Wastewater
- Feasibility of Collecting Pathogens in Wastewater During Outbreaks
- Defining Potential Chemical Peaks and Management Options
- Evaluating Analytical Methods for Detecting Unknown Chemicals in Recycled Water
Two webcasts were held in 2021 to showcase the research outcomes of this first grant:
Grant 2
The second grant (D1705003) uses the WRF Research Priority Program process to award $3.1M for potable and non-potable reuse research. The work will be conducted in 3 phases, utilizing the Water Reuse Advisory Committee to develop project concepts each year, to be approved by the California State Water Board.
The phases include:
- Phase 1 (RFPs launched in 2017) – 2 projects
- Phase 2 (RFPs launched in 2018) – 12 projects
- Phase 3 (RFPs launched in 2019) – 6 projects
Filling Information Gaps to Develop DPR Regulations
Public water supplies in California come from groundwater and surface water in a wide range of locations and with characteristics that reflect the geographical diversity of the state. Factors such as population growth and extended droughts are stressing these supplies. Over the next few decades, supplies are likely to diminish.
Questions?
Contact Julie Minton, Research Unit Leader, with questions about the California State Water Board Grant.