Water. desalination + reuse

| 26 | Desalination & Water Reuse | August-September 2012 Arizona wants immediate DPR and seawater desalination planning An immediate start on work to prepare for direct potable water reuse and seawater desalination is proposed by the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) in a report recently published by the US state's government. The report, Going Forward: A Strategic Vision For Water Supply Sustainability, says that Arizona could be facing a water supply imbalance between projected demands and water supply availability in the next 25-50 years of approximately 900,000 acre- feet (AF; 1,110 million m³). This would increase to 2.3 million AF (2,840 million m³) by 2110, says the ADWR. Emphasizing that no single strategy will work right across the arid state, it nonetheless points out that Arizona is a leader in the reuse of reclaimed water, but has only taken advantage of "a fraction" of its reuse opportunities. Underground storage of unused reclaimed water during times of excess supplies and recovery of those supplies during higher demand seasons is a way to meet demands, says the report. The first desalination source for the land-locked state could be potential partnerships with other higher priority Colorado River users in Arizona, California and Nevada in exchange for water from Lake Mead. But, as Arizona's border is only 50-60 miles (80-95 km) from the Mexican coastline, another route is being looked at. "Additionally, advancing Governor Brewer's initiative to work cooperatively with Mexico through the Arizona Mexico Commission, developing much need water supplies for both Arizona and Mexico through desalination on the Sea of Cortez could prove most effective," the report suggests. California board offers low-interest water-reuse finance regions ASIA & PACIFIC NORTH AMERICA California's Water Resources Control Board (WRCB) has approved new low-interest financing terms for water-recycling projects that can be completed within three years of governor Jerry Brown's drought declaration on 17 January 2014. The low-interest loans are intended to help California produce an additional 150,000 acre-feet (185 million m 3 ) of recycled water annually, one of several actions Brown called for in his Drought State of Emergency. The WRCB's Division of Financial Assistance is offering US$ 800 million in 1% loans – approximately half the current interest rate – for water recycling projects. Applications for funding must be submitted by 2 December 2015. Florida legislates in favor of reuse of wastewater The state legislature of Florida, USA, on 2 May 2014 passed a bill (SB 536), which directs the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), in coordination with stakeholders, to conduct a comprehensive study and to submit a report on the expansion of the beneficial use of reclaimed water, stormwater and excess surface water in Florida. The bill states that the report must identify factors that prohibit or complicate these waters and how those factors can be eliminated. The DEP must also identify measures that would lead to the efficient use of reclaimed water. Environmental, engineering, public health, public perception and fiscal constraints against the envisaged reuse expansion must also be pinpointed and incentives should be examined for agencies substituting reused water for traditional water sources. The bill now goes to governor Rick Perry for his signature and, if approved, requires a report from the DEP by 1 December 2015. Asian association shifts location The secretariat of the Asia & Pacific Desalination Association (APDA) has moved its location to the Institute of Seawater Desalination & Multipurpose Utilization, State Oceanic Administration of China, which is located in Tianjin, China. The new address of APDA is: 1st Keyandong Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, 300192, China; tel: +86 22 87898181; fax: +86 22 87892732. Asian agricultural reuse risk 'exceeds WHO limits' Australian researchers have found that wastewater used to irrigate vegetable plots in Asian countries poses health risks that may exceed World Health Organization guidelines. Food systems researchers Hoi-Fei Mok and Andrew J Hamilton of The University of Melbourne made the claim in Exposure factors for wastewater-irrigated Asian vegetables and a probabilistic rotavirus disease burden model for their consumption, which recently appeared in the electronic version of the journal Risk Analysis, published by the Society for Risk Analysis. They recommend that stricter wastewater regulation may be needed to protect the health of farmers and consumers worldwide. Asia accounts for the majority of the world's reuse of wastewater in irrigation.

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