OUTREACH RESEARCH TO FOSTER COMMUNITY ACCEPTANCE

While much attention is given to technical issues, other opportunities exist to support and accelerate potable reuse by addressing institutional, financial, and social barriers. It is important to continue to establish trust with communities, engage the public on the value of water, and educate communities about the water cycle. WRF has created a number of tools and videos to support utilities in developing communications and engagement programs, which are essential to the success of potable reuse projects. Some of these WRF research projects include:

1. WRF 1658 Downstream – Context, Understanding, Acceptance: Effect of Prior Knowledge of Unplanned Potable Reuse on the Acceptance of Planned Potable Reuse. This project evaluates whether people are more likely to accept drinking water reuse when they understand the full context of the water cycle: all water is used and reused. It showed that focus group participants considered direct potable reuse (Scenario 4) to produce the safest drinking water as compared to other options (see Figure 5).

2. WRF 1697 Guidelines for Engineered Storage for Direct Potable Reuse. This report details how to determine the size of engineered storage buffer (ESB) through the use of advanced monitoring technologies and an evaluation of the treatment benefits of a range of processes. It also examines public perception of indirect potable reuse (IPR), DPR, and the environmental buffer, using a novel animation and a targeted web-based survey. Finding the balance between response time, monitoring, and treatment is at the core of the research project. An associated video ‘The Ways of Water’ provides an illustration of how recycling speeds up Mother Nature.

3. WRF 4540 Model Public Communication Plan for Advancing Direct Potable Reuse Acceptance. This project established a framework for engaging communities through strategic messaging and includes two communication plans at the state and community level to achieve direct potable reuse acceptance.

4. WRF 4979 Potable Reuse Demonstration Design&CommunicationToolbox.This project identified the most effective strategies for integrating public education and engagement elements at demonstration facilities for potable reuse, and developed outreach materials that present science and research on potable reuse. The final suite of deliverables can be used by any water utility that wants to make the case that water reuse is safe, environmentally responsible, and cost-effective.

Potable reuse has been practiced safely for decades and will continue to utilize new treatment technologies and available monitoring techniques. WRF pushes for innovation and research in sustainable treatment and operations that ensure public health protection while considering cost, environment, energy, and social factors. There are several ongoing/new research efforts in the water reuse space:

·In 2022, WRF was awarded over $3M from EPA on Unlocking the Nationwide Potential of Water

Reuse (WRF 5197). This comprehensive project involves dozens of partners and over 30 utilities. This project takes an integrated research approach, focusing on the establishment of technical and social legitimacy through a concerted focus on community acceptance, risk assessment, robust technical design, monitoring, and implementation of water reuse. With the use of a rigorous fit-for-purpose approach, we will show decision-makers and community leaders where opportunities exist for various types of water reuse and how reuse can address environmental and social needs in their communities.

·In late summer 2023, WRF will release a RFP on Approaches to Build Strong Partnerships and Solidify Successful Interagency Reuse Projects (WRF 5250). The purpose of this project is to support multi-agency reuse projects by identifying Characteristics of successful projects/partnerships; Funding mechanisms and financing structures; Regulatory approaches/streamlining; Example legal agreements (i.e., contracts, MOUs, JPAs); Negotiation guidance specific to project types/ collaboration scenarios; The costs and benefits of increased collaboration.

·In late summer 2023, WRF will release another RFP on Regionalized and Integrated Solutions for Brine Management and Recovery (WRF 5256). The purpose of this project is to identify and evaluate regional and/or integrated brine management solutions, including consideration of treatment, brine lines, recovery of marketable products, and volume minimization. If implemented, these solutions will accelerate membrane-based treatment projects through reduced brine disposal costs, which are often prohibitive for project implementation.

·Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are of increasing concern to the water sector and the public, and the water reuse community is on high alert. WRF recently released WRF 5124 PFAS One Water Risk Communication Messaging for Water Sector Professionals, which includes communications materials water systems can use as they interact with customers, regulators, and other stakeholders. Another project, WRF 5082 Investigation of Alternative Management Strategies to Prevent PFAS from Entering Drinking Water Supplies and Wastewater, will use a system-level approach to provide utilities with practical, implementable, and cost-effective guidance on PFAS source evaluation and mitigation. By assessing wastewater, surface water, and groundwater systems, this project will compile information on where utilities are likely to find PFAS in their source waters; recommendations for sampling to understand the sources, severity, and potential impact of PFAS sources; and guidance on feasible and cost-effective source mitigation solutions for preventing PFAS from entering or passing between water systems.

Research has been instrumental in advancing potable reuse in the US to its current state. The water sector would benefit from additional research to address issues related to monitoring, water quality, and innovation for better, faster, cheaper treatment technologies. As communities consider alternative water sources, it will also be critical to take a holistic approach in understanding the technical, social, and institutional factors which can assist in accelerating this adoption of potable water reuse.

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is the leading research organization advancing the science of all water to meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. WRF was formed in 2018 through the integration of three research collaboratives focused on research to support varied segments of the water sector— water reuse, wastewater and stormwater, and drinking water. Now a One Water organization, WRF delivers the research and innovation programming the sector needs to address the most pressing water issues holistically.