U.S. EPA and the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board have proposed wastewater discharge permit for the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant that aims to increase ocean water quality protection and water reuse.
The five-year permit includes elements of the Pure Water San Diego program, a plan to eventually divert up to 83 million gallons of Point Loma wastewater per day from ocean discharges to an advanced water purification facility.
Over the next five years, the new permit requires the City to complete the planning, design, and environmental review for the infrastructure to implement the Pure Water reuse project.
Once built, the advanced water treatment facilities will enable the City to begin reusing highly treated wastewater within 10 years.
The draft permit is currently open for public comment.
Last week, a federal judge ordered the state of Michigan and city of Flint to begin delivering bottled water to Flint residents.
The decision came as a result of a lawsuit filed in January by advocacy groups and residents in the wake of Flint's lead contamination crisis.
The suit seeks replacement of all lead water pipes at no cost to Flint residents.
The home delivery motion was filed to ensure regular and reliable access to safe drinking water, particularly for those unable to get to water distribution points.
Judge David Lawson's decision requires the delivery of four cases of bottled water per resident per week, unless residents opt out or have a properly maintained water filter installed in the home.
The order is effective immediately.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it is investing $331 million in 85 projects that will improve water and wastewater infrastructure in rural areas in 39 states and American Samoa.
Specifically, the agency is providing $264 million in loans and $67 million in grants through Rural Development's Water & Environmental Programs, which provide assistance and financing to develop drinking water and waste disposal systems for communities with 10,000 or fewer residents.
Of the 85 projects, 21 are located in StrikeForce areas. StrikeForce is a USDA-led partnership program to address persistent poverty across America.
Since 2009, USDA Rural Development has invested $13.9 billion for 5,825 water and waste infrastructure projects, benefiting 19.5 million rural residents.
To learn more, visit rd.usda.gov.
A settlement has been reached over the water contamination event that left nearly 300,000 West Virginia residents without water for several days in January 2014.
Under the terms of the proposed deal, West Virginia American Water will pay up to $126 million, and Eastman Chemical $25 million, to settle the class action claim lodged by residents and business owners.
The contamination of the Elk River stemmed from a leak in a 48,000 gallon storage tank containing 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol, or MCHM, a compound used to clean coal.
The settlement and terms of payment are subject to further approval by the court.
The Bureau of Reclamation is seeking applicants for four water treatment research funding opportunities under the Desalination and Water Purification Research Program and Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Program.
The DWPR program funding opportunities will provide funding for the full spectrum of technology development and testing to support the commercialization of new desalination and water purification technologies.
The Title XVI Program funding opportunity is focused on moving research to practice by supporting planning related research to help deploy technologies or processes that are currently available in the industry to help address water supply challenges.
You can learn more about Title XVI Research Studies at usbr.gov/WaterSMART and about the Desalination and Water Purification Research Program at usbr.gov/research/dwpr.
For WaterWorld magazine, I'm Angela Godwin. Thanks for watching.
