US Water Alliance 2015 Prize Winners Announced

San Diego imports approximately 85 percent of its water supply. Drought, climate change and other water reliability issues have intensified the need for new water sources. TheDemonstration Project was developed to evaluate and confirm the technical, regulatory, and economic feasibility of using advanced water purification technology on recycled water. It represents a critical step forward in the development of a reliable, sustainable and diversified local water supply through a focus on innovation, integration, and education.The Demonstration Project utilized the latest technologies to transformwastewater into purified water suitable for drinkingand itsfindings are helping develop standards for potablereuse. Additionally, the city collaborated with stakeholders, regulators, the water industry andthe Water Reliability Coalition to integrate efforts in paving the way for a new, localsource of water. Finally, the education program was a major component of the project andaccomplished its objective of increasing public acceptance for a full-scale program.

The purified water produced at the demonstration Advanced Water Purification Facility meets all water quality, safety and regulatory standards, and the report findings were unanimously adopted by the San Diego City Council in April 2013. Implementing potable reuse in San Diego has involved many hurdles, but the Water Purification Demonstration Project has overcome them with its innovative approach, integrated focus and extensive education efforts. The successful completion of the Demonstration Project has enabled the City to move forward with Pure Water San Diego, a 20-year water reuse program to supply 83 million gallons of drinking water locally by 2035.

• The Coca-Cola Company

Water stewardship is a primary focus of Coca-Cola's sustainability efforts. In 2007, as a result of a worldwide and comprehensive Company water risk assessment, Coca-Cola set a goal to be water neutral by 2020 and safely return to communities and nature an amount of water equal to what is used in its finished beverages and production.

Coca-Cola is delivering on its commitment through strong collaboration and partnerships, strategic planning, scaling successes, and sharing best practices. In 2014, Coca-Cola returned 108.5 billion liters of water through 509 community projects in over 100 countries. In their U.S. Business Unit alone, Coca-Cola is replenishing over 22 billion liters of water annually through more than 100 community water projects.

Coca-Cola's commitment to being water neutral by 2020 is a remarkable highlight in the industry. The Company is leading the way in advancing water sustainability in its water resource management practices by embracing innovation and education.

• Electric Power Research Institute

Since 2009, EPRI and a strong collaboration of power companies, farmers, state and federal agencies, and environmental interests have been working to develop an interstate Water Quality Trading (WQT) program in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. Focused on environmental impacts from diverse sources, the project has facilitated broad non-traditional collaborations to achieve a common goal of water quality improvements and broader environmental improvements. The project also has the support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the states of Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, as well as key collaborators such as the American Farmland Trust, state farm bureaus, the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission, and others.

EPRI's commitment to science and collaboration has resolved key hurdles in the deployment of water quality trading. Credits have been transacted with project documentation posted in the public view, advisory committees have been hosted to present the structure of the program, peer-reviewed papers describing the program have been published, and the concept of "paying for performance" versus investment in conservation planning, has been realized. Further the project has created the potential to advance watershed improvements via stewardship credits out of the traditional implementation of new regulatory programs. The EPRI project has become a national model and will surely be an important method for protecting waters in the United States in the coming decades.

Source:USWaterAlliance

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