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Advanced Water Treatment

Title XVI of Public Law 102-575

Under Title XVI of Public Law 102-575, federal funding is available to contribute to water reuse and desalination research. Currently, funding is used for demonstration and desalination projects and the WateReuse Research Foundation.

Demonstration Projects

Large scale research projects, or demonstrations, are a chance to prove novel concepts and technologies in a realistic setting. Reclamation funding under Title XVI authorization has been provided to assist 2 demonstration projects. These projects and their final research reports are:

• An Analysis of 1 MGD Reverse Osmosis, Nanofiltration and Electrodialysis Reversal Plants Run under Essentially Identical Conditions (Evaluation of the Port Hueneme Demonstration Plant)
• Report on Findings from Evaluation of NF2 and RO Processes Conducted at the Prototype Seawater Testing Facility Long Beach, CA (Currently In Progress)

Desalination Projects

Desalination, or the removal of salts from water, is a water treatment technique that can increase the amount of available useable water. Salinity management, and treatment of brackish or seawater for drinking water are two major areas where desalination plays an important role. Title XVI provided funding for 5 desalination specific research reports in fiscal year 2004.These reports are:

• 03-FC-81-0985 Dewvaporation Desalination 5,000 GPD Pilot Plant
• 04-FC-81-1037 Direct Contact Membrane Distillation
• 04-FC-81-1051 Cost-Effective Volume Reduction of Silica-Saturated RO Concentrate
• 04-FC-81-1053 Multi-Beneficial Use of Produced Water Though High-Pressure Membrane Treatment and Capacitative Deionization Technology
• 04-FC-81-1060 Membrane Technology for the Recovery of Produced Water (Currently In Progress)

WateReuse Research Foundation

Reclamation is currently in partnership with the WateReuse Research Foundation (Foundation), a nonprofit 501(c) (3) corporation, which funds applied research in the areas of water reclamation, reuse and desalination. The Foundation provides both solicited and unsolicited funds for cutting edge research that expands the water and wastewater communities knowledge in a wide range of subjects, which include: chemistry and toxicology; desalination and concentrate management; microbiology and disinfection; natural systems, groundwater recharge, storage; policy, social sciences, and applications; treatment technologies. The Foundation is funded primarily by a group of subscribers, which typically include: water and wastewater utilities, consulting firms, equipment suppliers and other organizations. Reclamations financial contributions supplement these subscriber funds.

Reclamation is involved with the oversight and development of the research. See a list of Reclamation-funded WateReuse reports. Reclamation scientists, engineers, planners and economists are a part of the Project Advisory Committee (PAC) process for each research project that uses Reclamation funds.

The Foundation also provides a current status of all on-going projects and anticipated availability, some of which may not be funded by Reclamation. See the WateReuse Research Foundation 's full portfolio of research.