Xylem and Water Environment & Reuse Foundation Extend Successful Research Partnership
Xylem has announced its commitment to a renewed research partnership with the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF).
The multi-year commitment (2017-2019) to support WE&RF research into water reuse builds on a previous three-year research partnership and solidifies Xylem’s commitment to advancing the use of recycled water. The commitment includes financial support as well as in-kind contributions which will help accelerate the development and implementation of innovative approaches to delivering recycled water that will lead to increased adoption of this sustainable water resource management practice.
The partnership will help to enhance and advance WE&RF’s water reuse research portfolio. Following Xylem’s acquisition last year of Sensus, a global leader in smart meters, network technologies and advanced data analytics solutions for the water industry, Xylem will also support the WE&RF’s exploration of advanced data analytics for the water sector, as well as its utility analytics and infrastructure management research.
Keel Robinson, North America Water Reuse Leader, Xylem said, “Our partnership with the WE&RF represents an important element of our commitment to advancing water reuse as a critical means of addressing water scarcity and securing a sustainable water supply. Our advanced treatment technologies, including ozone-enhanced biologically-active filtration, ultraviolet disinfection, ozone oxidation, and advanced oxidation processes, demonstrate every day that wastewater can be purified to drinking water standards and reused safely. Our research partnership over the past three years has yielded some significant results which we are very proud to be a part of. We look forward to creating more benefits for the entire industry by advancing innovative technologies and solutions to reuse.”
Between 2014-16, Xylem’s partnership with the then WateReuse Research Foundation (WRRF) supported 13 research projects related to technology evaluation and advanced treatment for potable reuse, including ozone/biologically active carbon (BAC), membrane filtration (MF), reverse osmosis (RO) and advanced oxidation processes (AOP) technologies. The partnership also resulted in numerous peer reviewed publications and several webcasts and workshops. Xylem’s commitment accelerated the adoption of reuse at facilities in California and across the country including the aquifer recharge demonstration project as part of Hampton Roads Sanitation District’s ‘Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow’ (SWIFT) program in Virginia and the City of Altamonte Springs potable reuse demonstration facility in Florida.
“WE&RF is deeply grateful for Xylem’s support of our Foundation and our research,” said Melissa Meeker, WE&RF Chief Executive Officer. “Xylem’s contribution advances the promise of more efficient and effective resource recovery, integrated water management, and water reuse in solving the world’s water challenges.”
One-third of the world’s population experiences water scarcity at least one month per year.
In the face of growing needs and increasingly variable supply, Xylem and WE&RF’s partnership demonstrates both organizations’ commitment to partnering with utilities, engineers and academia to develop and implement safe and sustainable solutions to enable water reuse as a critical solution to water resource challenges around the world.
Source: Xylem Inc.
