By Kris Polly

In our cover story this month, we speak with Ane Deister, the executive director of the Urban Water Institute, a membership-based nonprofit that brings together professionals from utilities, municipalities, private companies, academia, and more to discuss water policy, economics, and resource management in California and across the West.

Next, we speak with Marty Adams, a 40‑year veteran of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power who is retiring as the agency’s general manager and chief engineer. We speak about system upgrades, water recycling, groundwater treatment, and more during this engaging interview about Mr. Adams’s four decades of experience, accomplishments, and lessons learned.

Then, we speak with Marco Tule, the president of the board of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency. This California water utility has used recycled water as a key part of its water portfolio for over 50 years and recycles 100 percent of the approximately 51 million gallons of day of wastewater it receives at its plants.

Jason Beyer, the GIS lead at Kansas utility WaterOne, tells us about how the agency has been using numerous technologies, including the geospatial AI services of UK firm Rezatec, to monitor and proactively maintain its extensive infrastructure.

Then, we check in with leaders from two Florida water utilities. Randy Brown, the utilities director for the City of Pompano Beach, Florida, tells us about how his city has been supplementing its water supply and reducing groundwater pumping for 30 years via its OASIS water reuse system. Ali Bayat, the utilities director at the Palm Beach County Water Utilities Department, tells us about the RECAP project, which will recharge groundwater with a new source of purified water while also providing outdoor recreation and indoor educational facilities. Both utilities were recently recognized by the WateReuse Association.

Next, we interview Tony Trigiani of Hydro Bioscience, which manufactures and sells a line of high-tech ultrasonic devices that safely mitigate harmful algal blooms in ponds, wastewater treatment plants, and other locations.

Florida-based Masuen Consulting does extensive consulting and design work for landscape irrigators and architects, municipalities, golf courses, and more. We speak with the company’s president, Jon Peters, about the company’s recent project of carrying out water use analyses for homeowners’ associations.

Water reuse is no longer an oddity in the water utility world— for many utilities, it is a core part of their water portfolio and strategy. Utilities from California to Florida are finding that water reuse can boost their supplies, benefit the environment, and even provide recreational opportunities. This exciting trend will continue to advance as time moves forward.

Kris Polly is the editor-in-chief of Municipal Water Leader magazine and the president and CEO of Water Strategies LLC, a government relations firm he began in February 2009 for the purpose of representing and guiding water, power, and agricultural entities in their dealings with Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation, and other federal government agencies. He can be contacted at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.