By Kris Polly

Tampa Bay Water is the wholesale drinking water supplier for three cities and three counties in the Tampa Bay metropolitan area. In our cover interview this month, we speak with Maribel Medina, the director of the agency’s planning and projects division, about the expansion of its surface water treatment plant. We also discuss how the agency responds to the threat of hurricanes and guarantees that clean, safe water continues to flow to its customers. 

After that, we speak with Todd Rother and Louis Rubalcaba, two engineers from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), about a suite of projects designed to remediate groundwater pollution in the San Fernando basin. Restoring the basin will allow LADWP to take advantage of local water resources and storage opportunities. 

Next, we speak with Brian Steglitz, the executive director of the Upper Occoquan Service Authority (UOSA), a water treatment agency in Northern Virginia. Formed in the 1970s to consolidate and replace the work of existing local wastewater plants, UOSA was the first agency in the United States to carry out indirect potable reuse. Today, it is working to expand its facilities to respond to the continued growth around the Washington, DC, metro area. 

KETOS is the provider of advanced data-as-a-service offerings that help water providers seamlessly monitor water quality on more than 35 parameters. In our conversation with Founder and CEO Meena Sankaran, we learn about the benefits of KETOS’s flagship solution and the additional capabilities offered by its new KETOS Environmental Lab Platform, or KELP. 

Finally, back-to-back articles highlight the innovative and award-winning algae-based wastewater treatment pioneered by Gross‑Wen Technologies (GWT). Chief Operating Officer Max Gangestad explains the technology and tells us how it is being implemented at the new Pasco Resource Recovery Center in central Washington State. Then, CEO Martin Gross tells us about the awards and recognitions GWT has accrued and its ambitions for the future. 

Significant projects in Tampa, Los Angeles, Northern Virginia, and central Washington show the hard work and serious planning necessary to accommodate population growth and development. Using trusted technologies and innovative solutions, the nation’s municipal water providers are guaranteeing an unbroken supply of safe, reliable water to their customers. 

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.