Pink. Orange. Neon red. These ponds in the South San Francisco Bay look like a chemical spill — but the colors are actually a sign of nature at work. Seawater flows into shallow evaporation ponds where the water becomes progressively saltier. At each stage of salinity, different microorganisms thrive. Specialized…
New Jersey is tackling one of the most ambitious lead pipe replacement efforts in the country — and the early data tells an important story. Jyoti Venketraman of New Jersey Future and Jersey Water Works explains how the state’s 2021 law set a 10-year timeline to identify and remove lead…
How do you track water solutions across a river basin the size of the Mississippi? Jason Morrison of the Pacific Institute explains how the Water Action Hub is being used to monitor conditions and guide action across the Mississippi River Basin. The initiative has an ambitious target to implement water…
How much water does AI use? We asked people that in the latest episode of Water Street Questions from the Reservoir Center. The reactions were… all over the place. Some people immediately admitted they had no idea: “Oh God, I’m not good with AI.” Others threw out a range of…
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, conversations about water are reaching the highest levels of global leadership. Jason Morrison of the Pacific Institute says water programming has significantly increased in recent years — even inside the Congress Center, where fewer than 2,000 badges are issued to CEOs and heads…
A download from Davos reveals how water is rising on the global agenda — with business leaders, governments, and NGOs increasingly recognizing it as a critical climate and economic risk. In this episode, Jason Morrison, president of the Pacific Institute, shares insights from the World Economic Forum gathering this past…
Water sustains life — but history reminds us it has also been used as a weapon. At Kelly Ingram Park, one of the most powerful moments of the Civil Rights Movement unfolded during the Birmingham Campaign. In May 1963, thousands of young people joined what became known as the Children’s…
New Jersey is three years into implementing one of the nation’s most ambitious lead service line replacement laws — a 10-year mandate to identify and remove all lead service lines statewide. The early trends show something important: unknown service lines are declining, inventories are becoming clearer, and utilities are building…
Critical water policy decisions are on the horizon. The Water Policy Fly-In in Washington, D.C. on April 14-15 is the sector's opportunity to amplify its message to federal lawmakers and agencies. "It's everybody coming together, making sure that we have the same consistent voicing that we're being loud, we're being…
Water leaders don’t need another technical manual to communicate better — they need to step into the spotlight. At Catalyst 2025, Dr. Bernie Armada of University of St. Thomas showed how theatrical improvisation can transform the way water professionals connect with their teams and communities. His session pushed participants to…
Unlocking the full potential of AI in water demands clear communication and strategic collaboration. Ralph Exton of the Water Environment Federation says critical issues range from dispelling misinformation among communities and regulators to educating the tech sector on sustainable practices, especially concerning water-intensive operations like data centers. This urgency led…
A fundamental shift is underway in how water resources are perceived and managed, moving beyond simple disposal to embrace a truly circular economy. Ralph Exton of the Water Environment Federation says rethinking the wastewater cycle unlocks not just environmental benefits, but also significant economic opportunities. By extracting valuable resources like…
The water sector is in the middle of a major transition, as decades-old challenges collide with powerful new technologies, workforce shifts, and rising public expectations. In this episode, Ralph Exton, Executive Director of the Water Environment Federation, unpacks how a nearly century-old organization is working to steer global water strategy.…
California is putting numbers behind recycled water. State planners are targeting roughly 800,000 acre-feet of reuse annually by 2030, followed by a dramatic expansion — about one million additional acre-feet by 2040 — as more treatment and reuse projects are built statewide. The strategy turns water recycling from a niche…
Water reuse isn’t a futuristic idea — it’s already how rivers work. Across major waterways like the Mississippi, the Colorado, and California’s Bay-Delta system, communities routinely rely on water that has been used upstream, treated, and returned to the river before being withdrawn again downstream. Modern reuse projects make that…
Most people know Earth has more saltwater than freshwater — but how much more? On Water Street outside of the Reservoir Center in Washington, D.C., we asked visitors to guess. Answers ranged from 70% freshwater to 15%, 10%, and even 2%. The most common answer hovered around 20%, likely because…
Building new water supply in California now requires assembling funding as carefully as engineering. Water reuse projects often rely on layered financing — combining local rates, state programs, and federal support — because the infrastructure is expensive but increasingly necessary as climate pressure reduces reliability of imported sources. “It does…
California regulators have created a formal permitting pathway for utilities that want to produce drinking water directly from treated wastewater. The state’s new direct potable reuse rules function as an optional tool — giving agencies regulatory certainty after years of pilot projects, research partnerships, and case-by-case approvals. “When it came…
California is securing water supply with financing — not rainfall. In recent years, state funding has accelerated drinking water, wastewater, and recycling infrastructure across dozens of communities. The result is a growing volume of dependable local water produced through treatment and reuse rather than imported from shrinking sources. “$1.7 billion…
California’s water system was built for a wetter century—and now the state is racing to turn wastewater into a reliable part of its supply portfolio. In this episode, Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board, breaks down where water reuse fits in California’s long-term strategy, and…
Building the infrastructure for a drought-proof future depends as much on human relationships as it does on concrete and steel. The Sacramento Area Sewer District has spent years cultivating deep-rooted trust with local landowners to ensure the Harvest Water project successfully delivers recycled water to the region's agricultural heart. This…
The era of the "yuck factor" is fading as California pivots toward a more sophisticated and necessary understanding of the water cycle. Modern treatment technology now allows utilities to reach levels of purity that were once unthinkable, transforming wastewater into a strategic asset for a state facing an increasingly volatile…
California’s largest agricultural water recycling project is set to breathe new life into the landscapes of southern Sacramento County by swapping groundwater pumping for a drought-proof supply. The Harvest Water initiative will deliver a massive 50,000 acre-feet of recycled water annually to more than 16,000 acres of working lands, creating…
Discharging treated water into the heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta carries a massive responsibility, as this watershed serves as a primary hub for the state’s water delivery network. To protect this vital resource, the Sacramento Area Sewer District operates one of the largest inland discharge points west of the…