On Thursday, April 29, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and WateReuse Association will host a free webinar to celebrate the first year of the National Water Reuse Action Plan (WRAP), an innovative and collaborative effort involving numerous federal and state agencies and hundreds of stakeholders from around the country.

Resilience through Collaboration: First Year Highlights and Future Directions of the National Water Reuse Action Plan will feature remarks from EPA and keynote speakers as well as a roundtable discussion featuring WRAP action leaders and water reuse practitioners. The roundtable panelists include:

• Gilbert Trejo, El Paso Water, WateReuse President (moderator)
• Pinar Balci, New York City Department of Environmental Protection
• Mike Markus, Orange County Water District
• Melissa Klembara, U.S. Department of Energy
• Brandi Honeycutt, Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment
• Paula Kehoe, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

The story of the WRAP’s first year of implementation is one of incredible dedication and determination by a growing community of over 100 different organizations. This week’s year-in-review event will provide highlights of the work of the past year and a lively discussion of the future of water reuse and its importance as a tool to build resilient communities and businesses in the face of climate change and uncertain weather events. Examples of the link between water reuse, economic resilience and long-term affordability exist in each region of the country, demonstrating that investment in water recycling is essential to truly help America Build Back Better.

The WRAP collaborative was launched on February 27, 2020 with federal, state, tribal, local, and private sector partners to build technical, financial, and institutional capacity to spur further consideration and implementation of water reuse across the country. WateReuse leads, co-leads, or partners on over 20 WRAP actions working with water sector partners to advance water reuse and recycling.

The WateReuse Association is the nation’s only trade association solely dedicated to advancing laws, policy, funding, and public acceptance of recycled water. Our membership includes utilities that recycle water, businesses that support the development of recycled water projects, and consumers of recycled water.