Upcoming Events 

Potable Reuse in California: Past, Present and Future

Webinar Summary

The State of California is in a transformational time regarding our water infrastructure. For more than a century, our focus has been on securing new “pristine” water supplies to meet the needs of a growing population and economy. Wastewater had long been viewed as something to dispose of and not a resource. With a population of 40 million people and a gross domestic product of $3.37 trillion that rivals or exceeds that of many countries, California’s water supply is under threat from the impacts of climate change and there is a movement to develop more local and sustainable water supplies. While this movement must include the development of drinking water from highly contaminated groundwater supplies and seawater desalination, the largest near-term investments in State-wide water infrastructure will come in the form of potable reuse. Instead of discharging treated effluent to the Pacific Ocean, the major metropolitan Cities throughout California are proposing multi-billion dollar investments to capture, treat, and distribute a new sustainable supply of drinking water.

This presentation will cover the progression of potable reuse in California. From its early form in the 1960s-70s, through the development of significant projects, such as Water Factory 21 and the Montebello Forebay, to the current state of the art with the 130 MGD Groundwater Replenishment System operated by the Orange County Water District. The importance of regulatory criteria to support project development will be discussed as newly adopted groundwater recharge and surface water augmentation regulations have spurred many more projects out of planning and into operation or construction. Finally, and possibly the most significant, the State of California is developing regulations for direct potable reuse (DPR), which are slated to be finalized in 2023. Although these DPR criteria are still in a draft form, many large agencies are planning infrastructure that will utilize these regulations once promulgated and DPR will further expand investment in potable reuse as a future water supply.

About the Presenter

Shane is the President of Trussell Technologies, Inc. with more than 25 years of experience, a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley studying membrane bioreactors, an M.S. from UCLA and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from UC Riverside. Shane has authored more than 75 publications and is a registered professional engineer in California. Shane is passionate about finding elegant and simple solutions to the complex challenges facing utilities with climate change threatening our water quality and supply. Shane has been involved in the planning, permitting, design, operation and optimization of indirect and direct potable reuse projects. He has also served as the Principal Investigator on research projects that have developed critical information to fill data gaps that has supported the development of potable reuse regulations (both surface water and direct) in California.   Shane is an AAEES Board Certified Environmental Engineer with a specialty in Water Supply and Wastewater.

Webinar Format

This will be an interactive session with "live chat" capability. The session is open to environmental engineering and science professionals across all sectors and career stages. Our objective is to offer special insights on leading edge solutions for graduate and undergraduate students as well as early to mid-career environmental professionals who are considering specialty certification.

AAEES Board Certified Individuals: Attend this event and earn 1.5 PDHs towards your PDH requirements for maintaining your specialty certification.

Register Today 

AAEES's First PechaKucha Event
sponsored by
Delaware Solid Waste Authority

Join us as we showcase several of our 40 under 40 Recognition Program recipients using a popular Japanese-inspired presentation format called a PechaKucha.

What exactly is a PechaKucha? 

A PechaKucha celebrates people, passion and creative thoughts. The event will consist of four speakers each showing 20 slides and presenting for about 6 and a half minutes.  We will have a few minutes in between each presentation for some Q & A. You will gain knowledge on four different topics in under an hour!  

AAEES members will earn 1.5 PDHs for attending. 

Samik Bagchi, Ph.D., BCES
Director of Innovation
Digested Organics

Dr. Samik Bagchi has more than 15 years of experience in waste/wastewater treatment processes. In his current role as Director of Innovation at Digested Organics, he oversights the development and operation of the advanced filtration systems for complex industrial waste stream and agri-wastewater. Before joining DO, he worked as a process specialist at Black & Veatch. Samik did his PhD on anammox process and focused on high strength wastewater treatment and water resource recovery using advance filtration.

Dr. Bachi is an AAEES Board Certified Environmental Scientist with a specialty in Environmental Microbiology.

Innovative membrane-based approach for high-strength industrial wastewater reuse

An industrial fermentation facility is scaling up a process that will generate about 800,000 GPD of high strength wastewater. Using a unique fouling resistant membrane combined with our innovative approach, we have been able provide a sustainable treatment solution that makes it a ZLD facility.

Rosaleen B. Nogle, P.E., BCEE, CFM
(she/her/hers)
Principal Sanitary Engineer
Buffalo Sewer Authority

Ms. Nogle is an AAEES Board Certified Environmental Engineer with a specialty in Water Supply and Wastewater.

Getting Creative with Engineering Management: Why change is needed in engineering management; questions to ask to challenge the way we have always done things; potential solutions.

Engineering management, especially in the public sector has traditionally relied upon engineers (licensed and with EIT certifications) to do a host of tasks.

Abhishek RoyChowdhury, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Navajo Technical University

Dr. RoyChowdhury is an AAEES Member.

Decade long water issues, spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the road forward: An untold story from the Navajo Nation

"The Navajo Nation, the largest Native American Tribe in the US, has an area of over 27,000 square miles, but over 30% of the Navajo residents do not have access to public water supply. In summer 2020 the Navajo Nation registered the highest per capita COVID-19 infection rate in the US which can be directly linked to the poor water quality in the community. This presentation will demonstrate the reasons behind the poor water quality in the Navajo Nation, its impact on adverse health implications of Navajo communities, how it has contributed to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic across the Navajo Nation, and some of the ongoing community level initiatives to address the water issues."

Maile Lono-Batura, BCES, MNPL
Director of Sustainable Biosolids Programs
Water Environment Federation

Ms. Lono-Batura is an AAEES Board Certified Environmental Scientist with a specialty in Sustainable Science.

A Voice for Biosolids: Telling Our Story

The Clean Water Act of 1972 was a landmark ruling aimed to protect the navigable waters of the United States. ‘Pollution Control Facilities’ were brought online to answer the call to produce clean water in addition to renewable energy and biosolids. Fast forward 50 years, we’ve witnessed the power these facilities have had to catalyze nature and create healthier ecosystems that depend on clean water. Of these recovered resources, biosolids has made significant strides in demonstrating its self-worth through decades of research and practical applications and yet has often been seen as an ‘arrow off the map’. Learn how WEF is attempting to flip the script and elevate the voice for biosolids in impactful conversations surrounding climate change, product quality, and flusher engagement.

Register Today

Thank you to our AAEES Patron for sponsoring this event.

Click here to learn how you can sponsor
one of our events.

Complying with the New EPA Multi-Sector General Industrial Stormwater Permit:
A Range of Cost Alternatives

presented by

Webinar Summary

Industrial facility operators face stricter storm water regulations with the final U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 2021 Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP). The best operators will save money and time by attending to simple housekeeping, regular testing and mediation steps, but even the best owners may find themselves with standard exceedances.

If pollutant storm water sources have been identified and best practices and source reduction are not enough, what can a facility do to avoid millions of dollars of investment with a conventional treatment system? Whether it is suspended solids, granulated dust from a stack, cooling tower chemicals from downdrafts, rats living in a sewer, nitrates or other fertilizer runoff, many facilities will be challenged to comply. When the federal standards are inevitably adapted by state and local governments, and the data comes in high, operators face expensive engineered solutions.

About the Presenters

Tyler Marshall, P.E., is a principal environmental engineer in the Iowa City office of Stanley Consultants, performing civil and environmental engineering projects for major industrial companies since 1998. He can be reached at [email protected].

Bill Carrig, P.M.P., is an environmental consultant in the Iowa City office of Stanley Consultants. Carrig can be reached at [email protected].

Trent Humphrey is environmental engineer-in-training for Stanley Consultants. Humphrey can be reached at [email protected].

Webinar Format

This will be an interactive session with "live chat" capability. The session is open to environmental engineering and science professionals across all sectors and career stages. Our objective is to offer special insights on leading edge solutions for graduate and undergraduate students as well as early to mid-career environmental professionals who are considering specialty certification.

AAEES Board Certified Individuals: Attend this event and earn 1.5 PDHs towards your PDH requirements for maintaining your specialty certification.

Register Today

Thank You to Our Webinar Sponsor

Improving Lives Since 1913. Stanley Consultants has been helping clients solve essential and complex energy and infrastructure challenges for over 100 years, successfully completing more than 50,000 engagements in 110 countries and all 50 states and U.S. territories. Values-based and purpose-driven, Stanley is an employee-owned company of engineers, scientists, technologists, innovators and client-service experts who are recognized for their commitment and passion to make a difference. For more information on Stanley Consultants, please visit http://www.stanleyconsultants.com. 

Click here to learn how to become a webinar sponsor.

Save The Date for the 2023 AAEES Awards Conference

The AAEES Awards Event has been scheduled for Thursday April 13, 2023. Additional details coming soon.