Project honored at national water conference
PIMA COUNTY – Pima County’s AZ Pure Water Brew Challenge project won the Transformational Innovation Award at the 33rd Annual WateReuse Symposium, Sept. 10 in Austin, Texas. The WateReuse Association honored the project for its leadership, creativity and persistence in supporting recycled water.
Every year, the WateReuse Association recognizes individuals and projects that have made significant contributions toward support of water reuse during its annual WateReuse conference, which is dedicated solely to advancing the policy, technology, innovation and public acceptance of recycled water. This year marks the second time Pima County’s AZ Pure Water Brew Challenge project participates.
Led by the Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department, the AZ Pure Water project helped change the perception regarding recycled water in many Arizona communities by using recycled water to brew beer. Using a one-of-a-kind mobile potable reuse treatment facility, the project team, which included several Southwest Water Campus partners, treated more than 80,000 gallons of recycled community wastewater to use for a brew challenge competition, which culminated at the 2017 WateReuse event in Phoenix, AZ.
One year later, Pima County’s AZ Pure Water project remains on the forefront of innovation inspiring new projects nationwide.
“It’s an honor to receive the award, but this was really a team effort with many exceptional partners making it possible,” said RWRD Deputy Director Jeff Prevatt, who led the project. “The real winners are the folks living in communities that will one day benefit from our efforts.”
Recently, the AZ Pure Water team and mobile purification truck traveled to Idaho to help the City of Boise pilot its own pure water brew project. Next stop is Texas to help the El Paso community visualize its full-scale operation, which is currently in the works.
For the latest news and information on the AZ Pure Water project, visit the AZ Pure Water Brew Challenge Facebook page.