US Bureau of Reclamation to support nine water technology pilot projects

The United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) has selected nine projects for funding under its Desalination and Water Purification Research Program.

The research projects will be receiving $1.49m in total, which will support $13.5m research programmes.

USBR commissioner Estevan López said: "Improving desalination and water purification across the West is crucial to providing affordable, clean and sustainable water supplies for American communities.

"These projects represent a small portion of the many worthy proposals we have received.

"The president’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2016 includes a 19 percent increase over this year’s budget and, if approved, this amount would be a big step forward for more projects to receive funding next year."

USBR will finance the projects for one year and has set funding limits at $150,000 per project.

These pilot projects will be carried out to determine the feasibility of new technological processes invented by Carollo Engineers, Regents of the University of California, Vanderbilt University, WateReuse Research Foundation – Hazen and Sawyer.

Other researchers include WateReuse Research Foundation – University of Arizona and Black & Veatch, Padre Dam Municipal Water District, WateReuse Research Foundation – City of San Diego, CA, New Mexico State University and San Diego County Water Authority respectively.

The experimental projects are likely to be followed by detailed research for the technology demonstrations.