"The Business Case for Water Conservation" -Cost-effective approach-es to water conservation. Who should attend - city officials, board members of water utilities, etc. Cedar Park Recreation Center, March 22, 2011, 8:30 am - 3 pm. For information, go to www.texaswater.org.

The regional water plan-ning group for the lower Colorado River (Region K) begins its fourth round of water planning for the basin (2011-2016). There will be a public meeting at the LCRA's Service Center, 3505 Montopolis Drive, at 6:30 pm on April 13, 2011, to receive comments and suggest-ions from the public.  

Texas Water War - Groundwater issues. Mc-Kinney Roughs Nature Center, March 19, 10 am. Call 315/534-4398 for information.

Reuse

Portions of this article are based on the conference about "Innovative Water Supply Alternatives" sponsored by Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) in San Antonio last October.

Traditionally, the effluent from municipal wastewater plants has been a product with less than zero value - i.e., one that incurred considerable cost to dispose of without endangering the environment or the health of local residents.

One indication that that might be changing was the news story in 2004 that the City of Austin and LCRA were squabbling about the ownership of the discharge from the City's wastewater plants into the Colorado River ("Bed & Banks," Water Matters,  May, 2004) . LCRA maintained that the City's effluent was an important part of the flow of the Colorado River at certain times of the year and helped LCRA fulfill its obligation to maintain environmental flows. The City wanted to use its effluent for the purpose of cooling its power plants downstream without having to buy water from LCRA for that purpose.

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has set up standards (Chapter 210) for the quality criteria for reclaiming wastewater for beneficial purposes, such as irrigation and cooling towers. Reclaimed water undergoes several levels of treatment in order to meet the TCEQ quality standards, but is not treated to the same quality standards as drinking water.