Scottsdale Water received two awards at this month’s 37th Annual WateReuse Symposium: Excellence in Action Award for Scottsdale Water’s Reclaimed Water Distribution System and Service Award for Executive Director Brian Biesemeyer.
The Excellence in Action recognizes utility leaders that demonstrate a commitment to water resiliency through the innovative use of recycled water for commercial operations, watershed restoration projects, irrigation or other related water projects. Scottsdale’s Reclaimed Water Distribution was recognized for 30 years of using recycled water to supply 26 golf courses in the community – saving 100 billion gallons of precious, potable water through its decades of service.
This facility, along with Scottsdale Water’s Advanced Water Treatment Facility (AWT), not only provides up to 3.9-billion gallons of highly treated recycled water every year but helps Scottsdale Water achieve 100% reuse of the city’s wastewater - a critical water resource in these times of drought and shortage. In addition to irrigation use, the city uses the highly treated recycled water from the AWT to recharge the local aquifer, further advancing Scottsdale’s long-term water sustainability.
Executive Director Brian Biesemeyer received the Service Award for his commitment on the WateReuse Board of Directors from 2016 – 2021. The WateReuse Association said Biesemeyer’s “leadership and vision have helped drive the national adoption of water reuse policies and programs.”
The WateReuse Awards for Excellence are given by the WateReuse Association which is dedicated to advancing laws, policy and public acceptance of recycled water. The awards are to recognize recipients who use water recycling in novel ways to solve water management challenges, advance policies that facilitate greater adoption of water recycling, and inspire others through their innovation and leadership.