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The EPA launched the RealWaterTA initiative on March 4, 2026. It's a "back-to-basics" approach to strengthen support for drinking water and wastewater systems, focusing on public health, compliance, and real-world results through best-practice services like engineering and financial management.

EPA added PFHxS‑Na to the Toxics Release Inventory, requiring facilities to track and report its use or release starting in 2026. With a 100‑lb threshold, the move expands PFAS transparency to 206 chemicals and strengthens community access to pollution information.

Reactive oxygen species can break down stubborn pollutants, and Argonne scientists have now developed a real‑time, ultra‑sensitive method to measure them, revealing which oxidants form on different electrodes and how efficiently they’re produced, advancing electrochemical water treatment.

New research links higher Parkinson’s risk to “younger” groundwater, highlighting how aquifer age, geology, and cyanobacterial exposure may shape environmental health. The article urges utilities to track broader markers and integrate water–health data.

PFAS are persistent “forever chemicals” found in water, soil, and air, linked to cancer and immune, developmental, and hormonal harm. EPA’s new rules set strict limits, require monitoring, and drive costly treatment upgrades as utilities work to remove and manage PFAS contamination.

The PREDICT Act would expand wastewater surveillance to give communities earlier warning of infectious‑disease outbreaks, funding CDC grants, advanced testing, nationwide coverage, data transparency, and a national plan to strengthen wastewater‑based public health systems.

Nitrous oxide emissions in wastewater treatment are dominated by nitrifier and heterotrophic denitrification, and this study shows how to separate and measure each pathway under full‑scale conditions. By controlling ammonium, nitrite, dissolved oxygen, COD, and pH, researchers isolated the pathways and found the hydroxylamine route to be negligible. Low DO increased both pathways but especially nitrifier denitrification, while higher organics and lower pH amplified heterotrophic denitrification. These insights create a clearer framework for targeted N₂O mitigation strategies.

Crews tunneled 260 feet below Lake Ontario to build Toronto’s new Ashbridges Bay outfall. Southland Mole used compact Brokk demolition robots to safely drill upward to 50 risers, keeping workers out of danger during six months of intense overhead excavation.

Holiday Pines WRF in St. Lucie County earned a 2024 DEP Operations Excellence Award for its strong process control, dedicated operators, and recent expansion to 0.6 mgd. The team’s tight lab work, cross‑training, and SCADA oversight ensure high‑quality reclaimed water.

Microbial electrochemical technologies can recover energy and nutrients from wastewater, generating electricity and fertilizer while improving sanitation. Researchers say METs could support circular water systems and expand treatment access, though regulatory and engineering hurdles remain.

Environmental groups are suing New York City over its plan to chlorinate combined sewer overflows into Flushing Creek, arguing the approach is ineffective and introduces new chemical risks. They seek a full Environmental Impact Statement and evaluation of alternatives that reduce sewage volume rather than mask pollution.

Nunavut’s Rankin Inlet rebuilt its failing 1970s utilidor despite Arctic cold, permafrost, and extreme logistics. Dillon Consulting upgraded pumps, insulation, and manholes, preventing contamination and boosting capacity for reliable water and sewer service.

Green Team Building Services, led by James Terry, specializes in South Florida's water/wastewater systems where private issues affect public networks. They provide cleaning, inspection, and repair to diagnose and resolve private-side problems (like grease clogs) that impact municipal assets downstream.

IDRA’s new global fact sheet shows Direct Potable Reuse accelerating worldwide, with the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Africa advancing DPR to strengthen water security. The report highlights market growth, key regional drivers, and the need for risk‑based, multi‑barrier frameworks.

The JD Power 2026 Utility Digital Experience Study reveals a split: high-satisfaction mobile apps (654) are missing from 28% of utilities. Overall satisfaction rose to 616, but customers still struggle to find pricing and rebate information.

Sewer systems are central to flood prevention, and drain technicians play a critical role by inspecting, maintaining, repairing, and upgrading stormwater infrastructure. Their work keeps pipes clear, boosts system resilience, and prevents sewage overflows during heavy rain.

St. Francis Public Schools earned MMSD’s Green Luminary Award after transforming three campuses with native plants, rain gardens, and bioswales. The upgrades manage 280,000 gallons of stormwater, reduce runoff to Lake Michigan, and create outdoor learning habitats.

Gaithersburg, MD, launched an art contest during the pandemic where residents painted storm drains. This G-PARC initiative teaches diverse community members about stormwater management, pollution's impact on the Chesapeake Bay, fosters engagement, and is a recognized best practice.

Line‑of‑fire behaviors cause most workplace injuries. In 2023, 5,283 U.S. workers died from traumatic incidents, with far more lost to occupational disease. OSHA’s Fatal Four—falls, electrocution, struck‑by, and caught‑in/between—remain leading killers. Complacency, shortcuts, and ignored hazards drive preventable risks.

Gulf states rely on more than 400 desalination plants for most of their drinking water, but the 2026 Iran–U.S.–Israel conflict has brought missile and drone strikes dangerously close to key facilities. Damage to plants in the UAE and Kuwait highlights how war threatens water security

Chrome tanning loses large amounts of reusable chromium, which conventional precipitation turns into hazardous sludge. A modular recovery system using segregated streams, pretreatment, and regenerable silica‑gel adsorption captures Cr³⁺ for reuse, cutting waste and costs.

The membrane water and wastewater treatment market hit $16.2B in 2024 and is set to reach $32.2B by 2033, driven by stricter regulations, water reuse demand, desalination growth, and advances in high‑efficiency membrane technologies.

Agentic AI offers water utilities specialized “co‑pilot” agents for data, modeling, coding, and orchestration, but operators overwhelmingly prefer human‑in‑the‑loop control. Focused AI teams can enhance leak detection, planning, customer service, and training without replacing operators.

U.S. utilities lose 2.7 trillion gallons and $6.4B annually to non‑revenue water. Aging infrastructure, limited staff, and inconsistent auditing worsen losses. Utilities are adopting digital tools, maintenance, standards, and partnerships to cut leaks and improve efficiency.

Energy now accounts for up to 40% of utility OPEX, pushing water and wastewater systems toward digital optimization. New analysis projects $135.5B in digital energy‑saving tools by 2030, with the biggest gains from pump optimization, aeration control, and load shifting.

Data centers use significant water for cooling, but impacts vary widely. New designs, recycled water, closed‑loop systems, and real‑time wastewater monitoring are reducing consumption and protecting water quality, shifting the industry toward smarter, sustainable water management.

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U.S. agriculture is shifting toward US$84B in irrigation investments, driven by aquifer depletion, rising energy costs, and volatile weather. Farmers are rapidly adopting precision, digital, and drip irrigation technologies to cut water and energy use, while off‑farm irrigation districts accelerate infrastructure upgrades. Digital tools are the fastest‑growing segment as water management becomes increasingly data‑driven.

Data centers’ water exposure is shifting overwhelmingly to the power grid, with 72% of their total water footprint tied to electricity generation by 2030, not on‑site cooling. This surge is driven by AI‑driven electricity demand, which is expected to reach 8.9% of all U.S. power use.

The Water Council’s 2026 Tech Challenge seeks AI‑native water innovations at TRL 3+, offering up to $10K, expert feedback, and partnership opportunities. Global applicants must show AI‑driven advances in sensing, treatment, movement, recovery, or management of water systems.

Mars once had abundant water, but Hubble and MAVEN data show it escaped to space as hydrogen and deuterium leaked from a turbulent, rapidly changing atmosphere. By tracking these escape rates, scientists reconstructed Mars’ wet past and gained insights that also help predict how Earth‑like planets evolve.

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