WQA’s 2024 Outlook

WQA’s 2024 Outlook

Everyone’s favorite not-for-profit association has been busy since the start of the year, and their CEO Pauli Undesser is leading the charge. In this article she wrote on WQP Mag, Undesser says that the industry will face some ups and downs in 2024. She says that even though the economy is a bit shaky, with things like a low U.S. fertility rate and iffy stock market earnings, WQA is still feeling good about the future. There are important changes happening, like new laws (the Healthy H2O Act) and rules that really put the spotlight on home and local water treatment methods. WQA is working closely with the EPA, especially on making sure people know about and use the right tech for getting lead out of water and tackling those tough PFAS chemicals in our drinking water.

MORE: Watch WQA Podcast: Water Treatment Industry Outlook (15 min.)

EVEN MORE: Determine if it’s worth attending the 2024 WQA Convention with this handy ROI Toolkit

Bottled Water Contains Tons of Plastic Particles

We think Morning Brew said it best: “If tap water had a head of marketing, they would be whipping their shirt around in the air right now.” That’s in response to a new study that shows that bottled water has way more plastic bits in it than we thought before, and these tiny plastics, called nanoplastics, are so small they can get into our blood. When researchers checked out bottled water from some big brands in the US, they found a ton of these plastic particles in every liter. What's really eye-opening is that these nanoplastics are super tiny, way smaller than a strand of hair, and that's bad news because they can get into our cells and mess with our bodies.

Sustainable Water Across the Pond

Water Works, a Colorado water treatment solutions company, has a prolific blog full of high-quality content. This includes a recent post about Brighton, a popular coastal city in England, and its commitment to water sustainability. The team reviews Brighton's efforts to become a greener city and reviews their practical tips for homeowners. These include using water-saving fixtures, collecting rainwater for gardens, and fixing leaks quickly. They're also big on xeriscaping over there, which means using plants that don't need much water to make gardens both pretty and eco-friendly. Plus, Brighton's community is big into gardening and has a program that reuses household water for things like watering public parks. +1 for the Brits.

Testing Cyclopure's PFAS Water Test Kit

When the Water Filter Guru talks, we listen, and that’s absolutely the case with their most recent article. Brian Campbell, founder and former employee at Hach Company, tried out Cyclopure's PFAS water test kit in Steamboat Springs, CO, and here's the scoop. For $79, this kit tests 55 types of PFAS in city or well water, with results in about 10 days. What's cool is you don't ship water to a lab; instead, you use a special filter in a cup to catch the PFAS, then send just a disc to the lab. Brian found the process straightforward, maybe a bit slow, but overall recommends it, saying “this test is the best fit for folks who want an easy way to extract PFAS from their water at home, without the risks associated with shipping a water sample.”

Learning corner:

Like your favorite kindergarten teacher, we’re busting out the learning corner for all the educational pieces dropped in the last week:

• WaterWorld explains smart water meters and how they make it possible to “automate shutoffs and expand data collection” for a relatively low cost

• SpringWell explains fluoride in drinking water (hint: ingesting too much of it can cause side effects)

• And how water softeners prevent “post shower itch”

• Seeking Alpha uses Pentair to give a financial overview of the water treatment industry

What else is happening:

• Tri-Florida Water Treatment says these are the steps to protect well water from waterborne microbes and hazards

• Arizona-based Just Plumbing releases a practical guide to determining when to upgrade a water softener

• Plumber’s Choice Water claims the Flow-Tech Carbon Filter makes drinking water a more pleasant experience

• Tampa could become the first U.S. city to get a water treatment system that can help filter out PFAS

• Water Council names fall 2023 Tech Challenge winners: Aquagga for its PFAS destruction technology, Searen for its PFAS extraction/concentration technology, and Pipesonic for its tools that perform non-invasive assessments of watermains (and dope name)

• Chemical engineers at MIT have developed a hydrogel system for efficient water treatment in just one step, with minimal impact on the environment