Skip to content

Entering An Era Of Advanced Water Treatment

July 13, 2026 · 14 min

Show notes

Advanced water treatment is entering a new era. Utilities are moving beyond conventional treatment to tackle PFAS, expand water reuse, and secure new water supplies. That often means using technologies like membranes, ozone, activated carbon, and advanced filtration.

Jaime Safulko of PCL Construction explains what's driving this wave of investment and why these projects are more complex than the treatment plants of the past.

She shares lessons from the El Paso Pure Water Project, which is expected to become the nation's first direct potable reuse facility. She also highlights recycled water projects in California and new PFAS treatment facilities in Colorado that are putting advanced technologies into practice.

The conversation explores why collaboration has become just as important as the treatment technology itself. Bringing project partners together earlier helps utilities evaluate options, reduce risk, and avoid costly surprises during construction.

Looking ahead, Safulko expects water reuse to become much more common. She also sees more regional partnerships and a new generation of treatment technologies that improve efficiency while lowering energy use and operating costs.

Learn more about PCL Construction.

waterloop is a nonprofit news outlet exploring solutions for water sustainability.

All episodes of waterloop

Settings

Display

Language

Decides which stations you see first on the home page.

History

Recently played stations and episodes and your latest searches are only stored in this browser.

Notifications

A short notice when a podcast you follow has a new episode. Turn off single podcasts with the bell on their page.

Account

Save favorites – in the app and on the website.

Keyboard shortcuts

/
Open search
Space
Play or pause
← →
In the player: back 15 s, forward 30 s (episodes) · in a row: next tile
↑ ↓
In a row: target within the tile
Home / End
In a row: first or last tile
Esc
Close window or menu
?
This overview
Now playing

Go to station page

Play next

    Add episodes with “Play next” – they play after the current episode.