Wastewater Resource Recovery: Challenges and Opportunities from a Danish and Californian Perspective

Right now, California is standing upon the implementation of SB1383, which creates new opportunities for Californian and Danish wastewater resource recovery facilities (WRRF) to share knowledge and best practises on resource optimization and biogas utilization.  

Over the last few decades, regulations and nationwide performance benchmarking has fostered a change in the way Danish water professionals consider wastewater. As a result, wastewater is now treated as a valuable resource that supports the development of cost efficient net-zero utilities.

In addition, organic waste, such as sludge, food waste, and feedstock slurry, is utilized in biogas production through resource recovery and a well-developed infrastructure. In addition, the biosolids are reused as fertilizer.

Why participate?

WRRFs are now facing a range of optimization challenges, increasing demands for resource recovery, and a new perspective to rethink old practices in general.

In this workshop, industry professionals regulators from the Danish EPA provide an insight into the Danish wastewater sector by looking at the effects of regulations in hindsight and trends for the future. Leading water professionals from California will also provide highlights of the Californian agenda for the coming years. 

Together, they will explore how the Danish and Californian partnership can pave the way for a sustainable, efficient and resilient water sector in the future.

Program

With a focus on challenges and opportunities, this workshop presents insights from the Danish and Californian wastewater sector from a regulatory and solution-oriented perspective.

• 9:55 Opening remarks (5 min) // Moderator Adam Link, Executive Director, California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA)
  
  
• 10:00 Direction of Denmark (12 min), Q&A (3 min) // Henrik Hagen, Head of Water Utilities, Danish EPA
  
  
• 10:15 Wastewater in California: A Focus on the Future (12 min), Q&A (3 min) // Head, Water Resource Division, Danish Environmental Protection Agency 
  
  
• 10:30 Benchmarking, the potential (10 min) // Manon Fisher, Resource Recovery Specialist, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
  
  
• 10:40 The opportunity of SB 1383 for WRRF’s (10 min) // Chris Voell, Head of Biogas and Waste Advisory, Danish Trade Council of North America
  
  
• 10:50 Benchmarking, the takeaways from a Danish utilities point of view (10 min) // Claus Homann, Chief Operating Officer and Strategy, Aarhus Vand
  
  
• 11:00 Open dialogue: what do we wish for California? (15 min). Define 1-3 future topics of (virtual) workshops // Moderated by Adam Link
  
  
• 11:15 Adjourn

Date, time and registration

Tuesday, March 9, 2021, at 09:55 AM PST (18:55 CET).

Registration has been closed. If you would like to participate in the workshop, please send an e-mail to [email protected], where you write the name of the workshop and list your name, e-mail and organization.

NB! This workshop is a separate event followed by the official signing ceremony of the MoU. If you also wish to sign up for the MoU signing ceremony, you have to register for both events. The events are hosted on zoom and links will be sent directly to you in separate emails Monday, March 8, 2021.