The national award will help advance the TMWA engineer’s research in the purification of water

Lydia Peri – TMWA Emerging Resources Program Administrator

A highly competitive scholarship has been awarded to Lydia Peri, the Emerging Resources Program Administrator at Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA). With competition coming from the best engineering schools in the country, the Water Environment Federation’s Canham Graduate Studies Scholarship is awarded to only one graduate student applicant each year.

Peri’s current role at TMWA is to manage on-the-ground operations for the OneWater Nevada advanced purified water demonstration study. Since 2015, Peri has been a primary team member collaborating with regional stakeholders on the OneWater Nevada initiative, which includes the University of Nevada, Reno; Washoe County; City of Reno; City of Sparks; Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility; Western Region Water Commission; Northern Nevada Planning Commission; as well as TMWA. OneWater Nevada is a unique feasibility study evaluating if advanced purified water can provide long-term benefits for our region’s water future. Since 2017, OneWater Nevada has been studying various treatment technologies at a small scale, housed inside the demonstration facility. Lydia is responsible for maintaining the operations of the advanced water-treatment trailers while serving as the center link between UNR students, operators, equipment manufacturers, hydrogeologists and public-outreach staff.

The scholarship recognizes Peri’s work as a Ph.D. candidate at UNR in the Environmental Engineering Program. For her studies, she is focusing on a critical component of the OneWater Nevada initiative: what happens to the advanced purified water once it is introduced to groundwater.

“We live in a semi-arid climate, and Lydia’s work toward advancing water purification methods could add additional layers of resiliency and redundancy in our water supply,” states John Enloe, Director of Natural Resources Planning and Management at TMWA. “Her skill and knowledge are a great contribution to TMWA’s water resource management team.”

In Nevada, once reclaimed water meets all state and federal drinking water standards, it can then be ‘banked’ or stored in aquifers for future need.  If the OneWater Nevada initiative is proven feasible, this additional groundwater supply could further diversity the region’s water supply portfolio.

The Water Environment Federation award includes a $25,000 scholarship to cover education-related expenses as Peri works through her Ph.D. candidacy at the University of Nevada, Reno Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.