CH2M is pleased to participate in the 2015 World Water Week, where the firm received the Stockholm Industry Water Award for its leadership in potable water reuse. Organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), World Water Week, held August 23-28, in Stockholm, Sweden, is celebrating its 25th anniversary, themed Water for Development. Bringing together water leaders from around the world, this year’s event will focus on the exchange of ideas and fostering new thinking to develop solutions for the world’s most pressing water-related challenges.

CH2M’s CEO and Chairman Jacque Hinman accepted the award, which was established in 2000 to stimulate and celebrate outstanding and transformative water achievements by companies in improving production, managing risks, finding solutions and contributing to wise water management, during a special ceremony on Sunday, August 23.

“Receiving the 2015 Stockholm Industry Water Award for our leadership in the evolution and acceptance of purifying wastewater effluent to create drinking water is quite an honor for CH2M. We are pleased to accept this award on behalf of our clients, who trust us to solve their most complex challenges and advance state-of-the-art water reuse technologies,” said Greg McIntyre, Global Water Business Group President.

CH2M is the first engineering company to receive this industry recognition. The company’s first notable success in wastewater recycling came in the 1960s, when CH2M pioneered the third, advanced stage of effluent treatment by successfully removing excess phosphorus, nitrogen and trace metals, restoring the used water of the South Tahoe Public Utility to pristine purity. Through a series of improvements, tests and large-scale implementation, the technology of treating used water back to drinking water quality was further refined to increase reliability, efficiency and sustainability.

In the 1970s, CH2M designed the world’s first surface water indirect potable reuse plant, improving water quality for more than one million people in northern Virginia—raising the bar for cost-effective wastewater treatment.

Over the years, CH2M continued to evolve water reuse practices and in the 2000s worked with Singapore’s national water agency, to not only prove the safety of potable reuse, but to win public acceptance with the country’s NEWater project. By combining state-of-the-art technology and public education tools, unprecedented public acceptance of water reuse was achieved.

“The journey has only just begun. For decades, CH2M has been committed to developing and advancing methods to clean water and increase public acceptance of recycled water. As our world struggles to balance water-related needs, we will continue to push for more innovative ways to contribute to a sustainable water future,” added McIntyre.