Program Overview

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Water Reuse Program

The Water Reuse Program at CU Boulder provides a unique, high-quality graduate education with core environmental engineering curricula supported by electives that focus on water reuse. The mastery of both principles and practices is emphasized, preparing students for a dynamic career path in the water sustainability arena.

Program Leadership

• Associate Professor Dr. Sherri Cook, co-director of the Water Reuse Program
• CEAE Scholar in Residence, Ben Stanford, co-director of the Water Reuse Program

Program Description

Environmental Engineering (EVEN) at CU Boulder has always had a water reuse component. The dedicated Water Reuse Program offers students the opportunity to specialize in this growing and evolving field. The program curriculum has been developed and is taught by EVEN faculty and senior professionals with water reuse experience and expertise. All courses are offered in person as well as online in a synchronous environment. Specialization in either advanced treatment technology or water reuse management is available through elective courses.

Enrollment Options

• A track in the EVEN Research-Based MS and in the PhD Degrees
• EVEN Professional Master of Science Program (PMP)
• Continuing education through enrollment in individual water reuse graduate-level courses

Water Reuse Academy

The Water Reuse Program is presenting the third Water Reuse Academy on April 1st-3rd, 2025, at the University of Colorado-Boulder SEEC facility. The focus this year will be on potable reuse and covers raw and finished water quality concerns, operational considerations, and treatment process fundamentals linked to design.

Water Reuse Program Advisory Board

The Water Reuse Program is fortunate to have a 16-member Advisory Board made up of professionals in the water reuse field, with representatives from utilities, consultants, state agencies, and a utility research organization.

Faculty Bios

Co-directors

• Sherri Cook, Associate Professor: The Cook Research Group specializes in the design and development of sustainable water treatment and resource recovery technologies.
• Ben Stanford, Scholar in Residence: Dr. Stanford is Associate Vice President and Digital Services Lead at Hazen’s Denver office, leading efforts in utility management and advanced digital technology solutions for drinking water, water reuse, and wastewater utilities.

Faculty

• R. Scott Summers, Professor: Dr. Summers began working with reuse while at the US EPA, evaluating physical-chemical treatment of wastewater with coagulation and granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption.
• William Becker, Scholar-in-Residence, PE: Dr. Becker has 25 years of consulting experience, 5 years of utility experience, and has taught graduate and undergraduate courses at three universities – all in drinking water treatment and water reuse.
• Karl Linden, Professor: Dr. Linden is an expert in water quality and treatment, specifically related to beneficial reuse of impaired waters.
• Mark Hernandez, Professor, PE: Dr. Hernandez maintains an active sanitary engineering consulting practice focused on troubleshooting biological wastewater treatment processes.
• Joe Ryan, Professor: Dr. Ryan is an environmental chemist whose research has focused on characterizing wastewater from mine drainage and mining activities.
• Fernando Rosario Ortiz, Professor: The research conducted at the Rosario group deals primarily with environmental chemistry and oxidative processes during water, wastewater, and reuse treatment.
• Joseph Kasprzyk, Assistant Professor: Dr. Kasprzyk focuses on multi-objective decision-making and model diagnostics for engineering problems in the areas of water resources planning and management.
• Julie Korak, Assistant Professor: Dr. Korak’s research interests are broadly focused on water treatment engineering spanning municipal drinking water, water reuse, and industrial waste management.
• Anthony Straub, Assistant Professor: Dr. Straub has experience developing materials, processes, and theoretical frameworks to improve the efficiency and cost of seawater desalination.
• Cresten Mansfeldt, Assistant Professor: Dr. Mansfeldt’s research focuses on microbiologically mediated material biotransformations in municipal, agricultural, and natural environments.
• Sheldon Masters, Assistant Professor: Dr. Masters is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental & Architectural Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder.
• John Pellegrino, Research Professor: Dr. Pellegrino's research revolves around fundamental membrane development, characterization, and applications.
• James McCutchan, Research Scientist: Dr. McCutchan is Director of the Center for Environmental Systems Analysis (CESA) at the University of Colorado Boulder.
• Mike Thurman, Research Scientist: Dr. Thurman is Co-Director of the Laboratory for Environmental Mass Spectrometry at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
• Imma Ferrer, Research Scientist: Dr. Ferrer is Co-Director of the Laboratory for Environmental Mass Spectrometry at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
• Austa Parker, Adjunct Faculty: Dr. Parker is a water reuse lead planner at Denver Water working with customers, engineers, and regulators to create and implement water reuse programs.
• Katie Spahr: Katie Spahr is a One Water subject matter expert at Denver Water.

Water Reuse Projects

• Advanced Wastewater Treatment by Coagulation, Ozonation/Biofiltration and GAC for the TOC Control, Brown and Caldwell
• Enhancing biochar sorption of organic micropollutants in water treatment: Impacts of ash content and background dissolved organic matter, National Science Foundation
• Advanced Wastewater Treatment by Coagulation, Ozonation/Biofiltration and GAC for the Control of Disinfection by Products, Arcadis/ Water Research Foundation/ National Science Foundation
• Evaluation of Biofiltration and Activated Carbon Adsorption at the Peter D. Binney Water Purification Facility, City of Aurora
• GAC Control of Regulated and Emerging DBPs of Health Concern, Water Research Foundation / Hazen and Sawyer
• Evaluating Treatment Approaches for Sustainable Reuse of Greywater, Wastewater and Stormwater, National Science Foundation
• Simultaneous Removal of Multiple Chemical Contaminants using Biofiltration, Water Research Foundation / Southern Nevada Water Authority
• Implementation of Decentralized Reuse and Treatment Systems, Water Research Foundation/ Hazen and Sawyer
• Distributed UV LEDs for combined control of fouling of drip emitters and disinfection during irrigation with reclaimed wastewater effluent, US-Israeli Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund (BARD)
• Coupled Oxidant and Ceramic Membrane Processes for Decreased Biofouling and Enhanced Flux in Water Reclamation Applications, National Science Foundation/IUCRC MAST Center
• SRN: Routes to Sustainability for Natural Gas Development and Water and Air Resources in the Rocky Mountain Region: Water Treatment and Reuse, National Science Foundation
• Alaska Water and Sewer Challenge - Prototype Development and Pilot Testing of in-home water reuse system University of Alaska Anchorage/ State of Alaska
• Reinvent The Toilet Challenge: Solar Biochar Toilet, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Demonstrating Advanced Oxidation Technologies/Biofiltration on Pharmaceutical Removal in Wastewater, Water Environment Research Foundation

Accreditation

The Water Reuse Program is part of the College of Engineering & Applied Science at the University of Colorado Boulder, which is accredited by the relevant accrediting bodies.

Contact Information Removed

All contact information has been removed as per the instructions.

Final Note

The Water Reuse Program at CU Boulder is a comprehensive program that offers students a unique opportunity to specialize in water reuse. The program is led by experienced faculty and has a strong advisory board. The program offers various enrollment options and has a strong research focus.