West Point Cadets attend Water Reuse Field School at WEST Center
West Point Cadet Water Reuse Field School attendees and instructors at WEST Center in July 2025.
In late June 2025, eight military cadets from West Point Academy traveled to Tucson to attend an advanced water purification (AWP) workshop at the University of Arizona’s WEST Center. The training, which took place from June 30 through July 10, consisted of lectures on water reuse technology as well as hands-on sessions with each system. Participants studied and operated systems used in: 1) Ultrafiltration, 2) Reverse Osmosis, 3) Ultraviolet-Advanced Oxidation Process (UV-AOP), 4) Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) Treatment, and 5) Disinfection. They also learned about water quality analysis essential to evaluating and monitoring system performance, such as conductivity, turbidity, pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), sulfates, and UV absorbance.
During Week 1, the class utilized the five AWP systems using tap water to familiarize themselves with each unit’s operation. Instructors offered guidance and supervision during exercises designed to teach attendees how to operate equipment, adjust parameters, and evaluate outputs. In the second week (Week 2), they conducted experiments using reclaimed water from the Agua Nueva Water Reclamation Facility (WRF), working more independently while still shadowed by instructors.
In addition to training at WEST Center, the eight cadets toured Pima County’s Agua Nueva WRF to better understand wastewater treatment processes prior to advanced purification. They also visited the University's Solar Site where equipment is used to study the use of heat energy in water purification.
The AWP workshop was developed and coordinated by the University of Arizona’s Water Resiliency Program. Instructors and tour guides included water reuse experts from the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Department of Environmental Science, and other organizations. Special thanks to Itzel Marquez, Varinia Felix, Luke Presson, Eduardo Saez, Luisa Ikner, Hercilio Zimila, Violeta Martinez, Jeb Shingler, Minna Allouzi, and Bianca Miguel de Souza Chaves for contributions to this successful and impactful training.
