EPA's Zeldin launches voluntary G20 water reuse initiative in Houston

HOUSTON, Sept 15 — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin launched the G20 Water Reuse Initiative at the G20 Energy Abundance Ministerial Session in Houston, a framework for expanding the safe reuse of treated water, the agency said.²

Every G20 member at the Houston meeting agreed to the Water Reuse Outcome Document that EPA spearheaded, the agency said in a press release.²

The initiative is "voluntary, non-prescriptive, and nonnormative and does not seek to develop international standards, benchmarks, or requirements in our respective domestic regulations," according to the G20 Energy Abundance Ministerial Statement Pillar II: G20 Water Reuse Initiative.¹ EPA's release said the initiative supports "fit-for-purpose" reuse standards.²

According to the ministerial statement, fit-for-purpose "may mean using water of treated quality appropriate for the application."¹

"Water and energy security underpin economic prosperity, powering American industry, agriculture, and innovation," Zeldin said.²

The statement says the initiative is to voluntarily convene through the G20 Water Dialogue, with exchanges that may include permitting and regulatory approaches, environmental protection practices, water quality monitoring, and reclamation and recycling in energy production, manufacturing, agriculture, municipal water management and data centers.¹

The statement also lists voluntary actions.¹ These include adding to a voluntary action annex made up of contributions from participating G20 members, hosting or joining technical exchanges and pilot projects, and sharing case studies from data centers, refineries and agriculture.¹

Among the voluntary actions, members welcome the G20 U.S. Presidency facilitating voluntary exchanges among policy, science and technology experts through the G20 Water Dialogue.¹

EPA said it launched the Water Reuse Action Plan 2.0 on April 16, 2026.²