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Billed as the largest conference of its kind in North America, WEFTEC.09 — the Water Environment Federation’s 82nd Annual Technical Exhibition and Conference — extends beyond the continent’s borders, offering water quality education and training to professionals from around the world. The event will be held Oct. 10-14, 2009, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.
In 2008, WEFTEC attracted a record 22,000 attendees and more than 1,100 exhibitors. While 2009 attendance figures are difficult to predict given the state of the economy, 122 technical sessions, 31 workshops, nine facility tours, and more than 1,000 products and services providers will be available to civil engineers and others who want to keep current on what’s happening in managing and treating wastewater, potable water, and stormwater.
WEFTEC.09 features the following technical education and workshop focus areas from which attendees can mix and match to design their own learning experiences:
- Collection systems — Management, operations, and maintenance; infrastructure; overflow reduction; wet weather planning; watershed approaches; and regulations;
- Membrane technologies — Application in wastewater and water reuse; innovations; enhanced performance; and regulatory compliance;
- Plant operations and treatment — Innovations, technologies, processes, and proven solutions in water and wastewater treatment, including nutrient removal and odor control;
- Regulations — CMOM/SSO rules; TMDL/watershed rules; nutrient trading; and NPDES Phase II;
- Research — Leading-edge process applications in water and wastewater treatment and recent developments;
- Residuals and biosolids — Incineration, disposal, reuse through land application, research, regulations, politics, and public perception;
- Utility management — Asset management and financial planning for infrastructure, technology, regulatory compliance, and security, including environmental management systems;
- Water reuse/recycling — Research, regulations, emerging technologies, and proven processes; and
- Water quality and watershed management — Stormwater, wet weather, and watershed issues.
Additionally, nine Orlando-area facilities are offering tours during WEFTEC. Separate registration and fee is required for participation in the tours. The following tours are scheduled:
- Collection Systems and Water Reuse Tour: Wastewater Not Wasted
- The City of St. Cloud’s Southside Wastewater Treatment Facility
- Orange County Utilities’ Northwest Water Reclamation Facility
- Altamonte Springs Water Reclamation Facility: Project APRICOT
- Orange County Utilities’ South Water Reclamation Facility
- The City of Sanford’s South Water Resource Center and North Water Reclamation Facility
- SeaWorld Orlando Water Quality and Life Support Tour
- The Orlando Easterly Wetlands
- Iron Bridge Regional Water Reclamation Facility
The Water Environment Federation (WEF) offers continuing education units (CEUs) for full participation in workshops and professional development hours (PDHs) for participation in technical sessions. At WEFTEC.09, attendees can earn as many as 1.2 CEUs and 19.5 PDHs, plus a number of contact hours for participation in facility tours and for time spent in the exhibit hall.
Keynote address
At the Opening General Session, Monday, Oct. 12, Dr. Mike Magee, M.D., a veteran health care leader and author of “Healthy Waters: What Every Health Professional Should Know About Water”, will deliver the keynote address. Magee is a senior fellow for health policy at the Center for Aging Services Technologies of the American Association of Homes & Services for the Aging, and editor of Health Commentary.org and Healthy-Waters.org. He is well-known for his unique perspective on health care and for championing patient rights and principled leadership including environmental health, scientific innovation, and health system transformation in the United States.
First published in 2005, Healthy Waters highlights the facts and figures about water and its enormous impact to our quality of life. Viewing water management as a test of humanity’s ability to handle complex issues in a cooperative and compassionate manner, Magee suggests that water is both an environmental and public health issue. To help spread this message, he launched the Healthy Waters Initiative (www.healthy-waters.org). The goal of the initiative is to raise awareness about the vital importance of clean water to public health and to generate action on water-related issues. Magee’s keynote address will focus on the direct correlation between access to potable water and public health.
Attendees are encouraged to attend a special question and answer session with Magee immediately following the opening session program.
In addition to the keynote address, the opening general session will feature WEF President Rebecca West and recognition of WEF award winners and the 2009 Stockholm Junior Water Prize winners.
Detailed information about all WEFTEC.09 technical sessions, workshops, facility tours, exhibits, and many other activities is available online at www.weftec.org
Events for students and young professionals The facility is located about 30 minutes from the convention center. Complimentary bus transportation will be provided, but participants must register in advance. Additionally, Student Chapter Design Teams will participate in an annual WEFTEC Design Competition. New for 2009, two competitions will be held at WEFTEC.09: a Wastewater Design competition that includes a traditional wastewater design project (hydraulic, capacity design, upgrades to existing systems, biosolids handling, etc.); and an Environmental Design competition that includes current engineering topics (sustainability, water reuse, wetland construction, etc.). Through sponsorship of this event, award money will be presented to the first- and second-place teams in each competition. |
Center of Excellence resources WEFTEC Bookstore — Hundreds of titles will be on display in what WEF claims is the largest collection of water and wastewater resources in one location, including WEF’s peer-reviewed Manuals of Practice, WEF Press, WEF’s training/certification materials, and WEF Public Education and Public Communication materials. WEF Press — This alliance between WEF and McGraw-Hill Professional has enabled WEF to expand the breadth of titles offered to its membership, to offer new editions of important industry resources, and to reach a global audience. WEF Membership — WEF representatives can explain the benefits of a WEF membership. WEFTEC Conference Proceedings — The Conference Proceedings on CD-ROM will contain the complete WEFTEC.09 technical program; fully searchable and ready to read on screen or to print-out. Attendees can pick up or purchase a copy at the booth. Water Environment Research Online — One of the most respected research journals referenced by water quality professionals. WEF Job Bank — The WEF Job Bank online receives more than 10,000 visitors a month and can be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. |
WEFTEC history In 1941, the then-known Annual Conference featured five sessions, 13 technical papers, and an attendance of 556. By the 1970s, attendance had grown to 8,716 and featured 37 sessions with 146 technical papers. Growing steadily through the 1980s and 1990s, the conference continues to set new technical program and exhibition records each year. Renamed WEFTEC in 1994 to increase both domestic and international recognition, WEF’s annual exhibition has been ranked in the top 1 percent of all trade shows in North America for the past five years. |
Information for this article was provided by the Water Environment foundation.
