Technical Education Focus Areas

Technical education focus areas are a sample of the topics covered at WEFTEC workshops and technical sessions. This page describes the topics in general and includes a link to details for WEFTEC 2013.

Don't forget that our new Mobile App includes all the details and lets you search and create the program you want.

The WEFTEC Program Committee consists of 247 experts in every topic we cover.  Their selective process, which incorporates only the top 50% of submissions, gives you only the best of the best.  WEF's reputation for a high quality program continues in 2013.  With almost 1000 speakers in over 140 sessions and 27 in-depth workshops, you are sure to find every topic you need to keep up to date and learn new and innovative solutions to help you solve your challenges today.

• Collection and Distribution Systems 
• Disinfection and Public Health 
• Decentralized and Natural Systems, Small Communities 
• Energy Production, Conservation, and Management 
• Facility Operations and Maintenance, and Wastewater Treatment 
•  Future Issues and Global Perspectives 
• Industrial Issues, Including Mining and Petro-Chemical Industries 
• Leading Edge Research 
• Innovation 
• Microconstituents 
• Modeling, GIS, Computer Applications, Instrumentation, and Automation
• Municipal Wastewater 
• Nutrient Management 
• Odors and Air Emissions
• Public Officials
• Regulations and Public Communication
• Research
• Residuals and Biosolids 
• Stormwater, Green Infrastructure, and Wet Weather 
• Sustainability, Climate Change, and Resource Recovery
• Urban Systems
• Utility Management, Leadership, and EMS 
• Water Quality, Groundwater, and Watershed Management 
• Water Reclamation and Reuse 
• Water Supply and Management

To recieve email updates about one or more of the focus areas above, please click here. 

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Decentralized and Natural Systems, Small Communities

Small communities generally serve fewer than 10,000 people and many are in unincorporated areas.  Many large cities contain neighborhoods that are small communities within the larger city borders.  Attracting and maintaining competent, properly trained and certified personnel to manage and maintain water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure in the small community, urban fringe area, and those areas where decentralized systems are used created tremendous opportunity for this industry.  Infrastructure issues remain a significant challenge for engineers, elected and appointed officials, and residents of small communities and urban fringe areas. 

"Onsite wastewater management system" (also called a“Decentralized system”), has become a commonly-used term to describe a wastewater treatment system that treats and disperses wastewater at or near its
source. Decentralized systems include systems which serve individual homes (often known as a "Septic System"), a cluster of homes, a subdivision or small community, neighborhoods within larger cities, as well as commercial and industrial complexes. These systems take advantage of the vast capacity of soil to remove or transform pollutants that are in the effluent as it percolates through the soil thereby maintaining the quality and quantity of our groundwater. Traditionally, decentralized systems have been used for small communities but are increasingly incorporated into larger systems to help lower costs and manage assets.

By definition, onsite wastewater management systems are a ‘green technology’ because treated effluent recharges local aquifers. A new innovation in decentralized wastewater management is the reuse or recycling of treated effluent. With appropriate safeguards, local regulations or bylaws may allow the treated water to be used for irrigation, toilet and urinal flushing or make-up water for commercial
boilers. These applications reduce the demand for potable water and aid in the protection and preservation of the available water sources.

WEFTEC includes these topics throughout the Utility Management track, including a specific session on Collection, Treatment, and Asset Management for Small Communities.  To bring you even more on this topic, WEF is also cooperating with the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association (NOWRA) to provide specific events at WEFTEC 2013 relevant to this unique set of challenges.  A joint seminar will be held on Sunday, along with a mobile session on Monday.  For more information on decentralized systems, the NOWRA website has many resources.

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Energy Production, Conservation, and Management

Energy is an increasingly important topic for the water industry.  The costs of energy for use in treatment are significant and make energy conservation and effective energy management vital to overall design, operation/maintenance, and management of systems.  Energy can also be produced during treatment and can be utilized for internal and external uses in varying degrees depending on regulatory conditions.  
Practices that demonstrate use of either energy savings or energy production are included in the program to help attendees learn about reduced energy consumption, reduced carbon footprint, minimization of greenhouse gases, purchased energy cost savings, and beneficial use of the process or end products for energy production.  WEFTEC covers issues including the following:

• Energy from wastewater: hydroelectric, sewerthermal, microbial fuel cells
• Other forms of energy production: photovoltaic, wind, steam, Combined Heat and Power (CHP), digester gas utilization
• Design improvements for energy reduction, eg. blowers
• Operational changes for energy reduction
• Funding challenges and solutions for energy projects
• Regulatory issues and ideas to overcome potential barriers
• Organizational and management considerations for energy management and/or production.

Details about Energy related sessions at WEFTEC 2013 (PDF)

 Leading Edge Research

Innovation and implementation of new technology in the water environment sector is derived from fundamental research conducted at universities as well as more applied research conducted by practitioners associated with consulting engineers, utilities, industries, and governmental agencies. Research that represents collaborative efforts among these groups often leads to compelling abstract submissions. Topics covering fundamental and applied research are included on: 

• Laboratory, pilot, or plant scale assessment of
  new concepts and leading-edge technologies, including but not limited to:
• reuse
• membranes
• nitrogen and phosphorus removal
• energy, nutrient, and resource recovery from wastewater
• solids processing
• Issues related to microconstituents 
• Greenhouse gas production and mitigation
• Process models such as ASM and ADM, metabolic modeling of biological processes and interaction, computational fluid dynamics, and neural networks
• Integration of biochemical or molecular tools into modeling research and practice

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Innovation

Innovation is the lifeblood of a dynamic water sector.  WEF is committed to Innovation.  It is in WEF’s Strategic Direction and is here to stay.  You can see that mind-set manifested at WEFTEC.  We are all about thinking differently, facilitating conversations that transform ideas into solutions, and making new connections to help you turn challenges into accomplishments.   

The Innovation Showcase comprises many different activities including educational sessions, networking events, and exhibits.  These activities are focused to give you information on new ideas including:

• New products
• Technology evaluation
• Utilities and early adopters of new technologies
• Financing and alternative project delivery
• Water clusters and other innovation incubators
• Regulations and their key relation to new technology
• Operations – where creative workforces innovate, test, and partner to make everything happen

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Industrial Issues 

Management of water and wastewater presents various strategic, technical, and economic challenges for industry.  Topics included in this symposium address these concerns by focusing on the water quality impacts of industrial and manufacturing operations. Pertinent subjects include the following, all as applied in industrial settings:

• Advances in biological (aerobic, anoxic, and anaerobic) and physical/chemical treatment processes
• Treatability of microconstituents 
• Nutrient removal
• Residuals management
• Water conservation and effluent reuse at industrial facilities
• Management of brines and saline liquid wastes
• Industrial WWTP operations and cost reduction
• Energy conservation and energy recovery at industrial WWTPs 
• Stormwater management
• Regulatory compliance

This symposium especially includes case histories, pilot plant studies, and modeling evaluations from industrial sites. Presentations cover a broad range of industrial sectors, including oil and gas extraction, petroleum refining, chemicals and plastics, pharmaceuticals, forest products, food and beverage, agriculture and animal husbandry, steel, mining and minerals processing, electronics manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, power generation, biofuels, and landfills.

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Residuals and Biosolids Management 

Management of residuals and biosolids can account for as much as 50% of treatment costs at a municipal wastewater treatment plant. At the same time, these residuals contain significant amounts of nutrients that provide incentives for beneficial reuse or revenues if reclaimed and sold.  Likewise, these “leftovers” from the main treatment system contain carbon compounds that can be converted to more usable forms such as methane gas or solids fuel. Studies, pilot projects, and full-scale operating systems demonstrating effective, efficient, cost-saving, and/or revenue producing processes bring value to the market in these times of lower funding and higher operating costs. This symposium includes presentations that address technical, process, and operational issues related to wastewater treatment residuals and biosolids. Residuals include screenings, grit, scum, primary solids, biological solids, and water treatment solids. Biosolids encompass digested or otherwise treated solids, including pretreated solids, thickened solids, and dewatered cake. Key current topics include:

• Screenings and grit processing
• Volume reduction and sludge minimization
• Innovative thermal reduction (e.g., solar drying)
• Biogas cleaning, bioenergy, and thermal energy recovery
• Sustainability, including effects on the carbon footprint
• Recovery of nutrients and other beneficial constituents
• Advanced anaerobic and aerobic digestion
• Co-digestion of FOG and industrial wastes
• Innovative technologies for treatment and beneficial reuse
• Biosolids management – rehabilitation of disturbed ecosystems
• Pathogen reduction, reactivation, and regrowth
• Impacts of enhanced nutrient removal technologies on biosolids (e.g., struvite and vivianite formation, biogas quality)
• Public education and communication relating to biosolids management issues

Details about Residuals and Biosolids related sessions at WEFTEC 2013 (PDF) 

 

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Water Reclamation and Reuse 

Water reclamation and reuse have taken on increased importance in the water supply and wastewater industries as the world’s water supplies become increasingly strained and climate change may be adding to the problem. These sessions will provide an opportunity for professionals to learn the newest approaches to issues and challenges related to:

• Environmental benefits using natural systems treatment technologies
• Water supply management with aquifer storage
• Potable reuse
• Advanced technologies for water reclamation
• Management and decision-making tools for water reuse systems
• Risk analysis for water reuse and reclamation
• Public education on reuse and reclamation issues

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Municipal Treatment and Design 

This symposium is focused on the liquids treatment aspects of municipal wastewater treatment.  Topics include innovations, improvements, and optimization projects for the design and selection of technologies, equipment, and processes for municipal wastewater treatment plants. The emphasis is on fully developed projects, or large scale pilots, with practical and wide-spread application.

“Design” focuses on the assembly of materials and equipment to create a physical infrastructure, or to modify existing infrastructure, to perform a repeatable and controllable function.  

Specific topics include:

Preliminary and primary treatment  

• Physical and chemical treatment systems
• Screening, grit removal, primary settling, CEPT, scum removal
• Flow equalization
• At-the-plant wet weather treatment systems.   

Secondary treatment  

• Carbon removal
• Phosphorus removal and recovery: biological and chemical
• Nitrogen removal and recovery: nitrification, denitrification, Carbon addition
• Activated sludge process
• Oxygen transfer and mixing, blowers, diffusers
• Fixed growth (aka biofilm) processes: trickling filters, IFAS, MBBR 
• Membrane bioreactor (MBR)
• Sidestream treatment of nutrients 

Advanced treatment  

• Filtration: sand filters, cloth filters, fuzzy filters, membrane filters,
• Microconstituents removal
• Enhanced nutrient removal, ultra-low nutrient removal
• Advanced treatment processes: advanced oxidation, ultra-filtration, microfiltration, reverse osmosis 

Process design and modeling  

• Wastewater treatment modeling when used for design purposes: process, hydraulic, CFD and physical scale-model
• Overall plant design, hydraulics, and site layout

Energy 

• Energy from wastewater: hydroelectric, sewerthermal, microbial fuel cells
• Design improvements for energy reduction, eg. blowers.

Instrumentation, automation and process control 

• Instrumentation and monitoring
• SCADA architecture and design
• Energy management systems design
• Process control improvements pertaining to design and equipment changes

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Facility Operations and Maintenance 

Facility Operations and Maintenance are critical activities in delivering cost effective environmental protection. Changing regulations, retiring labor forces, infrastructure replacements, and a challenging municipal fiscal environment have created significant need and opportunities for new knowledge. The Facility Operations and Maintenance symposium is a forum of
learning that provides real-world examples of successful (and sometimes unsuccessful) attempts to meet these challenges. This symposium presents papers as a forum to share innovative solutions that contribute to improved facility effectiveness and efficiency in the areas of treatment plant operations and maintenance in wastewater and water reuse facilities. Areas that are of particular interest to this symposium include:

Facility operations and maintenance 

• Process operations
• Construction-related operations
• Atypical weather operations
• Operations management practices
• Reliability and maintenance practices and management (asset management)
• On-line, in-plant monitoring practices and application of laboratory results
• BNR operational control and optimization  

New analytical techniques 

• Demonstrated improvements in accuracy and precision
• Techniques that increase the speed by which analytical results are available to make process decisions on both the liquid and solids side 

Renewable energy and the conservation and management of treatment plant energy needs  

• Treatment plants that have the ability to create significant amounts of renewable energy with the utilization of anaerobic digestion

Management of odors and air emissions 

• Hands-on operational innovations with emerging but tested technologies that were installed to control odor and air emissions 

Safety, security, and occupational health issues 

• Facility safety
• Standard operating practices that focus on safety applications
• New and innovative safety training
• Success stories on safety culture change

Carbon footprints, greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation, and water infrastructure 

• GHG emissions inventories
• Carbon footprinting approaches

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Disinfection and Public Health 

Disinfection is a critical unit process used by water and wastewater treatment systems to protect public health and the environment. This symposium will provide an opportunity for water professionals to learn the newest approaches to issues and challenges related to the following topics: 

• Pathogens and emerging contaminants – microbial indicators, molecular methods, risk assessment, and treatment (including membranes, advanced oxidation, and other innovative and emerging technologies)
• Design issues, including sizing, automation, modeling, technology integration, and emerging technologies
• Operation issues including regulatory, safety, security, risk assessment, reliability and sustainability issues, and disinfection byproducts
• Disinfection of wastewater for reuse, CSO/SSO 
• Biosolids disinfection
• Ultraviolet technology issues, including bioassays, lamps, sensors, and selection of design doses
• Validation protocols for all disinfection technologies (including NWRI/AWWARF UV Guidelines, ETV Technology Program, etc.)
• Alternate disinfection systems, household wastewater collection/disinfection/treatment, small community water collection/disinfection, and small community wastewater distribution/disinfection
• Potable water issues, including disinfection byproducts
• Wastewater disinfection residuals
• Microbial disinfection sensitivity

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Collection Systems 

Wastewater utilities are facing many common challenges, including aging infrastructure, increasingly stringent regulatory requirements, inflow/infiltration reduction, rising costs, rate structure, effective collection system management, and an ever changing workforce. This symposium includes presentations on technical approaches or practical applications to the
planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance, and performance evaluation of systems for the collection and transport of wastewater, as well as the distribution of drinking water. Innovative strategies, approaches, and lessons learned on the following topics are particularly encouraged: 

• Planning, design, and implementation
• Modeling, design storm, and level of service evaluations
• Long-term control plans addressing water quality, permitting issues, consent decrees, innovative approaches to meeting Nine Minimum Control requirements, and creative ways to finance programs
• Sanitary overflow programs, including control of infiltration and inflow and fats, roots, oils, and grease
• Private property programs
• Sewer system operations and maintenance
• Pipe corrosion investigation and solutions
• Pump station design, operations, and maintenance
• Sewer system operations, maintenance, and performance evaluation
• Emergency response and repairs
• Field investigative techniques
• GIS and information management applications in planning, design, asset management, and hydraulic modeling
• SCADA system applications
• Computer maintenance management (CMMS)
• Odor control, elimination, and management in pump stations and transmission pipes
• System rehabilitation and repair

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Watershed Resources Management and Sustainability 

With the increasing demand for clean water and the impact of both point and nonpoint stressors on our water resources, focus on a sustainable watershed approach to water resources is key. This symposium presents papers on surface water and ground water quality and ecology, and sustainable water resources management issues.

Surface and ground water quality and ecology 

Case studies and creative approaches are included for the topics of watershed management, total maximum daily loads (TMDLs), water quality monitoring, assessment and modeling, ecological studies, standards and permitting, and site-specific or pollutant-specific projects. Special topics include:

• Nutrients permitting and criteria development
• Pathogens and microbial source tracking studies
• Habitat restoration
• Antidegradation 
• Impacts of climate change
• Water quality trading
• Microconstituents and contaminants of emerging concern (EDCs, PPCPs, etc.)
• Nonpoint source investigations and control projects
• Source control projects
• Regulatory compliance issues
• Public outreach and communications
• Disinfection, including pathogens and emerging contaminants, microbial indicators, molecular methods, risk assessment, treatment, and byproducts
• Groundwater and ground water–surface water interaction studies 

 Sustainable water resources management 

Surface water, groundwater, precipitation, drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater are each important and integral components of our water resources. New ways of viewing the interdependence of these components and their intersection with the natural and built environment and other resources including energy are being explored to achieve truly sustainable
water resources management principles, policies, and practices. Presentations include those that address sustainable water resources management issues, including but not limited to topics listed below:

• Descriptions of geographically sustainable systems stable for long durations
• Compromise solutions to management problems that are measured by sustainability indicators and metrics
• Developing frameworks, indicators, and tools to allow tracking of water sustainability for public policy issues over time
• Applications to water use, including competition among major uses, conservation, reclamation, water allocation, and demand management
• Applications to water availability and water quality issues at large or small scale
• Case studies that show testing and revision to address sustainable urban growth
• Water-energy nexus interactions and effects on sustainability 
• Triple-bottom-line approach to water resources sustainability 

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Utility Management and Leadership 

The management industry has identified the Five Keys to Management Success including: 1) Leadership, 2) Strategic Planning, 3) Organizational Approaches, 4) Measurement, and 5) Continuous Improvement Management Programs. This symposium includes papers related to these Five Keys to Management Success. We work to include as many presentations as possible that apply to small and medium utilities.  Presentations also focus on the important aspect of communicating to the public about all issues.  Presentation topics related to each of the attributes include the following:

Financial viability 

• Capital improvement planning
• Strategies for cost reduction
• Financial planning, bonding, financing
• Rates, cost of service, and service levels 

Infrastructure stability 

• Alternative project delivery
• Master planning
• Asset management
• Construction/contracting issues
• Renewal and replacement strategy 

Customer satisfaction  

• Customer satisfaction surveys, focus groups, advisory boards, and committees
• Setting service levels
• Customer outreach and education

Operational resiliency 

• Risk and/or safety management
• Facility security
• Mutual aid agreements and protocols
• Business continuity planning
• Disaster and pandemic planning and response 

Employee and leadership development 

• Training, succession planning, and leadership development
• Recruiting and retention
• Ethics, diversity, and other workforce issues 

Community sustainability 

• Life cycle cost analysis
• Green infrastructure
• Environmental foot printing
• Climate change adaptation (greenhouse gas) emission 

Operational optimization 

• Information systems
• Energy management and efficiency
• Business process analysis/optimization
• EMS, Six Sigma, LEAN, others
• Performance management 

Water resource adequacy 

• Supply and demand analysis
• Conservation and reuse – including conjunctive
• Conservation and reuse for small communities
• Water wars (and resolutions)
• Watershed and wellhead protection 

Product quality 

• Regulations
• Water supply management
• Stormwater management
• Resource recovery 

Stakeholder understanding and support 

• Public education and communication
• Stakeholder participation processes
• Collaboration with other utilities

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Future Issues 

The Future Issues Symposium provides a forum to consider insights and perspective on water environment topics that are critical to the sustainability of planet Earth. Presentations are included on global water environment issues that have captured the attention of practitioners and the public due to innovation, interest, and/or impact. Presentations include any future
issues related to the water environment including those described below.

Climate change adaptation of water infrastructure 

Progressive water, stormwater, and wastewater utilities are considering climate change as they develop strategic and long-term capital improvement plans. Topics presented include those related to planning, construction, and operational response to global climate change. Subjects include:

• Changing design standards
• Risk management planning for “super events”
• Special land-use planning (for flood plains, coastal erosion zones, and saltwater inundation – including compensation of affected landowners)
• Mitigating saltwater intrusion of aquifers
• Dust storm impacts on freshwater reservoirs
• Planning for long-term drought events
• Related emerging regulatory regimes and market instruments associated with carbon trading and other resources 

Disasters – water infrastructure preparedness, resilience, and recovery  

With each new disaster, whether from natural or other causes, come questions about the preparedness of authorities to deal with the ensuing problems. A resilient water infrastructure is of paramount importance to minimizing the spread of
disease and unforeseen environmental consequences that often ensue in the wake of catastrophic events. Subjects include:

• Case studies on planning for and responding to disasters
• Lessons learned
• Agency collaborations on emergency preparedness and response and implementation
• Federal recovery programs for water and wastewater infrastructure 

Megacities – integrated infrastructure planning  

Defined by the United Nations as cities with over 10 million people, there were two megacities in the world in 1950. In 2009, there were 25. Burgeoning populations and rapid development places unique strains on the current and future water
supplies and sanitation resources of megacities. Further, the practices, sustainable solutions, and resources for managing the water and sanitation needs of traditional-sized cities are wholly inadequate when it comes to megacities. Presentations include:

• Cutting-edge technology, policy, and stakeholder aspects of how best to address the unique infrastructure needs of megacities … both today and in the coming years 

Food/water nexus  

Following on from the need to balance energy demand and water resources is the increasing recognition that the world’s population requires us to balance the need for adequate drinking water as well as the production of sufficient food supply. The latter requires both irrigation and nutrients – and the supply of the latter (particularly phosphorus) from mineral
resources is rapidly being depleted. Recovery of N and P from wastewater AND the reuse of “wastewater” for irrigating food-producing land is rapidly gaining in importance in all countries. Presentations include those that illustrate how
water – and the nutrients recovered from municipal wastewater – are being best utilized for the production of food crops and products with optimal water and nutrient footprint.

Mining impacts and the water environment 

The increasing sophistication of consumer products (requiring rare earth and premium metal products like titanium and aluminum) and the escalating global demand for fossil fuels (such as gas, coal, and oil) is encouraging “frontier” mining of natural resources. Increasingly, mineral extraction is being practiced in uncharted areas (deep sea, high altitude, sub-arctic regions). This is resulting in unforeseen pressures and impacts of the water environment – such as was evidenced in the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Presentations include:

• Examples of “best practice” environmental management in the extraction of mineral resources
• Lessons learned from environmental mishaps or “near misses”
• National or pan-regional land and ocean regulatory standards
• New or innovative technological extraction solutions for mitigating impacts on the water environment 

International perspectives on water environment challenges 

Island nations and developing countries face unique challenges to water resources and infrastructure planning, development,
operation, and management due to changing conditions brought on by tourism, growing economies, regulatory flux, and social unrest. Presentations allow for sharing of solutions that are relevant and appropriate to their scale, geography, cultures, and available resources across different regions – the Pacific, Caribbean, Latin America, Indian Ocean, Africa, and emerging Asian nations. Presentations include those representing international perspectives in the following and related subtopics:

• Special purpose, non-institutional, or community organizations or systems set up to deliver decentralized or distributed water and sanitation solutions in developing countries
• Research into alternative and appropriate technologies for water supply and treatment and reuse
• Case studies, problems arising, and proposed or proven solutions to sea level rise, extreme drought, and flooding in relation to water and wastewater management
• Case studies and lessons learned from the applications of appropriate or alternative technology in international settings

 

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Nutrient Management 

Nutrient management is an essential component of water quality regulations at both the federal and state level.  Nutrients pose both challenges and opportunities for municipalities.  As such, nutrients and nutrient resource recovery are an integral part of the WEFTEC 2013 technical program.  The costs for nutrient treatment can be significant and make effective planning and design vital for effective operations and management.  As many areas of the country tackle nutrients as a water quality issue, there is more work being done to determine true indicators for impairment of water bodies.  Total watershed management is a framework that may provide a more balanced and comprehensive view of nutrients and the impact from both point and non-point sources.  However, although recent developments have focused attention on total nutrient management practices, we continue to see exceedingly lower discharge limits from point sources.  These new restrictions place a greater emphasis on design, chemical, and energy expenditures.  Additionally, stringent effluent standards are set not only due to watershed nutrient guidelines but also due to an increased focus on water reuse. Nutrients are being viewed as an important resource that can be recovered in the larger context of sustainable practices.  There is a balance that must be considered to counter the overall environmental impacts and emissions of greenhouse gasses due to increased energy requirements posing yet another challenge for wastewater treatment practices.  

Specific sessions are found throughout the different tracks, with particular emphasis on research, design, operations, management, and policy approaches.  Topics include the following:

• Biological Nitrogen Removal Processes
• Deammonification, Anammox, and Nitritation/Denitritation Processes
• Biofilm Processes for Nutrient Removal
• Phosphorus Removal Processes
• Strategies for Meeting Ultra-low Nutrient Effluent Quality Standards
• Carbon Sources for Biological Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal Processes
• Treatment of High Strength Wastewaters
• Algae Based Processes
• Nutrient Recovery Processes
• Nutrient Recovery from Source Separated Urine and Agricultural Effluents
• Nutrient Management of Biosolids
• Nutrient Removal Plant Optimization and Troubleshooting
• Microbial Ecology
• Process Modeling, Kinetic Rate and Stoichiometric Analyses, and Wastewater Characterization
• Nitrous Oxide and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Watershed Management Planning
• Capital Improvement Planning for Meeting Lower Nutrient Effluent Guidelines
• Nutrient Regulatory Challenges
• Sustainable Planning

 

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Stormwater, Green Infrastructure, and Wet Weather

The growing challenges facing the stormwater community are diverse and cut across many technical and programmatic areas.  From monitoring performance of infiltration-based practices to funding and financing for efforts to manage stormwater runoff, issues that stormwater managers require a multi-faceted understanding of impacts and approaches for stormwater management.  The impacts of excessive and
untreated stormwater runoff are evident in urban areas across the world.  From Australia to the UK and from China to U.S. cities like Seattle and Atlanta, unique problems have arisen in the natural water environment that call for innovative and effective methods and practices.  The WEF Stormwater Congress seeks input on a variety of topics of interest to stormwater professionals both in the United States and beyond to provide cutting edge information to those on the front line of stormwater management. Practitioner-based programming on topics ranging from policy and finance to research and O&M will give professionals the tools needed to implement successful programs and projects addressing water quality and quantity problems in the natural environment.    
 

Specific areas of interest include:

• Global Issues:  The rise of stormwater issues across the world – international perspectives in stormwater management
• Climate Change:  Climate change and impacts to flood and stormwater design and management
• Funding and Financing:  Creative and effective public-private partnership financing strategies for stormwater and green infrastructure
• Rainwater Harvesting:  The rise of real-time controls in rainwater harvesting systems
• Green Infrastructure:  Effective applications of green infrastructure in urban settings
• Transportation:  Stormwater management challenges in transportation corridors
• Policy:  The status and trends in the regulatory environment impacting the stormwater community
• Programmatic:  Approaches to managing stormwater from a municipal/MS4 perspective
• Construction:  Successful planning, design, and implementation of erosion and sediment control to minimize sediment delivery from construction sites
• Industrial:  Unique approaches to managing runoff on industrial sites
• Integrated Water:  How does stormwater fit into sustainable integrated water management plans and projects
• Streams:  Impacts to headwater streams and methods to restore and protect these resources
• Modeling:  Technical modeling platforms, applications and tools for stormwater managers
• Groundwater:  The relationship between infiltration-based practices and ground-water based water supplies and infrastructure impacts
• Community:  Stormwater’s unique impact on, and benefit to the public – stakeholder input, community engagement, and public education issues in stormwater.

To adequately address these issues, WEF has formed a conference-within-a-conference.  The Stormwater Congress at WEFTEC gives access to specific sessions and networking events designed for the stormwater professional, and gives you the added bonus of access to all the benefits of the world’s largest annual water quality event, WEFTEC.  Click here for details.