Welcome to New Orleans for the 91st annual Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference. We are thrilled to be back in New Orleans as it celebrates its Tricentennial Anniversary — 300 years of resilience and fortitude tied to a unique relationship with water make it a perfect place for WEFTEC.

We all come to WEFTEC to learn from each other, connect with each other, and reinforce our dedication to the water sector and protecting public health. WEFTEC is designed to help make you a more enriched, more engaged, and more energized force for water.

Our jobs are not always easy — in fact, they’re rarely easy. But we are in this together and I’m proud to be a part of a profession that faces every challenge with courage, determination, and an unyielding sense of purpose. Your drive to make a difference is inspiring and remarkable.

When we all work together we can harness and multiply our efforts to achieve great things — clean, safe water; reliable services for customers; a healthy environment; and the ability to stretch and grow even farther. Each of us has something important to contribute to ensure that our water is managed wisely and sustainably for today and tomorrow.

Thank you for joining us here. You are the heroes we need to save our world – one drop, one commitment, and one innovation – at a time. Serving as WEF’s president during the last year, has provided me with the opportunity to witness first-hand all the amazing work you do every day.

This is going to be a busy week with more than 1000 exhibitors to visit and three full days of technical sessions as well as all kinds of special events — not to mention all that New Orleans has to offer.

Enjoy it! You deserve it.

Jenny Hartfelder, 2017–2018 WEF President