WEFTEC is the best place for water professionals to learn, connect, and explore new ways to create the future of water. More than 20,000 water professionals and 1,000 water companies will attend the Water Environment Federation (WEF)’s 90th annual technical exhibition and conference at McCormick Place in Chicago, September 30-October 4. All times are in the CDT time zone.
Different Approaches to Resiliency
10:30 am – 11:30 am | Room S404a | McCormick Place South
Customers of water utilities expect – and in some cases – are used to immediate response to disruptions in water/wastewater services as is delivered by energy and telecommunications providers. As underground assets age and are exposed to more frequent and extreme weather events, this infrastructure becomes less reliable and more prone to failure. Engineering for failsafe systems is not practical or economically-feasible; therefore, pragmatic and prioritized risk-based solutions are needed to achieve water and wastewater system “resiliency.” This session will feature three different approaches to unforeseen events which upset or could disturb the normal provision of water services.
WEF Members UNLEASHed: Reflections on a Global Innovation Lab
1:00 pm – 1:30 pm | Booth 7739 | Hall B
In August 2017, eight WEF Members went to Denmark for the UNLEASH Lab, joining 1000 young talents from around the world to create real, scalable solutions to the Sustainable Development Goals. Participants from the program will discuss their projects, solutions, and ideas for the future of water. This session is affiliated with the WEF Cares initiative.
Envision: Successes and Challenges After Five Years of Implementation in Utility Projects
1:30 pm – 5:00 pm | Room S403a | McCormick Place South
Similar to the LEED Certification, Envision was released in 2012 to provide guidance on sustainable practices in infrastructure planning, design, construction, and O&M as well as provide a rating system for scoring project achievements. To date, nearly half of the Envision projects come from the water, wastewater, and stormwater sectors. This session will evaluate how the water sector has used Envision to enhance project sustainability, navigate the verification process, and now endorses its use on an agency-wide level. Speakers include representatives from Envision’s parent organization (the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure or ISI), municipal utilities, and consultants.
Smart, Sane, and Sanitized: Dutch Solutions and Innovations
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm | Booth 7739 | Hall B
From startup companies to university advances to resource recovery technology development, the Netherlands is one of the world’s leading incubators of water innovation. Presentations from Netherlands Water Partnership (www.nwp.nl) on Netherlands’ Watertechnology Ecosystem and water technology startups will be featured, including Benten Water Solutions (www.sensileau.info) on monitoring strategies to save energy costs and treatment chemicals; CirTec (www.cirtec.nl) on recovered cellulose from municipal wastewater; DMT Clear Gas Solutions (www.dmt-cgs.com) on biomass hydrolosis; Dorset Green Machines (www.dorset.nu) on treatment of biomass waste products and effective separation of contaminants; NX Filtration (www.nxfiltration.com) on hollow fiber membranes for use in ultrafiltration and nanofiltration; and Redox Water Technology (www.redox-wt.nl) on wastewater treatment systems for the meat and fish processing industry and dairy industry.
Make THE Water Quality Event, YOUR Water Quality Event
Don’t miss your chance to help us create the future of water. For the latest conference information and registration details, visit www.weftec.org. For the full program and latest updates at your fingertips, download the WEFTEC MobileApp.
About WEF
The Water Environment Federation (WEF) is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization of 33,000 individual members and 75 affiliated Member Associations representing water quality professionals around the world. Since 1928, WEF and its members have protected public health and the environment. As a global water sector leader, our mission is to connect water professionals; enrich the expertise of water professionals; increase the awareness of the impact and value of water; and provide a platform for water sector innovation. To learn more, visit www.wef.org.