Staff from ten utilities will travel to host facilities to learn about innovative treatment technologies and processes. Image: WRF LIFT.
ALEXANDRIA, VA, FEB 22, 2018 -- The Water Research Foundation (WRF), the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) announced the 2018 winners of the LIFT Scholarship Exchange Experience for Innovation & Technology (SEE IT). The program, now in its third year, is a joint initiative of the three organizations. The scholarships enable utility personnel to travel to other innovative utilities to learn about the technologies and processes they employ.
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The Leaders Innovation Forum for Technology is bringing innovation into practice, facilitating early adoption of new technology at utilities around the country.
The 2018 scholarship winners include staff from:
Charlotte Water (NC)
City of Calgary (Alberta)
City of Tempe (AZ)
Eagle River Water and Sanitation District (CO)
Fairfax County (VA)
Fond du Lac (WI)
Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District (WI)
Pima County (AZ)
Upper Occoquan Service Authority (VA)
Regional Municipality of York (Ontario)
Awardees were selected based on the technical or innovation merit of the site visit, importance to the utility, implementation potential, cost and value, and other criteria.
This year's scholarship recipients will travel to both domestic and international destinations, where hosting facilities will share their experiences and expertise on innovative technologies and practices such as converting biosolids to energy, primary sludge fermentation for production of volatile fatty acids, digestion enhancements, granular sludge treatment, and more.
"SEE IT provided an opportunity to conduct site visits that were very helpful for our Bioenergy Recovery Project that otherwise were not feasible to conduct," noted Erika Bailey of the City of Raleigh, one of last year's SEE IT awardees.
LIFT SEE IT awardees are required to record and share their experiences with peer utilities and others through trip reports, presentations, photos, and videos that are posted to the SEE IT web page.
For more information about the LIFT SEE IT program, contact Fidan Karimova, Water Technology Collaboration Manager ([email protected], 571.384.2096).
