Water Environment Federation Announces Wastewater Security Training for POTWs
7 Regional Workshops, 3 Web casts Planned for 2006

Alexandria, VA – The Water Environment Federation (WEF), through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announces a new training and technical assistance program to assist Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs) in reducing vulnerabilities to man-made threats and natural disasters.

Since 2002, WEF has been working to train all-size water and wastewater utilities on how to conduct a vulnerability assessment of their facilities and update their emergency response plans (ERP). Previous training programs have focused on large, medium and small POTWs as well as Train-the Trainer sessions for state and local training and assistance providers. Utilizing the VSAT™ software (Vulnerability Self Assessment Tool), training for each series was developed for specific size POTWs but was similar and versatile enough to benefit any size facility.      

The latest program consists of seven 3-day regional workshops on vulnerability assessment and emergency response training. VSAT™ will continue to be the primary focus however other tools, including the EPA ERP CD on table top exercises, will also be integrated. In addition, WEF will structure the training to present the 14 features of an active and effective security program developed by the National Drinking Water Advisory Council. As a follow-up, WEF is planning Web casts for all attendees as a “refresher” course and will develop a web-ready, self-learning module as another method for wastewater security awareness. The training will be provided at no-cost. 

“WEF greatly appreciates the support of EPA’s Water Security Division that enables us to continue providing high quality training at no cost to wastewater utilities,” said Eileen O’Neill, WEF’s Chief Technical Officer. “We are particularly pleased to be able to emphasize emergency response readiness and include table-top exercises that can help wastewater systems be better positioned to restore vital services in the event of an emergency.”
 
2006 Wastewater Security Workshops and Web-casts
 
• Introductory Web-cast – April 18
• Denver, CO - June 27-29
• Minneapolis, MT - July 11-13
• San Francisco, CA - August 1-3
• Follow-Up Web-cast - September 12
• Providence, RI - September 19-21
• Dallas, TX– October 17-19
• Kansas City, MO - November 8-10
• Atlanta, GA - November 28-30
• Follow-Up Web-cast – December 12

POTWs treating 2.5 mgd or greater are invited to attend and eligible for travel reimbursement. Other interested parties may attend on a space available basis, but will not eligible for travel reimbursement. CEUs are available by request in most states. For more information and to register, visit http://www.wef.org/watersecurity. 

About WEF
Founded in 1928, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization with members from varied disciplines who work toward the WEF vision of preservation and enhancement of the global water environment. The WEF network includes water quality professionals from 76 Member Associations in 30 countries. www.wef.org