News & Events

Metro Denver Wastewater Reclamation District Mourns Passing of Robert Hite

On Dec. 4, the Metro Denver Wastewater Reclamation District announced the death of longtime district manager Robert W. Hite. A WEF member, 71-year-old Hite had served as district manager since 1988. He also served on Metro’s board of directors from 1971 to 1988, including serving an unprecedented three terms as its chairman from 1980 to 1983.

Metro’s service area comprises 984 km² (380 mi²) and treats the wastewater from about 1.5 million people in metropolitan Denver. The service area also includes parts of Adams, Arapahoe, and Jefferson Counties as well as the cities of Arvada, Aurora, Lakewood, Thornton, and part of Westminster.

Some of Hite’s other significant accomplishments include improving upon Metro’s business practices, extending its planning horizon, nurturing lines of communication between Metro and its various regulatory authorities, and improving employee benefits and working conditions. As a result, Metro has won numerous national awards and is now recognized as one of the preeminent wastewater treatment authorities in the nation.

During his time at Metro, Hite also served as president of the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (now the National Association of Clean Water Agencies; Washington, D.C.), as chairman of the National Biosolids Partnership (Alexandria, Va.), and on the board of Water for People (Denver).

Hite began his service at Metro with his appointment to the board by Denver Mayor Bill McNichols. He had sought the appointment after hearing it had problems that needed to be solved.

Hite grew up in Colorado Springs, Colo. and graduated from Colorado College (Colorado Springs) in 1958. He earned a J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1961. Following law school, he served in the Judge Advocate General Corps of the U.S. Navy in Newport, R.I., before returning to Denver to begin practicing law.

Hite is survived by his wife, Sarah, five children, and 10 grandchildren.

Each year, the Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) presents a variety of awards that recognize excellence and achievement in the water environment profession. The WEF Annual Awards are presented in the categories of individual service and contribution, education, organization and association recognition, operational and design excellence, and published papers. 

If you know someone who has made a difference in the water environment, don’t let their accomplishments go unacknowledged. WEF wants to make sure all its distinguished leaders receive the recognition they deserve.

The nomination deadlines for the 2008 WEF Annual Awards are March 1 and April 1. See Web site, here, for details on deadlines.

For a complete list of award categories and to download a nomination form, click here.

Contact Liz Schulz with any questions at eschulz@wef.org or (703) 684-2400, ext. 7738. 

The Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) is seeking nominations for delegates-at-large for its House of Delegates. The nomination deadline is March 1.

The House of Delegates is the deliberative and representational body of WEF, and advises the WEF Board of Trustees on matters of strategic direction and public policy development.

Delegate-at-large members of the House of Delegates are selected by the WEF Nominating Committee and approved by the House, for a 3-year term. Delegates-at-large hold the responsibility of representing to the House the interests of WEF members that are not covered by members of the House representing member associations.

Any WEF member and Member Associations may nominate a candidate for a WEF House of Delegates delegate-at-large position. WEF members may self-nominate.

Nominations are sought for four delegate-at-large positions to begin a 3-year term of service in October 2008. 

Nomination Criteria and Procedures 
Nominations must be submitted using the WEF Nomination form, and must include all requested information. Incomplete nominations will not be considered.

Delegate-at-large nominees must meet the minimum criteria of the WEF Constitution and Bylaws of both being a WEF member and having a willingness to serve a 3-year term. The nominee must have professional experience and credibility, and be able to note specific career accomplishments, including involvement with WEF, a member association, and other organization involvement. The nominee must also have knowledge of WEF’s organization and governance.

During their term, delegates-at-large must:

• promote WEF’s vision, mission, and strategic goals;
• support and advocate WEF policies, positions, and programs;
• promote interest and active participation within WEF; and
• raise awareness of opportunities and priorities of importance to WEF and to the water environment profession.

Lobbying and/or campaigning is not a part of the WEF nomination and selection process.

Click here for a nomination form. Mail completed forms to the WEF Nominating Committee, Attention: P. Ross, 601 Wythe Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-1994; or e-mail them to pross@wef.org.

The Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) is currently seeking nominations for the position of vice president. The deadline for nominations is March 1.

The WEF vision of preserving and enhancing the global water environment is achieved through the dedication and active involvement of water environment professionals around the world. WEF will continue to advance its vision through accomplished leadership by dedicated WEF members who have distinguished themselves as leaders in the water environment profession. The WEF Nominating Committee invites you to nominate these distinguished WEF members for the position of WEF vice president.

WEF members and member associations may nominate qualified WEF members for the vice president position. WEF members may self-nominate. Nominees must be a WEF member and must have signified willingness to serve.

The vice president, upon nomination by the WEF Nominating Committee, and election by the WEF House of Delegates, typically serves a 4-year term.

WEF officers bear the responsibility to promote WEF’s vision, mission, and strategic goals; support and advocate WEF policies, positions, and programs; raise awareness of priorities of the water environment profession; and serve as a spokesperson for and representative of WEF to the public, government agencies, policy-makers, water environment leaders throughout the world, and to WEF members and member associations. 

Nomination Criteria and Procedures 
Any WEF member or member association may nominate a WEF member for this position. WEF members may self-nominate.

Nominations must be submitted using the WEF nomination form, and must include all requested information. Incomplete nominations will not be considered.

Requirements for Consideration:

• individual WEF member.
• Willingness to serve. 
• Documented evidence of professional experience and capabilities as indicated below:
• Significant career accomplishments, including involvement with WEF, a member association, and other organization involvement.
• Professional experience and credibility.
• Leadership knowledge and experience.
• Visionary planner, motivator, consensus builder, and communicator.
• Knowledge of the WEF organization and governance.

Requirements for Service:

• Promote the WEF vision, mission, and strategic goals.
• Support and advocate WEF policies, positions, and programs.
• Serve as a spokesperson for and representative of WEF to members, WEF member associations, the public, government agencies, policy-makers, and water environment leaders throughout the world. (Note that significant travel time is involved in fulfilling the role of a WEF officer during the 4-year term of service.)
• Promote interest and active participation within WEF.
• Raise awareness of issues and priorities of concern to WEF and the water environment profession.
• Commit to a 4-year term of service.

These requirements are important considerations of the WEF Nominating Committee during the review and selection process. Lobbying and/or campaigning are not a part of the WEF officer nomination and selection process.

Click here for a nomination form. Mail completed forms to the WEF Nominating Committee, Attention P. Ross, 601 Wythe Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-1994; or e-mail them to pross@wef.org.

WEF Launches New, Improved Web Site for Infrastructure

Water Is Life, and Infrastructure Makes It Happen™ is launching into 2008 with a bang. The Water Environment Federation’s (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) education initiative — designed to help communities build public awareness on the need to invest in infrastructure — is introducing a new and improved Web site.

The revamped site is just the first offering from a group of new tools to be unveiled in 2008 and added to the current portfolio of bill stuffers, brochures, print ads, TV public service announcements, and PowerPoint presentations. 

“Making the invisible visible is a challenge that WEF will meet with new and improved resources for 2008,” said WEF’s Executive Director Bill Bertera. “Water Is Life, and Infrastructure Makes It Happen offers an array of educational pieces that can be easily personalized to meet local utility needs.”

Bertera explained that the new site further expands members’ access to “easy-to-use, inexpensive multimedia tools that build grassroots support for water and wastewater infrastructure.”

In addition, a partnership of support with the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA; Washington, D.C.) will create synergy to strengthen the impact of Water Is Life, and Infrastructure Makes It Happen. NACWA’s support will lead to more tools and greater outreach through an expanded network. 

The new Web site is located at www.waterislife.net. For more information or to inquire about being part of the WEF/NACWA infrastructure team, contact Lorraine Loken at (703) 684-2487 or lloken@wef.org.

Conference to Address Sustainable Water Management in Response to Changing World

The European Water Association (EWA; Hennef, Germany), Japan Sewage Works Association (Tokyo), and the Water Environment Federation (Alexandria, Va.) present the third joint specialty conference, Sustainable Water Management in Response to 21st Century Pressures. The conference will be held May 5–9 in Munich.

Managers, planners, and designers in water management are already dealing with a number of pressures such as new regulations, increases in water usage, greater demands in terms of risk avoidance, and changes in population demography. Changes in weather bring new pressures.

This conference is focused on the practical consequences of those changes and how they can be mitigated and accommodated. The conference will focus on:

• coping with climate change and disasters;
• techniques and energy;
• finance, demography, and legislation; and
• organizational structures.

Full conference details are available on the EWA Web site, www.ewaonline.de. For more information, contact Nadine Schulte at EWA at +49-2242-872-189 or Schulte@dwa.de.

Reviewers Sought for Solids Processing Design and Management Manual

The Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.), the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF; Alexandria, Va.), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are looking for individuals to serve as reviewers in a combined WEF, WERF, and EPA effort to update EPA 625/1-79-011, the agency’s Process Design Manual for Sludge Treatment and Disposal.

The original manual — published by EPA in 1979 — is greatly in need of revision. It is expected that at least two drafts will be produced by authors and reviewed before the production of the final draft. The estimated timetable for the project is 2 to 3 years. The outline for the updated version of the manual follows:

Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: General Considerations for Planning of Solids Projects
Chapter 3: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Chapter 4: Public Involvement
Chapter 5: Solids Production and Characterization
Chapter 6: Design Approach
Chapter 7: Conveyance
Chapter 8: Chemical Conditioning
Chapter 9: Thickening
Chapter 10: Waste Minimization
Chapter 11: Anaerobic Digestion
Chapter 12: Aerobic Digestion
Chapter 13: Dewatering
Chapter 14: Composting
Chapter 15: Alkaline Treatment
Chapter 16: Other Stabilization Processes
Chapter 17: Thermal Drying
Chapter 18: Thermal Oxidation and Energy Recovery
Chapter 19: Other Thermal Processes
Chapter 20: Transport and Storage
Chapter 21: Management of Odors
Chapter 22: Sidestreams From Solids Treatment Processes
Chapter 23: Instrumentation and Monitoring
Chapter 24: Resource Recovery
Chapter 25: Land Disposal
Chapter 26: Emerging Technologies

Reviewers will be responsible for providing written comments at various draft stages in accordance with the development schedule. If you are interested in being a reviewer; are able to work closely with other volunteers, a task force chair, and the project administrator; and can dedicate the expertise and time to ensuring that a high-quality manual is developed according to the publication development schedule, please contact Jon C. Dyer at jondyer-etc@carolina.rr.com or (704) 708-5599. Contact Dyer with questions regarding publication development procedures or the role of the reviewer.

Are you interested in fostering the next generation of scientists and engineers? Would you like to be part of a global effort to improve the water environment? If so, the Stockholm Junior Water Prize Committee is the place for you.

The Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) is looking for volunteers to join this dynamic group. Each year, this committee helps to organize the most prestigious water-related research competition in the United States for youth. Meetings take place by conference call to allow for a broad representation of WEF members, including young professionals.

The Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition includes projects aimed at enhancing the quality of life through improvement of water quality, water resource management, or water and wastewater treatment.

Click here for more information, or contact Stephanie Costello at scostello@wef.org or (703) 535-5263.

The Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) recently sent a letter to Chairman James Oberstar (D–Minn.) of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in support of H.R. 2421, The Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA).

Intended to restore the original jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act, the legislation was introduced in response to recent Supreme Court cases that began to narrow the scope of the federal government’s protection of smaller waterbodies, such as small tributaries and intermittent streams.

“As water quality professionals, we believe it is vitally important to clarify what should be defined as waters of the United States,” said WEF President Adam Zabinski. “WEF fully supports a watershed approach in addressing water quality issues, but it will only work if all waterbodies within a given watershed receive protection under the Clean Water Act. We commend this action by Chairman Oberstar and his House co-sponsors to proactively address this issue and clear up any confusion caused by the recent court rulings.”

For more than three decades, the Clean Water Act has been utilized by federal and state governments to clean up the nation’s most polluted waters and protect smaller waterbodies and wetland areas from pollution and development. Some of those protections ended after two U.S. Supreme Court decisions — Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) v. Army Corps of Engineers and Rapanos et ux., et at. v. United States — left about 8 million ha (20 million ac) of geographically isolated wetlands at risk, and 60% of the nation’s stream miles unprotected.
 
The CWRA, introduced in the House of Representatives by Chairman Oberstar last May, restores those protections and clears up confusion created by the rulings. Senator Russ Feingold (D–Wis.) introduced the companion bill in the Senate in August. The legislation does not expand the jurisdiction of the federal government or place increased regulatory restrictions on wastewater treatment plants, agriculture, and forestry. 

WEF’s letter of support was sent on Nov. 6 on the understanding that the legislation will not affect the current regulatory wastewater treatment exemptions.
 
“I appreciate WEF’s support for this important bill,” said Chairman Oberstar. “With enactment of this legislation, the understanding of clean water jurisdiction that existed for nearly 30 years will be reestablished, there will be regulatory certainty, and the nation will be better able to protect and maintain its water-related environment. WEF’s support for the bill will put us one step closer to restoring the environmental protections afforded by the Clean Water Act.”

Nikolay Voutchkov. Click image for larger view.

Poseidon Resources’ Corporate Technical Director, Nikolay Voutchkov, was named one of Public Works Magazine’s prestigious trendsetters of 2007. The annual list featured in November 2007 issue of the magazine recognizes visionaries who stand out among their peers by making national or international impacts on the public works sector with fresh and innovative ideas and who set new trends and standards within the industry.

Poseidon Resources specializes in developing and financing water infrastructure projects — primarily seawater desalination and water treatment plants. 

Voutchkov was honored for creating a collocated desalination system that uses existing infrastructure and cooling water from a nearby power plant to reduce dramatically costs and environmental impacts associated with producing fresh drinking water from seawater. He also led the development of a novel method to determine the salinity tolerance of marine organisms to discharges from the desalination plant, which allows plant design and discharge configuration to be tailored to the site specific conditions of the marine ecosystem in the area of the discharge.

More than half of a dozen plants currently under development along California’s Pacific coast are considering implementing Voutchkov’s collocated seawater desalination system. On Nov. 15, 2007, the California Coastal Commission validated the environmental and cost benefits of the proposed collocation system by awarding a coastal development permit for the first large seawater desalination plant in California — the 189,250-m³ (50-mgd) facility in Carlsbad.

WEF International Pavilion Program — Space is Limited

If your business development plans include Asia and Europe, don’t miss the opportunity to exhibit with Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) International Pavilions at the 9th China International Water Supply & Drainage and Water Treatment Exhibition 2008 (WSDWTF) in Shanghai, and the 15th International Trade Fair for Environmental Protection, Water, Sewage, Refuse, and Recycling 2008 (IFAT) in Munich.

Book an exhibition space now, and exhibit under the WEF banner in a prime location, where thousands of customers will see your products and services.

Features and benefits of exhibiting with WEF International Pavilions include:

• prime booth locations
• various booth size options smaller than the minimum required by the show organizer
• all exhibits arranged by WEF
• translators (as appropriate)
• lounge and meeting areas with food and beverage provided by WEF
• WEF on-site reception
• WEF staffed pavilion
• promotions of pavilions through WEF publications
• assistance with housing arrangements, and much more.

In 2007, WSDWTF welcomed more than 20,000 trade visitors from 30 countries, and included more than 700 exhibiting companies from 23 countries. In 2005, IFAT had more than 109,000 trade visitors from 166 countries, including 2222 exhibiting companies from 36 countries.

Dates, Facts, Figures
WEF Pavilion at WSDWTF 2008
April 27–29, 2008
Intex-Shanghai and Shanghai Mart, Shanghai

WSDWTF exhibitor list as of Dec. 13, 2007:

• BDL Ltd.
• Groth Corporation
• Selwood Pumps
• Sprayroq Inc.

WEF Pavilion at IFAT 2008
15th International Trade Fair for Environmental Protection, Water, Sewage, Refuse, and Recycling
May 5–9, 2008
New Munich Trade Fair Centre
Munich

IFAT exhibitor list as of Dec. 13, 2007:

• Aqua-Aerobics Systems Inc.
• Hayward Flow Control Systems
• Hydro Instruments
• Neuros Co. Ltd.
• Penn Valley Pump Co. Inc.
• Pulsafeeder Inc.
• Ross Valve Mfg Co. Inc.

For more information, contact Laila Sukkariyyah at lsukkariyyah@wef.org or (703) 684-2458, or (703) 650-8516.