WEFTEC 2021 will be a “return to joy,” according to David Jackson, a Principal, Water and Wastewater Practice Lead, and Vice President at Freese and Nichols (Fort Worth, Texas) and a member of the WEFTEC Advisory Committee.

He continued, “There are a lot of reasons for us to celebrate. So, I’m hoping that our attendees see it as a return to celebration, community, and interaction.”

WEFTEC Advisory Committee

The WEFTEC Advisory Committee (WAC) is a 16-member group that helps advance the development and evolution of WEFTEC.

The committee’s role is to “provide that real-time, real-life information to the planning committee so that they can make better decisions,” according to Joseph Navas, a Project Manager for McCarthy Building Companies Inc. in Henderson, Nevada, and WAC member.

The committee’s conversations range from what topics are heating up and cooling down to practical issues that affect the participant experience.

“We all see these challenges that we have in front of us,” Navas said. “We all are super excited to tackle them, come up with ideas, jot them down, go back and forth, and then present them.”

Evolving WEFTEC

Beginning last year, while Lynn Broaddus, who currently is WEF President, was chairperson, the role of committee shifted to offer a deeper level of advice and help strategize what the conference would look like in the future, Jackson said. This year, with Matt Winkleman as chair, that change has gone even further. The committee has been working on both expanding the virtual reach and optimizing the in-person experience.

Jackson has been attending WEFTEC in person for 20 years and has seen it expand. When it comes to scale of equipment in the exhibition, “there’s just nothing in the U.S. that compares to this,” he said. WEFTEC provides that needed hands-on, real-life experience with equipment and people.

When it comes to 2021, “For a lot of us, there is pent up desire to get back out into our community again,” Jackson said.

Navas echoed this sentiment, “We want this live event for all of those social connections and learning moments that you never expected.”

Meeting the Right People

“Anybody who is serious about bettering the industry, serious about tackling water problems (especially from the private side), should be there,” Navas said. “There are going to be those synergies of an equipment manufacturer, a contractor, a designer, and people in the nonprofit sector who just really want to make our industry better.”

As a contractor, Navas said WEFTEC helps him make connections and find out which utilities are planning major projects. For the utilities, he explained, having more contractors and equipment manufacturers aware of upcoming projects helps find more potential partners with different ideas. He noted that creating a forum specifically for this type of interaction is something that he had tagged in his “future improvement” file.

“As a contractor we get to plan our resource around the things that are coming up,” Navas said. “From the city, county, or state perspectives, they are going to attract more contractors and essentially raise the quality of their procurement. It’s a win–win.”

Finding the Right Information

For Jackson, WEFTEC also centers on making connections as well as finding the right information. In his job, he works to develop new business opportunities for Freese and Nichols, as well as help his Treatment practice react to, respond to, and take care of their clients.

“Because we live in such a technical discipline in treatment, it is very, very important that I maintain contact with my technical ties,” Jackson said. “WEFTEC provides me a lot of avenues to do those things.”

“One of the reasons why I like the conference so much is because we get the opportunity to build relationships — you know there is a very large community aspect to what we do in our industry and at WEFTEC — but it is also a place where I can fulfill a lot of the technical needs I have.”

The technical information that he seeks out at WEFTEC helps him answer “what’s the state of the art, what are the newest technologies, what are some of the changes in application that we see around the country that maybe I have less experience in,” Jackson said.

Jackson noted the addition several of the Stormwater Pavilion and a strong stormwater technical focus as a milestone development that continues to grow. The “next evolution,” he said, is adding more of a One Water focus with emphasis on reuse and drinking water topics.

This year, the Drinking Water Pavilion and SDG 6 Theater will debut at WEFTEC. This area in the exhibition will collect exhibitors and provide programming highlighting all aspects of integrated water resources management and circular economy.

Join Us in Chicago

According to Navas, everybody at the Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Virginia) — the WAC, WEFTEC Program Committee, the staff planning committee, and more — are working hard to ensure that WEFTEC 2021 can happen live. All the effort and time has been to benefit the people who come to Chicago.

“The in-person experience is unmatched,” Jackson said. “You’re not going to find this experience virtually. You’re not going to find the same experience at any other conference. WEFTEC is unique and that makes it very special.”

WEFTEC 2021 takes place in Chicago, October 16 to 20, registration is open now. Visit www.weftec.org to get the latest details and to register.