Supporting the Pros on the Frontlines of Wastewater Treatment

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WEF 2017-18 President Jenny Hartfelder blogs about operators, as well as initiatives designed to attract, prepare, and retain the next generation of water quality professionals.

Before my year as Water Environment Federation president comes to a close, I want to discuss one segment of our membership that has special meaning to me: our operators. These professionals work on the frontlines of wastewater treatment. WEF has committed to supporting operator initiatives with the goal of attracting, preparing, and retaining the next generation of these water quality professionals.

WEF offers a variety of resources to help operators access the training and education they need to do their job, as well as to help utilities fill operator positions. The Operator Advisory Panel (OAP) helps identify and carry out operator initiatives. Numerous technical publications and training opportunities can help operators learn. WEF celebrates excellence in the profession through the Operator Ingenuity Recognition Program, showcases their skills during the Operations Challenge competition, works to create the Professional Operator designation, and develops new initiatives through the WEF House of Delegates (HOD) Operator Workgroup. We hope that operators will take advantage of these resources and that the water sector uses these tools to attract, prepare, and retain future water sector employees.

WEF focuses on providing different types of operator education, training materials, programs, and collaboration efforts, such as

Two of WEF’s Wastewater Treatment Fundamentals books are game-changing educational resources that focus on the ABC “need-to-know” criteria gathered from current sector practices and WEF’s vast library of publications. Volume 1 focuses on liquid treatment and can be purchased online. Volume 2, which is scheduled for publication in 2019, focuses on solids handling and support systems.

During the past decade, WEF staff and trustees have collaborated with Member Associations and supported HOD Operator Workgroups. The role of this year’s HOD Operator Workgroup is to assist the WEF OAP in promoting and supporting the professional operator by developing materials that support and encourage participation in WEF's operator-oriented programs and services.

If you are interested in volunteering to develop or implement these programs, or if you have ideas for other needed operator resources, please contact WEF staff member Steve Harrison at sharrison@wef.org.

Excerpted from WEF Highlights, Aug. 22, 2018, “From the President.” Read the entire article.

Cover Image: Training for the Operator of the Future

 

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About Jenny Hartfelder, P.E., PMP

Jenny Hartfelder is the 2017-2018 President of the Water Environment Federation (WEF), an international organization of water quality professionals headquartered in Alexandria, Va.

Jenny is currently a vice president with Stantec, and serves as a national campaign manager out of Denver, Colorado. In this role, she provides strategic planning and leadership for the business development activities for the water sector across the United States. She also serves as a project manager and design engineer on numerous water and wastewater projects including utility privatization, master plans, preliminary and detailed designs, and engineering services during construction.

A WEF member since 1997, Jenny has held multiple leadership and committee roles within the Federation. She has served on the Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP) Committee and the Public Communications and Outreach Committee for many years, chairing the SJWP Committee. Jenny also has served in the House of Delegates as the Speaker of the House and as a member of several HOD workgroups and committees. She is a member of the Select Society of Sanitary Sludge Shovelers and a recipient of the Arthur Sidney Bedell Award.

Also an active member of the Rocky Mountain Water Environment Association, Jenny chaired several committees including Public Education, Nominations, Awards, and the Joint Annual Conference committees, and has moved through the MA officer chairs serving as the president from 2006 to 2007.

Jenny is a registered professional engineer in the states of Colorado and Washington and is certified by the Project Management Institute (PMI) as a Project Management Professional (PMP). She received a B.S. in civil engineering in 1990 from Michigan Technological University, and an M.S. in civil engineering in 2002 from the University of Colorado-Denver.

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