WEF News

November 19 is World Toilet Day, the annual reminder about the importance of sanitation to health, communities, the environment, and the economy. While the day organized by the United Nations (UN) is an opportunity to celebrate how much the toilet has done for civilization, it also serves as a stark reminder that over 4 billion people live without access to safety managed sanitation.

With more than 500 presentations on WEFTEC Connect, BlueTech Research does the hard work for you! Review their deep analysis of the abstracts submitted for 2020 and learn about some of the trends over the past 5 years.

Look inside this preview publication to learn more about the WEFTEC Connect educational programming, Exhibitor Showcase, and networking opportunities that are being developed for this October.

This the second in a series of roundtable discussions WEF is convening with leaders from across the water sector to discuss how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting operations, business, and people. The conversations are hosted by WEF Executive Director Walt Marlowe and explore current impacts, anticipated changes, and future plans in areas such as workforce, productivity, supply chain, projects, communication, and more. The guests for this episode are Kishia Powell, Commissioner for the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management; Paul Vogel, Principal and President of Greeley and Hansen; and Neil McAdam, Senior Vice President at World Water Works.

An update and expansion on “The Water Professional’s Guide to COVID-19.”

In an effort to keep the water community informed of coronavirus developments, this update highlights the latest scientific findings, as well as topics not previously addressed. The goal is to contextualize these new results and state the implications and significance from a water and wastewater collection and treatment, public health and water resource recovery facility worker perspective.

The second installment of the Water Environment Federation's Coronavirus Roundtable Discussions has been published. These discussions with executive leaders from across the water sector examine how this pandemic is affecting operations, business, and people.

The guests for this discussion are Kishia Powell, Commissioner of the City of Atlanta’s Department of Watershed Management; Paul Vogel, Principal and President of Greeley and Hansen; and Neil McAdam, Senior Vice President at World Water Works.

WEF is convening a series of roundtable discussions with leaders from across the water sector to discuss how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting operations, business, and people. The conversations are hosted by WEF Executive Director Walt Marlowe and explore current impacts, anticipated changes, and future plans in areas such as workforce, productivity, supply chain, projects, communication, and more.

The Water Environment Federation has published the first of a series of vidoe roundtable discussions with executive leaders from across the water sector. These discussions will discuss how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting operations, business, and people.

On March 27, U.S. EPA Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, issued a letter to State Governors requesting that water and wastewater workers, as well as the manufacturers and suppliers who provide vital services and materials to the water sector, be considered essential workers and businesses by state authorities when enacting restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Ted Corrigan is interim CEO and General Manager and Kyle Danley is Director of Water Production at Des Moines Water Works. In this episode Ted and Kyle explain how the utility responded to coronavirus by activating a long-standing response plan and having essential staff shelter-in-place at its three treatment facilities. They discuss how 20 employees will stay onsite for two week rotations, working 12-hour shifts, seven days a week to provide clean water and sanitation for 500,000 people in central Iowa. Ted and Kyle say the staff understand they are serving in a public health role and helping their community, and that support is strong from external staff, the utility’s board, and the union.

New research from Stanford (Calif.) University hydrologists suggests an emerging consequence of decreasing snowfalls: significantly more intense flooding.

Julie Nahrgang talks about the misconceptions and reality of water and environmental management in Texas and how the size and geographic diversity of the state feeds into challenges and opportunities.