Water has been in the news quite a bit lately, whether it’s the drought in California or U.S. EPA’s expansion of Clean Water Act regulations. The people who work on the frontlines of issues like these will be meeting in Chicago this year to discuss the latest water quality technologies and trends.

The Water Environment Federation’s Annual Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC) is the largest event of its type in the world. More than 1,000 exhibitors will be on hand at Chicago’s McCormick Place on Sept. 26-30. The event will also boast dozens of technical sessions and workshops, and seven facility tours.

Energy & Infrastructure recently interviewed Dr. Eileen O’Neill, executive director of the Water Environment Federation (WEF), about the upcoming show. She has been with the federation for more than 20 years in a variety of positions, and is clearly looking forward to this year’s WEFTEC.

Energy & Infrastructure: Is there a theme to this year’s WEFTEC? What is likely to be on attendees’ minds this year? 

Dr. Eileen O’Neill: The tagline for WEFTEC 2015 is “One World. One Water. One Event.” and represents the diversity, depth and high-quality programming that WEFTEC has become known and respected for. We typically don’t have an official conference-wide theme, but in addition to this tagline we will be emphasizing the importance of transformative innovation, particularly as it applies to resource recovery. 

This will be most notably addressed in this year’s opening session, which serves to inspire and set the positive tone for the week. Built around the idea of “leading the water resource revolution,” this year’s program will feature a keynote address from Rob Stewart, an award-winning biologist, photographer, conservationist, filmmaker and author. Stewart will discuss his film, “Revolution,” which can help frame the water sector’s own revolutionary efforts to transform sustainable water management and push water to the forefront of innovation.

The water sector is experiencing a rapid transformation from treatment to water resource recovery. The speed of change in our sector is accelerating, making the need for leadership through continuous improvement an absolute necessity. The good news is that collectively we are rising to the challenge. Utilities are not just rebranding but actually demonstrating the environmental, economic and societal benefits of viewing wastes as resources.

E&I: Will any of the sessions deal with California’s drought? 

EO: We have addressed drought in various places throughout the program, but are not offering a specific session. Of course, there are many sessions that address related issues such as water reuse, resiliency and climate adaptation. For example, we offer an entire track of sessions on water reuse, plus educational workshops on reuse in industrial settings. 

To help set the context for these sessions, this year’s popular Water Leaders Panel will address transformative approaches to water challenges. The panel of influential water leaders will include Felicia Marcus, chair of the California Water Resources Control Board. Ms. Marcus offers a firsthand perspective on the issue and will discuss the measures and approaches being used to address the challenges of the extreme drought.

E&I: How is WEFTEC addressing water concerns related to fracking?

EO: WEFTEC 2015 will include some programming on upstream oil and gas water treatment and management. Specifically, we have a workshop on Water Reuse in Upstream Oil and Gas and Upstream Oil and Gas Issues. Exhibitors specific to that field of interest have also increased, but more often we’ve seen current exhibitors starting to include that type of equipment. We are continuing to expand in this area, but also in the water treatment for refineries, which has several sessions and a workshop. 

E&I: Do you expect to see any new technologies introduced this year? 

EO: People can always expect to see new technologies at WEFTEC. Many companies use WEFTEC to launch new technologies, products and services. It is also the international gathering place for water professionals, so you will always find the latest and greatest at WEFTEC. 

We expect to see a lot of interest in nutrient removal, energy recovery and of course advance treatment technologies for reuse. Stormwater management continues to grow as an issue for our sector and at WEFTEC 2015 there will be a full suite of educational programming and a dedicated pavilion in the exhibition hall. 

E&I: Why is it important for industry professionals to attend WEFTEC? 

EO: According to the very positive feedback we continue to receive from attendees, WEFTEC is the best way for water professionals to stay on top of the new developments and core skills they need every day.

We pride ourselves on providing the information of the highest caliber on the WEFTEC program. Attendees coming to WEFTEC can be assured that the material presented in our educational program is of the highest quality and relevance for today’s water sector. It is a program developed by water quality professionals for water quality professionals. 

Our program committee, consisting of approximately 250 technical experts from every aspect of the water sector, has worked through a rigorous review process to ensure top-quality sessions and workshops. WEFTEC 2015 already includes 28 workshops and 135 sessions (as of May), with more to come for our late-breaking research and our technology-provider sessions.

There is something for everyone on the program. Hot topics include direct and indirect potable reuse, co-digestion, energy management and production, nutrient recovery, wastewater treatment for industries such as oil and gas, stormwater and more. WEFTEC’s educational opportunities also offer a variety of learning experiences from traditional presentations, posters and panels to knowledge-development forums to mobile sessions that include visits to exhibit equipment, to in-depth and hands-on workshops and more. 

We are also pleased to offer our newest educational format, the Interactive Knowledge Exchange, or IKE, that includes short educational videos.

With the new formats, expertise of our speakers and combination of topics and learning styles, attendees can tailor their learning experience and be assured that it is truly the best of the best. 

E&I: How can people get more involved with WEF and WEFTEC?

EO: A high level of member engagement is one of WEF’s strongest attributes. Much of WEF’s strong credibility comes from the technical expertise and water sector leadership of our highly engaged volunteers. These volunteers, working with talented WEF staff, are the engine that generates high-quality products.

Member engagement also includes convening diverse groups of water leaders and subject-matter experts for conferences on such important issues as nutrients, collection systems, biosolids, and energy and resource recovery. These educational events, along with WEFTEC, result in concise, practical guidance that helps create a path forward for members that include small, medium and large utilities; environmental consultants; academics; and regulators.

For WEFTEC, we always want more people to apply to the program committee and encourage submissions to the call for abstracts, which is how we build the majority of the technical programming. The best way to engage with WEF itself is by joining a WEF committee or a WEF Member Association committee, participating in WEF’s free webcasts and engaging with others at WEF’s world-class conferences. 

E&I: What are the greatest challenges facing WEF members?  

EO: It is clear that water professionals’ needs for innovative solutions are evolving rapidly as we move toward creating water resource recovery facilities that produce such useful products such as reclaimed water, renewable energy, transportation fuel, fertilizers and soil amendments. 

(This) is one of WEF’s highest priorities. We provide a variety of tools such as energy and nutrient roadmaps. We also co-sponsor the Leaders Innovation Forum for Technology, a WEF and Water Environment Research Foundation initiative, to help utilities adopt new technologies and approaches.