027: Water Nerds Guide to WEFTEC 2018
2018 was our first WEFTEC experience, however, it occurred the same week as Water Smart Innovations which we were speaking at. We had 36 hours to take in one of the largest conferences in North America. Throughout our careers, although we included wastewater in our education efforts, most of our time was spent on the drinking water side where the perception was that WEF and WEFTEC were only about wastewater. We’ve learned that WEF and WEFTEC are so much more and are truly representative of the One Water message and mindset. We met some amazing people, connected with old friends and met our new friends in real life that we’d only known via social media. We aren’t journalists, we’re storytellers and the story of our experience at WEFTEC 2018 can be summed up in one word: people. We wanted to share them and their stories with you!
WEFTEC is the largest conference of its kind in North America and offers water quality professionals from around the world with the best water quality education and training available today. Also recognized as the largest annual water quality exhibition in the world, the expansive show floor provides unparalleled access to the most cutting-edge technologies in the field; serves as a forum for domestic and international business opportunities; and promotes invaluable peer-to-peer networking among registrants. Curtis Smalley, City of Waco, says, “Everyone in the industry needs to attend WEFTEC at least once, but then WEFTEC is like potato chips: You can’t go just once!”
Top Takeaways:
- Opening session keynote, Kevin Brown, blew us away. Check out his book The Hero Effect and you’ll get a glimpse of the message he shared with the room. Water nerds are everyday heroes.
- Water’s Worth It. Be sure to check out the newly revamped, rebranded, revitalized campaign and, most importantly, use it! Check out the amazing video that debuted at the opening session.
- Get involved! Find a committee that speaks to what’s most important to you.
- Thirsty? Try some Pure Water Brew near you and get involved.
- Get on Twitter! All your water nerd friends are there.
Sponsor:
Utilities can now automate leak alerts with Dropcountr – the customer portal built for water utilities. Dropcountr helps customers manage their water use and avoid unwanted usage with leak alerts. The team works with the utility to set automated burst and continuous usage thresholds for their users, to help them avoid bill surprises, reduce customer calls and improve customer satisfaction. The leak alerts run in the background, your team never needs to think about them – it’s kind of like magic. Find out more about Dropcountr and the work they’re doing at the.com/dropcountr.
Show notes:
Tom Kunetz, WEF President
Barry Liner, WEF
Bri Nakamura, WEF
Travis Loop, WEF Director of Communications and Outreach, WEF Words on Water Podcast Host
Dylan Christenson, Black and Veatch
Michael Quamme, Apex Engineering
Mary West-Calcagno, Director of Public Utilities at Moberly, MO
Azya Jackson, Environmental Engineer, Dept of Public Works at LA Sanitation.
Megan Yoo Schneider, WEF PCOC Chair, President of Seven Management and Consulting, Inc
Julianne LaRock, the outgoing PCOC chair.
Sharon Miller, WEAT PCOC Chair, North Texas Municipal Water District
Jennifer Louden, Laboratory Manager, Raritan Township Municipal Utilities Authority
Todd Danielson, Director of Water Utilities, Avon Lake Regional Water
Rahkia Nance, WEF
David Martin, KnoWater, Director
Melissa Pomales, Arcadis, Puerto Rico
Renee Kayal, WEF
Jenny Hartfelder, outgoing President of WEF
Eileen O’Neil, WEF, Executive Director
Steven Drangsholt, Brown and Caldwell, check out the interview he gave at WEFTEC to the Water Online podcast folks.
Tom Ferguson, Vice President of Programming, Imagine H2O
Zac Young, H2nanO
Emily Hicks, FredSense
Elly Perets, CEO and James Perry, Director of Business Development, Utilis. Check out their benchmarking program in November.
Melissa Meeker, Gwinnet County Water Services, Water Innovation Center.
Ian MacLeod, Master Meter, Vice President of Marketing
George Hawkins, Moonshot
Mark Jockers, Clean Water Service, Pure Water Brewing Alliance
Cletus Better, Veolia
Debra Shore, Water Reclamation District of Great Chicago
Cameron McWilliam, Brown and Caldwell
Jennifer Zach, MentorAPM
Paul Crocker, Kansas City Board of Public Utilities
Who we missed. 
Nathan Coey aka the @water_jedi on Twitter, City of Pataskala, OH
Jenelle Armstrong, The Thrasher Group
Christine Wood aka @sewer_chic on Twitter.
Water Online Podcast
Please consider rating the podcast with 5 stars and leaving a one- or two-sentence review in iTunes or on Stitcher. This helps tremendously in bringing the podcast to the attention of others. We give a shoutout to everyone who rates the podcast with 5 stars in future episodes.
Give us some love on Twitter by tagging us @THE_ or by using the #WaterInRealLifePodcast
If you know someone you think would benefit, please spread the word by using the share buttons on this page.
Thank you for sharing some of your time with us. We know how precious those minutes are. Share your story, you never know who needs to hear it and remember, “Those who tell the stories, rule the world.”