The 2017 PNCWA Conference, held this year in Vancouver, Washington, was one of our best yet. Revisit the friends, networking, and training by browsing our photo album on Flickr. While we are still in the process of uploading conference proceedings, we have many already online, which you can access here. Here are some more highlights!

Record Turnout 
This year, the PNCWA conference had a record turnout. Over 900 attendees—a mix municipality-agency works, operators, consultants, manufacturers, regulators, researchers, and students—came to Vancouver, Washington, to participate in 128 technical presentations and five preconference workshops. The outstanding mix of attendees coupled with the fantastic programming—the backbone of our conference—made it one of our most successful gatherings. Plus, we had over 200 first-time attendees. Thanks to Conference Chair Lara Kammereck and Technical Program Chair Corinne DeLeon for their work.

There are a lot of reasons to be excited about the 2017 PNCWA Conference, but the technical program is the heart and soul of the annual event. This year, conference organizers received a record 275 abstracts! From the submissions, organizers take care in creating a diverse program that speaks to all levels of PNCWA, from every region and from every aspect of the water industry. Conference organizers have worked hard to make sure that everyone—from engineers to operators to non-technical workers—will be able to fill their schedules with exciting educational opportunities. Special thanks to Technical Program Chair Corinne DeLeon of Seattle Public Utilities and the volunteer Technical Program Committee.

Don’t forget, you can read updated abstracts and information about the program here. Plus, on the official PNCWA 2017 app, you can keep track of your schedule, get pertinent info, and follow along live on Twitter. Download it from your app store today.

From the EPA: 

SEATTLE - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it is awarding $14.6 million to Idaho’s clean water and drinking water revolving funds to help finance improvements to water projects that are essential to protecting public health and the environment. The funds will be used to finance water quality protection and drinking water projects that will last far into the future.

We’re less than a week away from the 2017 PNCWA Conference! We look forward to the conference every year, but this October we’re especially excited. Conference Chair Lara Kammereck and Technical Program Chair Corinne DeLeon have outdone themselves and have provided an inclusive program with a diverse range of events, activities, and tracks. Here are five reasons why this year’s conference is better than ever.

1. Tons of Networking Events

The annual conference is about learning new skills, celebrating each other’s hard work, and planning for the future. But it’s also one of the only times when folks from all over the Pacific Northwest are all in one place. This year, there’s something for everyone with networking events.

The technical program for #PNCWA2017—coming up soon October 22–25 in Vancouver Washington—is packed with great educational opportunities. But sometimes 45 minutes isn’t long enough to dig deeper into a topic. That’s why we’ve put together a great lineup of preconference workshops allowing you to spend a half or even full day immersed in a specific topic.

These workshops—covering leadership development, odor control, utility management, greenhouse gas emission, and collection system inspection—take place the Sunday before the conference. Not only will you earn additional CEUs, you’ll also get an in-depth training for a fraction of what the cost usually is. (Plus, after they’re over you’ll be right on time for the evening’s networking events!) Registration for these workshops are not included in your regular conference registration, but you can still register for them online.

We're only a few weeks away from our annual conference! Here are some updates and reminders about what's to come. 

PNCWA's Adopt-a-School Grant, organized by the Communications & Outreach committee, supports water science education, involvement and restoration activities by 4th–12th grade students in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho who are working toward clean water education goals.

These grants have let students in Olympia learn about plankton aboard a 103-year-old sailing ship, high schoolers from Eugene visit wetlands and wastewater treatment plants, and biology students in Salem test wastewater in the classroom, among other projects. (Read more about 2016 Adopt-a-School grantees in our annual report.)

School is back in swing, which means it’s time for the EPA’s annual Campus RainWorks Challenge!

Each year, teams from universities around the country come up with innovative new ways to manage stormwater on their campus. The RainWorks Challenge fosters a dialogue about responsible stormwater management and showcases the environmental, economic and social benefits of green infrastructure practices.

Exciting news for students in and around Western Washington! The EPA issued the following press release today:

"Manhole Diving for Walla Walla”

Each year, PNCWA’s membership honors and recognizes excellence in the clean water industry. The mission of the awards program is to facilitate and promote the recognition of professionals involved in supporting, operating, or managing wastewater collection systems, stormwater systems, or wastewater treatment/water resource recovery facilities in the Pacific Northwest. Here are the 2017 PNCWA Awardees as determined by the PNCWA Awards Committee:

The Arthur Sidney Bedell Award
The Bedell Award was established to acknowledge extraordinary personal service to a WEF Member Association. The award is named for Arthur Sidney Bedell, WEF's second president for his long devotion and service to the New York Sewage and Industrial Wastes Association, now the New York Water Environment Association. He was Chief of the Bureau of Sewage and Waste Disposal of the New York State Department of Health.

Every year, the PNCWA Student and Young Professionals Committee invites students and young professionals (S&YPs) in the water world to gather for networking, leadership development, and industry training. This year, the summit will be November 3rd at the Brightwater Center in Woodinville, Washington with a satellite location at the Bureau of Environmental Services building in Portland, Oregon. The theme of this year's summit is "Reach Your Peak."  Register here today! 

Next year, the Water Environment Federation’s 2018 Odors and Air Pollutants Conference will be held March 25–28 in Portland, Oregon. WEF is partnering with PNCWA to host the conference and wants your abstracts!

 The PNCWA Board of Directors comprises the President, President-Elect, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Past President, two WEF Delegates, and four Regional Directors. This year, the PNCWA Nominating Committee is accepting nominations for the following positions: 

PNCWA Vice President
The Presidential rotation is a four-year commitment beginning with Vice President. To qualify, a nominee must have documented evidence of professional experience and capabilities including:

PNCWA is excited to announce that the official conference brochure is out! This handbook is packed with everything you'll need for the 2017 conference happening in Vancouver, Washington, from October 22–25th. You can download the brochure as a PDF here or browse it online by clicking below! 

Next week, one thousand young professionals from around the world will gather in Copenhagen, Denmark, for the first ever Unleash Lab. For nine days, delegates will gather to tackle and discuss the UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) and find real, scalable solutions to issues like health, energy, education, and the environment.

Established in 2014, the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) is a federal loan and guarantee EPA program that assists with investing in water infrastructure through long-term, low-cost credit assistance for regional and national projects.

On December 10, 2016, President Obama signed the Further Continuing and Security Assistance Appropriations Act and Congress provided $17 million in budget authority for the WIFIA program. Earlier this year, WIFIA released its 2017 notice of funding availability. The EPA received nearly 50 letters of interest from public and private entities around the country. After a lengthy review process, WIFIA chose 12 prospective borrowers from around the country, which they announced today:

PNCWA is excited to announce our newest committee—the Utility Management Committee. While some think that utility management is similar to asset management, its range is much broader and encompasses finances, staffing, leadership, resiliency, data, customer service, communications, IT, sustainability, strategic planning, and more. The committee is dedicated to promoting and enhancing the use of best practices in utility management to efficiently protect human health and the environment. Per their official charter, they work to disseminate best practices in utility management internally to members and externally to stakeholders with an emphasis on fostering PNCWA’s vision of clean, sustainable watersheds for future generations. 

David Gordon, the chair of the UMC, is passionate about utility management. Gordon, who works at FCS Group in Seattle, spent some time talking to us about the new committee, why utility management is so important, their first workshop in October, and how PNCWA members can get involved. 

As wastewater treatment professionals, we work every day to ensure our communities receive clean, safe water. Now there’s one more way to advocate for your community. WEF, the Water Environment Federation, has created a new program—Water Advocates—to empower its members to impact water policy on a national level.