Words On Water

February 23, 2022

Mike Lang is Senior Product Manager at Atkore. In this episode Mike provides an overview of corrosion, including the causes, where it happens, and why it is problematic. He explains why water facilities are particularly prone to corrosion challenges and what can be done to control it, including the use of PVC coated conduit and fittings. Mike also discusses how corrosion control may change as technology and materials evolve.

This episode is brought to you by Atkore.

February 14, 2022

Randy Hayman is Commissioner and CEO of Philadelphia Water. In this episode, Randy talks with the Water Environment Federation about why proactive communications must be a priority for water utilities, particularly from his perspective in an executive leadership position. He discusses what effective communication looks like, topics that require expanded public outreach, and the importance of using different tools for connecting with an audience. Randy also explains the need for leadership support of communications activities, including through funding.

Episode #210
Hosted by Steve Drangsholt

February 3, 2022

Mike Martin is Technical Services Director at the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District and Chair of WEF’s Utility Management Committee and Zonetta English is Strategic Initiatives and Project Delivery Director at the Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District and Vice-Chair of WEF’s Utility Management. In this episode Mike and Zonetta discuss some of the current issues and trends in utility management, including data management, workforce development, diversity, affordability, and PFAS. They also share how they are tackling these areas at their utilities in Milwaukee and Louisville. These topics are part of the programming at WEF’s Utility Management Conference on February 21-24.

Episode #209
Hosted by Travis Loop

January 31, 2022

Steven Rivas is Product Manager for WIN-911. In this episode Steven explains the drawbacks of manual monitoring of systems at utilities and the advantages of automation of that tracking and alerts to problems. He talks about the process that utilities are monitoring, the importance of rapid response, and growing concerns about cybersecurity. Steven also discusses how the tools for monitoring and alerts may change as technology continues to evolve in the years ahead.

This episode is brought to you by WIN-911.

January 26, 2022

Pam Elardo is Deputy Commissioner at the Bureau of Wastewater Treatment at New York City Department of Environmental Protection. She visited the WEFTEC Live studio in October 2021 to discuss the evolving landscape of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the water sector, what actions we can take individually and organizationally, and the effects that these actions can have. At WEFTEC, Pam also helped facilitate a peer-to-peer Learning Exchanges focused on LGBTQ+ issues in the workforce, and she talked about her personal journey in water.

January 25, 2022

Andres Quijano is a Solution Design Engineer for North America for Envirosuite. In this episode Andres discusses the rise of environmental intelligence and how it being driven by the evolution of technology, impacts of climate change, and growth of urban areas. He explains how the water sector can utilize environmental intelligence solutions to improve operations, benefit business, and deliver sustainability.

This episode is brought to you by Envirosuite.

Episode #206
Hosted by Travis Loop

January 18, 2022

The emergence of the omicron variant presents unique challenges for wastewater utility managers related to staffing shortages and concerns about increased transmissibility of the virus. Yet omicron also highlights the continued value of wastewater-based disease surveillance due to the early detection of the variant in wastewater relative to clinical data. This podcast presents the latest information on omicron and wastewater. The guests are Dr. Andrew Sanderson, WEF Chief Medical Officer, and Amy Kirby, the CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System Lead.

January 10, 2022

In this episode, WEF Conference Committee Co-Chairs Amy Corriveau and Charles Bott discuss the slate of educational events scheduled for 2022. They explain how water professionals can advance knowledge and networking in the areas of utility management, public health, collection systems, biosolids, process engineering, and stormwater at a slate of events from February through June.

The 2022 schedule is:

WEF/AWWA Utility Management Conference 2022 Pre-Conference Workshop February 21 | Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, Orlando, Florida

Public Health and Water Conference & Wastewater Disease Surveillance Summit Summit March 21 | Conference March 22-24 | Exhibition March 22-23 | Duke Energy Convention Center, Cincinnati, Ohio

Collection Systems Conference 2022 Pre-Conference Workshop April 19 | Exhibition April 20-21, Huntington Place | Detroit, Michigan

Residuals and Biosolids Conference 2022 Pre-Conference Workshop May 24 | Exhibition May 25-26 | Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio

Innovations in Process Engineering Conference 2022 Pre-Conference Workshop June 20 | Exhibition June 21-22 | Hyatt Regency Miami, Miami, Florida

Stormwater Summit 2022 Pre-Conference Workshop June 27 | Exhibition June 28-29 | Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Learn more at https://www.wef.org/events/conferences/upcoming-conferences/

January 6, 2022

Maile Lono-Batura is the Director of Sustainable Biosolids Programs at the Water Environment Federation. In this episode Maile explains how a campaign to make 2022 the Year of Poo aims to raise public awareness about the value of human waste as a resource in communities and to get people to realize they are part of this cycle. She also discusses the activities that WEF will conduct as part of the Year of Poo, including launching a website, posting to social media, sharing interesting fecal facts, and hosting conversations with influential figures.

Episode #203