WEF Highlights

The January 2021 issue of Water Environment & Technology magazine includes sound-offs from water sector leaders around the world, who described how their organizations contend with such universal challenges as climate change, workforce issues, and flood management. Their remarks were abbreviated for space in print. Full comments are presented below. Janett Tapia — The Netherlands In […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has attracted widespread attention to how WRRFs approach biohazard preparedness, worker safety, and personnel management. Staggered schedules, erratic shifts, and stringent safety protocols have become another part of the job for wastewater professionals. Robert Pontau, Jr., a Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Virginia) member and assistant general manager of the Brunswick (Maine) […]

In recent days, state and federal regulatory groups have made several temporary policy changes that recognize the water sector’s critical role in protecting public health during the coronavirus pandemic. These changes relax certain restrictions, such as temporarily honoring expired operator certification credentials or forgiving missed consent decree deadlines, that could otherwise impede a water resource […]

Women of Water Summit recognizes female water-sector changemakers Mazars USA (New York City, N.Y.), a financial consultancy active in the water sector, kicked off 2020 by hosting its inaugural Women of Water Summit in Arlington, Va., on Jan. 9. The daylong summit featured industry leaders speaking in nine segments that celebrated outstanding achievements of female […]

Since launching in 2015, an innovative apprenticeship program developed by the Chesapeake Water Environment Association (CWEA) and the Baltimore Department of Public Works (DPW) has equipped nearly 100 young adults with the skills they need to become successful water professionals. Baltimore’s YH2O Youth Mentorship Program is an intensive, 6-month course for high-school educated Baltimore residents […]

As utilities across the U.S. brace for the workforce skills gap anticipated from the water sector’s looming silver tsunami, federal regulators and utility leadership organizations are taking action with a new grant program aimed at attracting new talent to jobs in water. The Water Workforce Infrastructure and Utility Development Grants program was passed by U.S. […]

Working in the water sector, I am constantly learning and being challenged by the people around me. Ours is a profession that, at its core, requires working with others to find solutions that make sense for the future.  I love the spirit of cooperativeness that you can find so often behind the fence of a […]

According to the Brookings Institution (Washington, D.C.), as much as 50% of the current water workforce in the U.S. will retire within the next 35 years. The water sector must take steps today to ensure the next generation of water professionals can seamlessly take the reins, keep critical water resource recovery facilities running, and confront […]