WEF Highlights

At WEFTEC 2019 in Chicago, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water Dennis Lee Forsgren Jr., announced a new effort to help American utilities surmount the looming water-sector skills shortage expected in coming years. EPA plans to release a draft of America’s Water Workforce Initiative for public comment by […]

On Oct. 2, representatives from the Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.), DC Water (Washington, D.C.), and the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) received a coveted Power of A Summit Award from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE; Washington, D.C.). The award recognizes the success of the National Green Infrastructure Certification Program […]

Located about 48 km (30 mi) southeast of Syracuse, N.Y., Morrisville State College gives students the opportunity to study everything from seahorse conservation to cannabis farming. But the classes that attract the greatest number of students from across the state to the small agricultural and technological college are those taught at its Environmental Training Center […]

To streamline the job-seeking process for newcomers and help spread the word about the benefits of water careers, the Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) and American Water Works Association (AWWA; Denver, Colo.) partnered to redevelop and relaunch the Work for Water website earlier this summer. The website features an intuitive map that offers state-specific […]

A hundred miles north of New York City, not far from the origin of the 107-year-old Catskills Aqueduct that supplies 40% of the Big Apple’s water, a new generation of professionals is being trained to protect the region’s coveted water resources. All are students of SUNY Ulster Community College (Stone Ridge, N.Y.). SUNY Ulster launched […]

While known for top-rated university science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs that are educating the next generation of water professionals, the state of Indiana has a problem: convincing graduating students to stay. Half of the 2014-to-2016 bachelor’s-level STEM graduates of Purdue University (West Lafayette, Ind.), for example, found employment out of state, according to […]

When it rains, it doesn’t always pour — at least not at the City of Columbia (S.C.) Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant. Even after a historic 1,000-year flood in 2015 and the wettest December on record 3 years later, the 227-ML/d (60-mgd) facility remained well within its regulatory limits every day, according to superintendent David Wiman. […]

Faced with the challenge of staffing three new water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs), Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD; Virginia Beach, Va.) launched its wastewater apprenticeship program in 1979. HRSD has grown to operate 13 award-winning WRRFs that provide service to 1.7 million residents across 18 cities and counties. Its apprenticeship program has grown in tandem, […]