August 2013 at a Glance

August 31, 2013

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Next Stop … Mr. Toilet House

Visit a toilet-shaped museum to learn about sanitation in South Korea

Looking for a unique vacation destination? Have an affinity for everything related to wastewater? Then look no further: Mr. Toilet House in Suwon, South Korea, offers visitors a variety of novelty photo ops and facts about toilets.

WEF Volunteers Educate a New Generation at 2013 National Scout Jamboree

Thirty-eight Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) members braved the summer heat to volunteer at the Boy Scouts of America (Washington, D.C.) 2013 National Scout Jamboree. The jamboree was held July 15 to 24 at its new permanent location, Summit Bechtel Reserve in Beckley, W.Va.

WEFTEC 2013 Speaker John Novak Discusses Biological Wastewater Treatment

During WEFTEC^® 2013, John Novak will be the featured speaker of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (Wesley Chapel, Fla.) presentation at Technical Session 201. Novak, the Nick Prillaman Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg), has researched bioremediation, water and wastewater treatment, hazardous waste treatment, solids treatment, and solid waste management.

Falling Into the Wastewater Treatment Field and Learning on the Job

Operators must choose the profession and prepare to run our facilities of the future

Working in the wastewater field often is the result of serendipity rather than career planning. Yet engineers and operators in the field often stay for a career lifetime.

I have worked in the wastewater field for 40 years. That’s a lot of wastewater aerated, clarified, filtered, and disinfected before being discharged — unrecognized and unappreciated by water consumers — into a receiving stream and passing under the proverbial bridge. But I was hired into the wastewater business without previously seeking it out as a career or taking specific academic courses to prepare me for the job.

Tokyo Waterworks Research Fellow Presents on Public-Private Partnerships

On July 9, Masaaki Nakayama’s work at the Water Environment Federation (Alexandria, Va.) culminated in a presentation on public-private partnerships.

Conference Attendees Get Hands-On Education About Collections Systems

In June, the Water Environment Federation (Alexandria, Va.) hosted the Collection Systems 2013 Conference at the Sacramento (Calif.) Convention Center to educate water professionals about improving the effectiveness of combined and separate sanitary sewer collection systems. Attendees learned about different methods for planning, design, and construction and explored alternative delivery methods.

In Memoriam: Charles B. Kaiser Jr., WEF President 1990–1991

Charles B. Kaiser Jr., Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) president from 1990 to 1991, died July 1 at the age of 89. Kaiser joined WEF in 1962 and was a life member.