WEF Highlights

Robert (Bob) Jack Freeman Jr., member of the Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) and the Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP) since 2006, died January 21 at the age of 71. Freeman, a registered professional engineer and certified wastewater treatment operator, earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Mississippi […]

On Feb. 7, Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) member Angela Lee sat before members of the U.S. Congress to discuss the water sector’s need for infrastructure funding programs. The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure invited representatives from various industries to attend the hearing, “The Cost of Doing Nothing: Why Investing […]

The Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP) is brimming with members who have a wealth of knowledge about water. Once these individuals have been members of GAWP for 25 years, they automatically become members of a select committee and earn a new title: guru. The GAWP Guru committee has nearly 600 members. While only 15 […]

Operator reunites a resident with an heirloom that sat in a manhole for 9 years Collection systems employees at the City of Somers Point, N.J., found the proverbial needle in a haystack, or more precisely, the ring in a sewer system. In November, Ted Gogol, wastewater operator and Somers Point public works crew chief, was […]

King County, Washington is becoming more racially diverse as the growth of Asian-, Latin-, and African-American populations outpaces that of the white population, according to 2018 census data. Recognizing its changing demographics, the county is working to recruit a workforce that is fair and inclusive for all. Two years ago, the county Wastewater Treatment Division […]

Imagine roaming the planet 2500 years ago as part of a nomadic tribe. You do not have a phone, electricity, car, or single other luxury. If you happened to wander into the Arabian Desert in what is modern-day Jordan, the location probably would not seem an idyllic place to stop and build a major city. […]

I have chocolate in my blood. It’s not from eating a lot of chocolate (which I do), but because I grew up in “Chocolatetown, U.S.A.,” also known as Hershey, Pa. My family house was a stone’s throw from The Hershey Co., the largest chocolate factory in the world. My grandparents worked in the chocolate factory. […]

When you hear the term boot camp, visions of crawling through mud under barbed wire or climbing up a 6-m (20-ft) wall may come to mind. But wastewater operators in Rhode Island who have been through their version of boot camp, faced very different challenges. The Wastewater Operator Leadership Boot Camp is training operators to […]