Giving Voice to Water...

As a new member of #WWEMA and a first time attendee at their annual conference, I have to say that Executive Director Vanessa Leiby her staff and the board of directors led by Chairman Vince Baldasare ?delivered on their mission to be the voice of water and wastewater technology providers. Here are some highlights...

Clean Water Act

Tom Jorling , the keynote speaker, was a primary player in the design and passing of the Clean Water Act in 1972?as a follow up to the Clean Air Act two years before. Most of us were surprised by the fact that despite the Nixon administration getting credit for the Clean Water Act passing fifty years ago, President Nixon's veto of the Act was ultimately overridden by the Senate.?Throughout his talk, Tom reminded us of the importance of our work as water professionals with the wisdom that "clean water is key to the vibrancy of daily life."

Build America, Buy America (BABA)

Kiri Anderer of the EPA offered some guidance on how water treatment providers will be affected by the funding provided through the?Build America, Buy America program. There still needs to be much more direction given to the WWEMA community so that a critical portion of the country's infrastructure is supported through the program.

John Manzella , a prognosticator of?global business trends, built on the BABA theme. Manzella stated that the fastest way to grow the nation's GDP is to develop?innovative products and services and deliver them worldwide.?But it should be a two-way street. The American public deserves the best and most cost-effective treatment technologies to safeguard one of the country's most strategic resources—its water supply. And while the sentiment of buying American is widely welcomed, it has to be more than a sound bite. We need to consider the broader economic ramifications, whether it's acknowledging that raw material supply chains are global, or that American manufacturers may not have practical solutions for every challenge.

Other Notable Presentations...

In recognition that there will be five generations in the workplace by 2026 (Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, Gen Alpha), burnout consultant Michael D. Levitt reminded us that if our industry wants to attract the best and the brightest, we need to?brand our industry so it appeals to younger generations. Water has to be environmentally conscious, sustainable...it has to be sexy to draw in talented young workers.

Adam Link , Executive Director of the California Association of Sanitary Agencies, didn't shy away from the water challenges facing California but finished his talk on an upbeat note, citing successful water?reuse projects like Monterey Pure and?San Diego Pure (full disclosure:? Mazzei Injector Company, LLC technology is an integral part of the treatment train for both projects).

Akash R. of Flowserve provided information on projections for water treatment technologies by type and geographic regions, and how these trends might impact future business decisions. He mentioned the Internet of Things (IoT), digital systems, and powerful new tools—exactly the kind of tools that are sexy enough to engage new minds and ensure a bright future for our industry.

A Look Back

This wasn't my first exposure to WWEMA.

Ten years ago, Dawn Kristof Champney invited me to speak at WWEMA's annual conference in Las Vegas about future trends in financing water projects. Back then, I drew from my time as?president of a chemical distribution company where we were always on the lookout for the next emerging chemical contaminant which we gave the fictitious name?ethyl methyl di-4-shurinol.?During my talk?I made the point that with the history of detection going from ppm to ppb to ppt, the cost of drinking and wastewater projects in the US went from millions to billions to trillions. Quadrillion (ppq), anyone?

Since then, PFAS—the "forever chemicals"—have blasted into public consciousness and given us a perfect illustration of that concept. Not to diminish the health effects caused by the bioaccumulation of PFAS in humans?(you can read my take on DuPont's role in my post A Tale of Two Movies), just because you can measure for a molecule to a certain level, does it mean you have to remove it to the level of non-detectability??And with water treatment's goal to remove impurities, these chemical compounds—usually incorporated into residual solids created through precipitation, settling, flotation, filtration and all other manner of concentration—have to go somewhere.

PFAS will continue to be a powerful example of a contaminant so scary we want to get rid of it, and so pernicious that we will need to draw on all our skills to figure out how much must be removed and where we can safely put it. Stay tuned. I suspect that WWEMA will be an important part of that conversation in the years to come.

Final thought...

It is clear that if we as water and wastewater technology providers want to sell our products and services at full value, we have to better tell water's story to convince the general public of water's worth. And WWEMA continues to lend a strong voice to that effort.