12 minute read
Conference Highlights—Mish Clark
Mish Clark
It was great to connect again at the 2022 Florida Water Resources Conference (FWRC) after a three-year sabbatical due to the pandemic. Sponsored by Florida Section American Water Works Association (FSAWWA), Florida Water Environment Federation (FWEA), and Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association (FWPCOA), the conference was held April 24-27 at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach. The beach area made for easy access to comfortable hotels, quality restaurants, and, of course, the ocean.
Daytona Beach is one of the major Florida cities that FWRC has on its site rotation, and this year’s event set several new milestones, with everyone excited to reconnect.
2022 FWRC by the Numbers
Here are some statistics from the conference: S 2,644 attendees S 360 exhibitor booths S 54 sponsors S Six paid events S 78 meetings S Five “Connect Again” networking events S 113 technical sessions and workshops S 95 continuing education units (CEUs) and 313 professional development hours (PDHs) awarded
A Multifaceted Conference
The conference technical program, including workshops and special-interest presentations, was exceptional and the quality educational papers that were presented once again demonstrate why FWRC is so highly regarded as a premier event in the water/ wastewater business.
Networking events brought to life the many ways that water professionals are growing and thriving in their careers. With the various opportunities and challenges they face on a daily basis, the broad array of technical presentations, roundtables, and symposiums provided many answers for them.
The exhibit hall in the Ocean Center was completely sold out. There truly was a reason to visit every corner and the spaces in between. In the center of the exhibit hall, all could enjoy watching the various Operations Challenge competitions, where teams of four members competed in this statewide contest.
Each year we try to include activities to make this event as interesting and informative as possible:
Technical Tour: Daytona Beach’s LPGA Facility
A tour of Daytona Beach’s LPGA Facility was held on Sunday and was very engaging and informative. It included the facility’s demonstration testing system, water reclamation facility upgrades, and water treatment plant upgrades.
Operators Showcase
The Operators Showcase, presented by FWPCOA, was an opportunity to review and discuss potable water reuse and the changes in Florida regulations. This year, Dr. Carlyn J. Higgins, assistant engineer with Hazen and
Sawyer, and Mike Darrow, superintendent of utilities operations at Plant City and past president and current Legislative Committee chair of FWPCOA, led the discussion.
Women of Water Forum
This fifth forum, facilitated by Randy Brown, utilities director from Pompano Beach, and Marjorie Craig, P.E., director, environmental utilities department from St. Cloud, allowed women (and men) to have a peer-to-peer exchange of knowledge and an opportunity to share experiences and inspiration.
FSAWWA Water Utility Council Meeting
At the meeting of the Water Utility Council (WUC), its members shared their knowledge, information, and advocacy to improve the quality and supply of drinking water. The FSAWWA WUC mission is to develop action programs to initiate, evaluate, respond, and comment on legislative, regulatory, and other matters directly affecting water utilities in Florida.
Other Events
Other events held at the conference this year included the Florida Select Society of Sanitary Sludge Shovelers (FSSSSS) annual members breakfast and new member induction ceremony, and the FSAWWA regional chairs and volunteers breakfast. Various other association meetings and forums were also held.
Students and Young Professionals: The Future of the Industry
Emphasis was placed on young professionals and university students as we ramped up new activities to maintain their interest and involvement.
Young Professionals Symposium
The symposium, a joint endeavor by FSAWWA and FWEA, presented a roundtable discussion, with guest speakers sharing their career stories.
YP Social
The social, which was an evening event, provided an opportunity for young professionals and others to meet, network, and learn more about the industry.
Student Design Competition
The competition brings the brightest young minds and their wastewater and environmental designs to the conference. Teams represented these Florida universities:
Wastewater Category S Florida Gulf Coast University (Kaylei
Kambak, Alexis Scheele, Brendan Zwiefel) S University of South Florida (Lauren Binder,
Nicholas Nolan)
Florida Gulf Coast University was the first-place winner in this category!
Environmental Category S University of South Florida (Vanessa
Adame, Anwar Alsharaf, Barbara Martinez,
Shelby Rocha, Jada Williams) S University of Florida (Emily Hetherington, Elayne Nash, Mattie Nevis, Jackson
Newman, Brady Schwabach) S Florida Gulf Coast University (Nour
Abedrabbo, Selena Crespo, Jose Jimenez) S Florida International University (Karen
Gonzalez, Natacha Haces, Jissell Muir)
The first-place winner in this category was University of South Florida!
Each team presented its real-world findings to an assigned problem or task in both environmental and wastewater interests. This competition is intended for both undergraduate and graduate students, typically completing a capstone project.
The winning teams will move on to the national contest at the 2022 Water Continued on page 16
Continued from page 15 Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC) in New Orleans in October.
As an added bonus, a resumé writing workshop was held to assist the students in preparing a sharp resumé for future employment consideration.
Student Poster Contest
The poster contest was in full swing Monday afternoon in the rear stage area of the exhibit hall. The winners were: S First Place: Yan Zhang - University of South
Florida S Second Place: Thanh Lam - Jacobs
Technical Sessions and Workshops: Peers Share Their Expertise
The technical program, loaded with valuable content, was coordinated by Nicole McConnell, P.E., with Kimley-Horn. She serves as conference vice president, and her technical review committee, which is composed of industry experts from a variety of government and privately owned facilities and agencies, developed the program. The committee members read and graded the submitted abstracts by subject, and the top five in each group were selected for presentation.
Workshops
The eight workshop presentations were: S Introduction to Stormwater S Innovation Forum S Communities Meeting the PFAS Challenge S Public Utilities Potpourri: Resiliency
Funding, Senate Bill 64 Compliance
Strategies, Legislative and Regulatory
Update, and Interactive Lead and Copper
Rule Revisions S Collections Systems S Communications S Top Five Factors to Consider When
Choosing a Delivery Method: Client and
Contractor Perspective S Septic System Upgrades
Technical Sessions
Two days of solid technical content included five (sometimes more) concurrent sessions that substantially covered important and timely issues on the following topics: S Utility management S Potable water treatment S Wastewater treatment S Collection systems S Stormwater and green infrastructure S Distribution systems S Biosolids/resource recovery S Modeling/geographic information systems (GIS)/computer apps S Sustainability/water supply S Nutrient removal S Reclamation and reuse
Thanks to Our Sponsors
The conference sponsors help to enrich the experience at FWRC. We appreciate their interest in the conference’s vision and are grateful for their support. We encourage all conference attendees to give these sponsors the opportunity to earn their business throughout the year.
Title Sponsor S Merrell Bros.
Platinum Sponsors
S CHA Consulting Inc. S Custom Controls Technology Inc. S Wade Trim S Vogel Bros. Building Co.
Gold Sponsors
S AECOM Technical Services Inc. S Atkins Global S FJ Nugent & Associates Inc. S GML Coatings S Grundfos S Freese and Nichols S HDR Engineering S Hydra Services Inc. S Mott Macdonald S Wright-Pierce
Silver Sponsors
S Arcadis S Black & Veatch Corporation S Custom Controls Technology Inc. S Gannett Fleming S Haskell S Moss Kelley Inc. S Nanostone Water Inc. S Synagro Technologies Inc. S Tetra Tech S Weston & Sampson
Bronze Sponsors
S Ardurra S Barge Design Solutions S Brown & Caldwell S Carter & VerPlanck S Commerce Controls S Hudson Pump & Equipment S Vaughan Company Inc. S Wharton-Smith Inc. S Woolpert S Xylem Water Solutions
Supporting Sponsors
S CDM Smith S Flender Corporation S Florida Aquastore & Utility Construction
Inc. S Flovac S Fortiline Waterworks S Gerber Pumps International Inc. S Guardian Equipment Inc. S Jacobs S Jones Edmunds & Associates Inc. S Kampstrup Water Metering S Kiewit S Stantec S Starnet Technologies S Sundt Construction Inc. S Synagro Technologies Inc. S U.S. Submergent Technologies S Tom Evans Environmental S Vega Americas S VTScada by Trihedral
Networking and Annual Events: Information Sharing and Industry Recognition
Many activities went on at FWRC in addition to the educational forums, technical sessions, and committee meetings.
President’s Reception
To kick off the 2022 FWRC, a president’s reception was held in the exhibit hall. As everyone networked and reconnected, buffets and open bars were enjoyed by all. In addition, the band, Wolfhawk, sponsored by Thermal Processing Systems, helped to set the mood.
Then, to everyone’s surprise, two local animal rescue organizations joined the party, which charged the atmosphere and brought instant smiles to everyone. Thank you to Southeastern Guide Dogs and Halifax Humane Society Inc. for their support.
Awards Luncheons
Hundreds of attendees and exhibitors attended the Monday FWRC awards luncheon. Tim Madhanagopal, FWRC president, hosted the proceedings; the board members of FSAWWA, FWEA, FWPCOA, and FWRC were in attendance; and several awards were given out. Also in attendance was Ifetayo Venner, the national representative from WEF and its 20212022 president-elect, and Scott Kelly, P.E., past president of FWRC.
Patrick Murphy hosted the Florida Select Society of Sanitary Sludge Shovelers (FSSSSS) inductions at the Monday lunch. This exclusive award honors the recipients based on merit for their “outstanding and meritorious service above and beyond the call of duty to the water industry.” This year’s recipients were Chris Collins, Keaton Heller, and Lynn Spivey.
Tuesday’s FWEA annual meeting and awards luncheon hosted Ifetayo Venner, the WEF officer in attendance, and included review of the organization’s annual report, election of officers, and passing of the gavel to new FWEA president Sondra Lee, who gave her incoming remarks.
Networking Party
The Monday Night networking party was held at the Hilton, across the street from the Ocean Center. The open bar and live music by Martini Pop got folks on the dance floor as they enjoyed the atmosphere and the delicious desserts.
Contests and Competitions
FSAWWA “Best of the Best” Tasting Drinking Water Competition
This competition had 12 entrants that won the Best Tasting Drinking Water Contests in their FSAWWA regions. Winners from these regional events competed at FWRC. On Tuesday, the municipalities representing the section’s 12 regions entered their drinking water samples for close examination and various testing. The 12 regions included the following: S Region 1 - City of Tallahassee S Region II - JEA
Continued from page 17 S Region III - Seminole County S Region IV - Polk County S Region V - Bonita Springs Utilities Inc. S Region VI - Seacoast Utility Authority S Region VII - Florida Keys Aqueduct
Authority S Region VIII - Martin County Utilities S Region IX - South Walton Utilities S Region X - City of Punta Gorda S Region XI - City of Belleview S Region XII - City of Lynn Haven
The winner at this year’s contest was Seacoast Utility Authority!
Operations Challenge
The Operations Challenge included teams of four people that competed in five separate events: operations, maintenance, laboratory, safety, and collection systems. Teams competed at a regional level to earn the right to represent Florida at the national competition at WEFTEC.
The teams competing included: S Polk County Bio-Wizards S JEA Fecal Matters S St. Petersburg Dirty Birds S GRU True Grit
The first-place winner this year was Polk County Bio-Wizards, and JEA Fecal Matters earned the second-place trophy.
Top Ops
The AWWA Top Ops is the “College Bowl” of the water industry. Teams competed against each other in a fast-paced competitive questionand-answer tournament where a moderator asks a broad range of technical questions to the participating teams, and they have a limited time to answer. The winner represented the Florida Section at this year’s AWWA Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE22) Top Ops competition in San Antonio.
The teams this year were as follows: S Mono Rays (Vinny Domanico, Kendra
Phillips, Jason Adair, Ken Durr, and
Michael Avila) from Pasco County Utilities S The Water Guns (Bill Young, Greg Taylor,
Carlyn Higgins, and Mike Darrow)
The Mono Rays was this year’s winner.
Volunteers: The Backbone of the Conference
The FWRC has many moving parts and I would especially like to thank all of our talented speakers, who truly are experts in their fields; staff members of FSAWWA, FWPCOA, and FWEA; all the many people who volunteered their time at registration, as part of the technical review committee, and workshop coordinators; attendees at educational events and committee meetings; and all the other people behind the scenes who make this event so successful.
You are all good stewards of Florida’s clean water environment with your commitment to FWRC.
Save the Date
Let’s get ready for more fun and sun at the 2023 Florida Water Resources Conference, which is scheduled for May 13-17 at Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee. The FWRC strives to be your prevailing source for technical and educational information and we look forward to another great conference next year! We thank you for attending the 2022 Florida Water Resources Conference in Daytona Beach. I hope you had a memorable FWRC 2022 and the events were up to your expectations. We hope you and your company or your utility benefitted from the technical sessions, exhibits, field trip, and networking opportunities. The conference was a great success and set a record in several areas. We hope to see you in May 2023 in Kissimmee as we return to the beautiful Gaylord Palms. We always appreciate your feedback. We started the planning for FWRC 2023 based on your comments. We are working on improving the conference experience by implementing a new conference management system (CMS) and we invite your sponsorships for this new CMS. If we can be of help in any way with your participation next year, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Tim Madhanagopal, P.E., F.WEF, F. NSPE President, Florida Water Resources Conference Inc.
