James Shaw Tribute to - Central States Water Environment Association

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James Shaw Tribute to - Central States Water Environment Association
The Official Magazine of the Central States Water Environment Association, Inc.

                                                    Tribute to
                                               James Shaw

                                                                                                    PLANT PROFILE:

                                                                                                    GREATER Innovation, Improvement
                                                                                                    and Excellence in St. Cloud
Central States Water Environment Association

                                                                                                   PLUS:
1021 Alexandra Blvd, Crystal Lake, IL 60014

                                                                                                   93rd Annual Meeting Highlights
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

                                                                                                   25th Annual Education Seminar
                                                                                                   1st Annual Midwest
                                                                                                     Student Design Competition
                                                                                                   WEFTEC ’19 Recap

          www.cswea.org • Wisconsin • Minnesota • Illinois                                                           Winter 2019-20
James Shaw Tribute to - Central States Water Environment Association
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James Shaw Tribute to - Central States Water Environment Association
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James Shaw Tribute to - Central States Water Environment Association
IN THIS ISSUE                                                                                                          Administrative Year 2019–20

                                                                                                                                           President
      FEATURES                                                                                                                         Doug Henrichsen
                                                                                                                                      Brown and Caldwell
      Tribute to James Shaw                                                                                            9               P: 651-468-2077
      93rd Annual Meeting Highlights                                                                                  26            dhenrichsen@brwncald.com
                                                                                                                                     1st Vice President
      Plant Profile: St. Cloud Public Utilities                                                                       29               Mark Eddington
      25th Annual Education Seminar                                                                                   37              Kishwaukee WRD
                                                                                                                                       P: 815-758-3513
      34th Annual Conference on the Environment                                                                       42             meddington@kishwrd.com
      WEFTEC Recap                                                                                                    43             2nd Vice President
                                                                                                                                            Jane Carlson
      LIFT Spotlight: Aqua-Aerobic Systems, Inc.                                                                      46             Strand Associates, Inc.
      The Village of Roberts Wastewater                                                                                                 P: 608-251-4843
                                                                                                                                      jane.carlson@strand.com
      Treatment Facility Partners with CLEARAS                                                                        51                  Treasurer
      La Fortuna, Costa Rica 2019-20 Problem Statement                                                                53                   Beth Vogt
                                                                                                                                       Fox River WRD
      Donor Spotlight: Dahme Mechanical Industries, Inc                                                               55               P: 847-742-2068
                                                                                                                                        bvogt@frwrd.com
      DEPARTMENTS                                                                                                                Immediate Past President
                                                                                                                                         David Arnott
      Messages                                                                                                                      Ruekert & Mielke, Inc.
           President’s Message                                                                                          7              P: 262-542-5733
                                                                                                                                   darnott@ruekert-mielke.com
           Executive Director’s Message                                                                                11
           WEF Delegates’ Report                                                                                       15            WEF Delegate ‘20
                                                                                                                                          Derek Wold
           Advertiser Information Center                                                                               65             Baxter & Woodman
                                                                                                                                       P: 708-478-2090
      CSWEA/WEF/GWS News                                                                                                            dwold@baxterwoodman.com
           Midwest Student Design Competition                                                                          13            WEF Delegate ‘21
           2020 Events Calendar                                                                                        58                Tracy Ekola
                                                                                                                                            SEH
           Membership Applications                                                                                     61             P: 320-229-4406
                                                                                                                                     tekola@sehinc.com
      Section News                                                                                                                PWO Representative ’21
           Wisconsin Section Chair Message                                                                             17              Kathy Crowson
                                                                                                                                            SEH
               Memo of Understanding                                                                                   18             P: 218-279-3005
               Wisconsin Government Affairs Seminar                                                                    18            kcrowson@sehinc.com
               Wisconsin’s Phosphorus/Nutrients Operations Seminar                                                     19          YP Representative ‘20
           Minnesota Section Chair Message                                                                             21                   Jillian Kiss
               Collections Seminar photos                                                                              22            Trotter & Associates
                                                                                                                                       P: 630-587-0470
               Cycling, Stormwater, and Suds                                                                           22             j.kiss@trotter-inc.com
           Illinois Section Chair Message                                                                              23   Minnesota State Section Trustee ‘20
               Operator Training Program                                                                               25             Alison Sumption
                                                                                                                                          HR Green
      Follow us on Twitter             @cswea            Link up with CSWEA on                                                        P: 651-659-7725
                                                                                                                                    asumption@hrgreen.com
        Published by:                                                ©2020 Craig Kelman & Associates Ltd.                     Illinois State Section Trustee ’21
                                                                     All rights reserved. The contents of this                            Mike Holland
                                                                     publication, which does not necessarily                            Kishwaukee WRD
                                                                     reflect the opinion of the publisher or the                         P: 815-758-3513
                                                                     association, may not be reproduced by any                         mholland@kishwrd.com
                                                                     means, in whole or inpart, without the prior
        Tel: (866)985-9780 Fax: (866) 985-9799                       written consent of the publisher.                      Wisconsin State Section Trustee ’21
        www.kelmanonline.com  info@kelman.ca                                                                                              Jay Kemp
        Design/Layout: Kristy Unrau                                  Central States Water, the official magazine                       Black & Veatch
        Marketing Manager: Darrell Harris, darrell@kelman.ca         of the Central States Water Environment                          P: 414-455-1609
        Advertising Co-ordinator: Stefanie Hagidiakow                Association, Inc., is published four times                         kempjs@bv.com
        Federal tax# 23-7378788                                      per year. Send comments, news items,
                                                                     gloss photographs or digital images to                    Executive Management Team
                                                                     Mohammed Haque, mhaque@cswea.org                            Mohammed Haque/Amy Haque
                                                                                                                                      Haque & Associates
                  Send undeliverable addresses to: CSWEA, 1021 Alexandra Blvd, Crystal Lake, Illinios 60014                            P: 855-692-7932
                                                                                                                                mhaque@cswca.org/ahaque@cswea.org
                                                                                                                                       ahaque@cswea.org

                                                                      This document is printed on paper certified to the    Follow us on Twitter       @cswea
                                                                     standards of the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®).
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James Shaw Tribute to - Central States Water Environment Association
IT MAT TERS.
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James Shaw Tribute to - Central States Water Environment Association
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

CSWEA
Performing Well
                                                                                                    By Doug Henrichsen

I
     t has been a busy time for all since my                 CSWEA PUMPERS                                 Water Reclamation District (Southeast
     last message. I hope you all enjoyed                    • Marc Zimmerman (Coach),                     Plant), and covered the Fundamentals
     the holiday season in the Central States                  Janesville WWTP, WI                         of Anaerobic Digestion. All of these
     region! Throughout our three states,                    • Aaron Berry, Trotter Associates, Inc., IL   Illinois Section operator-training courses
     there is a lot going on and everyone                    • Brian Schoenecker,                          were well attended, and the hope is
that I speak to seems to be very busy.                         City of St. Cloud, MN                       that someday, these training sessions
As I get into this message, please consider                  • Joe Watson, NEW Water, WI                   can be expanded to both Minnesota
how well we are performing.                                  • Mark Knuth, Racine WWTP, WI                 and Wisconsin. Congratulations again
    There have been several big events                                                                     to Mike Holland for organizing all of
that have occurred in our area since my                      CSWEA SHOVELERS                               these training events.
last message, including WEFTEC 2019;                         • Chris Lefebvre (Coach),                          The Minnesota Section held
the IL Section Operations Seminar, several                     Stevens Point, WI                           their first Annual Effective Utility
Operator Training Courses, Illinois Section                  • Brandon Stall, WLSSD, MN                    Management Workshop on
Up State Operations Seminar, and the                         • Brent Perz, Baxter & Woodman, IL            August 28 in Minneapolis, as well as a
2019 Biosolids, Energy, Environmental                        • Jason Robbins, Kishwaukee WRD, IL           Cycling, Stormwater, and Suds Tour
Recovery (B.E.E.R.) Seminar; the MN                          • Wade Lagle, Urbana &                        on September 19. The MN Section also
Section Collections Workshop (w/ MWOA),                        Champaign SD, IL                            conducted their Collections Workshop
and Conference on the Environment;                                                                         with the Minnesota Wastewater
the WI Section Emerging Contaminants                         TRAINER                                       Operator’s Association (MWOA). The
in Water and Wastewater Symposium,                           • Brian Skaife, Janesville WWTP, WI           event occurred on September 25 and
Phosphorous & Nutrients Operations                                                                         was held at the Western Lake Superior
Seminar, Industrial Pretreatment Seminar,                    If you see them, please congratulate          Sanitary District (WLSSD) facilities in
WI Section Annual Business Meeting, and                      these team members for a job well             Duluth. The event was well attended.
the Stormwater and Watershed Webinar;                        done this year.                               The MN Section also held their Annual
and other events. I will briefly cover each                      Pilgrim’s Pride was also the Industrial   Conference on the Environment
of these events below.                                       Water Quality Achievement Award               (COE), in association with the Air
                                                             Winner at WEFTEC 2019! Brian Mehr             & Waste Management Association
WEFTEC 2019                                                  and Ronald Olmscheid were present             (A&WMA), Upper Midwest Section, on
WEFTEC is one of the premier events                          to accept the award. Congratulations          Thursday, November 7. The event was
in our industry, with over 200 technical                     Pilgrim’s Pride!                              held at the Minneapolis Convention
sessions, workshops, mobile sessions,                            Three Illinois Section Operator           Center in downtown Minneapolis. The
local facility tours, and over 1,000                         Training Courses were held this Fall.         conference again was well attended,
exhibitors. At WEFTEC this year, the                         On October 16, the first Operator             and focused on numerous important
CSWEA/IWEA annual Welcome Reception                          Training Course was held at the Downers       environmental topics including
was held on Sunday, September 22.                            Grove Sanitary District, which covered        wastewater, water, stormwater &
The event was well attended. CSWEA also                      the Fundamentals of Preliminary &             water resource management, solid
performed well during WEFTEC with the                        Primary Treatment. The second training        waste, and air. Congratulations go
Operations (OPS) Challenge. Our two                          was held on October 24 and covered            out to Tim Wedin (CSWEA) and
teams both placed at the awards level.                       the Purpose & Fundamentals of                 Andrew Willing (A&WMA) for
The Shovelers placed first in Process                        Wastewater Treatment. This event was          co-hosting this event, as well as all the
Control, and the Pumpers placed fourth                       held at the Urbana & Champaign Sanitary       members of the local arrangements
in Laboratory. The members in the teams                      District. The third training was held on      committee for again organizing a
are as follows:                                              November 13 at the Bloomington Normal         terrific event.

w w w.cswea.org      Click HERE to return to Table of Contents                                                             Winter 2019-20 | CSWEA       7
James Shaw Tribute to - Central States Water Environment Association
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

   The Wisconsin Section conducted               While it is now Winter, there are several           Green Infrastructure Symposium,
several seminars and/or events this fall.   activities/functions that are planned for the            Minneapolis Convention Center,
The first was the Lift Innovation and       coming months. Please take a look at the                 Minneapolis, MN –
Technology Tour, which was held             list below of great educational and social               March 31 – April 3, 2020.
on September 19 at the Fond du Lac          events already in the works and begin                • Midwest Student Design Competition,
Wastewater Treatment & Resource             planning to attend:                                      Monona Terrace, Madison, WI –
Recovery Facility. The Wisconsin Section    • MN Section Collections Workshop                        April 6, 2020
held an Emerging Contaminants                    w/ MWOA, Twin Cities – MCES                     • 25th Annual Education Seminar,
in Water and Wastewater                          Regional Maintenance Facility,                      Monona Terrace, Madison, WI –
event at Marquette University on                 Eagan, MN, January 22, 2020.                        April 7, 2020
October 22. The Wisconsin Section           • MN Section 37th Innovative                         • 93rd Annual Meeting, RiverCenter
held an Operations Seminar on                    Approaches to Wastewater                            Convention Center, St. Paul, MN –
Phosphorus and Nutrients on                      Operational Problems,                               May 18-20, 2020
November 14 in Oshkosh; and an                   St. Cloud, MN, February 4, 2020.                Information for these upcoming events can
Industrial Pretreatment Seminar             • WI Section Government Affairs                      be found on our website, www.cswea.org.
on November 19, 2019 in Green Bay.               Seminar, Fond Du Lac, WI,                       These events are valued by CSWEA members,
The Wisconsin Section also held                  February 20, 2020.                              as well as by many other distinguished
a Stormwater and Watershed                  • 2020 AWWA/WEF YP Summit,                           professionals, wastewater pioneers,
Webinar on November 21, 2019                     Anaheim, CA, February 24, 2020.                 operators, manufacturers, professors,
in Milwaukee. These events were             • WEF 2020 Residuals/Biosolids                       and students throughout the region.
well attended.                                   Conference and Stormwater &                         See you in the spring.

            “While it is now Winter, there are several activities/functions
                     that are planned for the coming months. ”

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8   CSWEA | Winter 2019-20                                                               Click HERE to return to Table of Contents    w w w.cswea.org
James Shaw Tribute to - Central States Water Environment Association
R emembering Jim Shaw
       Rest in Peace, Influent Integrator
       I met Jim Shaw when I was attending Central States over 20 years ago. Jim Shaw and Carol Strackbein
       were the head of the exhibit, manufacturers and consultants committee, and invited me to join them.
       I did not realize then how much being a part of that group would change my life.
           Jim was a mentor and like a second father to me. He was not shy about expressing his opinions.
       Jim felt an obligation to pass along his wisdom and for that I am forever grateful. The key was to listen
       to and take the advice he offered. A high-quality individual, he was as knowledgeable and as respectful
       as they come. Frankly, I was honored and often questioned why he chose to align himself with our
       company over 15 years ago. I believe he saw a young company that he could have a great effect on,
       a company he could assist in growing as a business in the right way. The Jim Shaw way.
           In 1992, Jim received his shovel. This shovel is awarded by the members of Central States for
       contributing a great amount of unrecognized time and effort to the organization. In 1997, addition,
       Central States awarded Jim the Service Award. He had an incredibly strong work ethic and he led by
       example. He chose to be heavily involved in our organization and, in doing so, encouraged many
       others to do the same.
           Jim became the ‘Influent Integrator’, which was a role he excelled in. I always respected the fact that
       he enforced the wearing of the shovel at the many CSWEA events.
           Take care my friend.

       Tom Mulcahy

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James Shaw Tribute to - Central States Water Environment Association
Memories from the Industry
        “I met Jim when I began my career with Sanitaire over         “I’ll always remember Jim’s excellent sense of humor.
        40 years ago. Imagine! Time flies when you are having         As part of our 7S meetings, the first order of business is a
        fun. He was my mentor, my brother, my friend, and also        motion to impeach the current influent integrator. When Jim
        at times my antagonist. Jim had the knack of loving           was in that position, he not only took that with good humor,
        people and being concerned with their welfare. He             but also was often prepared with a great comeback. Same
        never forgot a face or a friend. We worked together           for the short jokes. Someone who knew Jim well noted
        with very dedicated employees at Sanitaire to build it        he was a professional engineer, not in the context of a PE
        from a small company with 12 employees to the large           license but truly handled himself professionally with protec-
        international company it is today. The stories I could tell   tion of the public and the profession as priorities. I never
        would fill a book. Jim will always be a part of my life       heard him speak poorly of another professional. He would
        and heart. Thanks, Jim, for all the good times and for        express his opinion but never in a fashion to denigrate the
        all the memories. God bless and rest in peace.”               other person or their firm.”

        – Carol Strackbein, former CSWEA President,                   – Rusty Schroedel, former CSWEA President,
        Section Chair, Secretary, Treasurer.                          Section Chair, and WEF delegate.

                                                                      “I met Jim over 30 years ago and immediately liked him
                                                                      for his great sense of humor, his good-heartedness and his
                                                                      welcoming manner which made me and others feel like
                                                                      they belonged to our great water profession. The thing that
                                                                      most impressed me about Jim was his faithful never-ending
                                                                      efforts to convert and keep people in our water sector. I feel
                                                                      that because Jim reached out to so many of us that he is
                                                                      still with us connecting people. He will be remembered as a
                                                                      legend in our organization. Jim will be greatly missed.”

                                                                      – Joan Hawley, former WI Section Chair and
                                                                      WEF Board of Trustees.

10 CSWEA | Winter 2019-20                                                          Click HERE to return to Table of Contents   w w w.cswea.org
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S                   MESSAGE

The Power of Volunteers
                                                                                              By Mohammed Haque

T
           he tail end of 2019 brought                       Process Control event. These guys            Miranda Durbin, Rachelle Montavan
           together an amazing show of                       remind us why so much innovation in          and Alexis Countryman. Read about
           volunteerism, ambition and                        process control comes from facilities in     all of our WEFTEC activities later in
           growth for our association.                       the Midwest. We’ve got the brains! Read      this issue.
           With WEFTEC in our backyard,                      more about them in our WEFTEC wrap               After WEFTEC, a group of Global
I was amazed by our volunteers                               up. If you ever run into a process control   Water Stewardship volunteers went
Stephanie Cioni, Amanda Sheposh,                             issue, I’d make sure to call the CSWEA       to have the first GWS student design
Joe Lapastora and Liz Heise.                                 Shovelers, Coach Chris Lefebvre, Brent       competition in Costa Rica. The TEC
     They had a blast at Waterpalooza,                       Perz, Brandon Stall, Jason Robbins           University competition featured three
held at Mario Saucedo Scholastic                             or Wade Lagle. Best in the nation…..         student design teams who presented their
Academy in Chicago as part of WEFTEC.                        just saying.                                 treatment plant designs for La Fortuna
Our display, created by Stephanie and                            If that wasn’t enough, our Pumpers       and the area around the Arenal Volcano.
her husband was a working sewer collec-                      (Coach Marc Zimmerman,                       The excitement of the winning team was
tion system, with a lift station! How Cool.                  Joe Watson, Aaron Beery, Brian               priceless to see.
It was a huge hit for the kids. Thank you                    Schoenecker and Mark Knuth) came                 A big thank you to Professor Diana
to these amazing volunteers who got to                       in 4th place in the Laboratory category      Zambrano and her amazing students and
teach kids about how wastewater makes                        and our amazing powerhouse of a              also thanks to our judges Laura Torres,
it’s way from their homes to resource                        student design team from Milwaukee           Mike Holland, Liz Heise, Megan
recovery facility.                                           School of Engineering came in 4th place      Livak, Paige Peters, Guissel Davilla
     WEFTEC was not short of amazing.                        in the Environmental Category. Way to go     and Mike Pepin. We are looking forward
A big hats off to our amazing Operations                     Guissel Davilla, Christine Boland-           to starting the first WEF Student Chapter
Challenge Team that got first in the                         Prom, Jamie Sykora, Sydney Shaffer,          in Costa Rica at TEC University and work

w w w.cswea.org      Click HERE to return to Table of Contents                                                           Winter 2019-20 | CSWEA 11
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S          MESSAGE

is on the way to make that a reality in    The book, especially the Spanish version            lot of reaching out to various school Districts.
2020. We are also looking forward to       was a great hit. We did several readings.           The essay contest has been launched in Illinois
having the winning student team and        A big thank you to Megan Livak and                  and Wisconsin and we are amazed by the
Professor Zambrano at the first Midwest    Lori Harrison for all the support we                number of kids that have submitted essays.
Student Design Competition on April 6 in   have received and a big Gracias for the                 The year 2020 and our future of water
Madison, WI.                               Spanish version!                                    both hold a lot of promise and if you want
    The trip also saw a continuation of       Later in 2019, Stephanie Cioni had               to get involved, I encourage you to reach
our ongoing support for the ‘Water’s       a great idea for a Water’s Worth It Essay           out to me and let me know of your great
Worth It’ campaign featuring the amazing   Contest aimed at Middle Schoolers.                  idea. If it moves water forward, we will go
storybook by Lori Harrison of WEF.         She put together a flyer and has done a             with the flow.

12 CSWEA | Winter 2019-20                                                              Click HERE to return to Table of Contents   w w w.cswea.org
APRIL 6

                                                                                                           2020
                                    1 S T                       A N N U A L

           The Central States Water Environment Association
           2020 Student Design Competition
           Monona Terrace | Madison, WI
           Greetings,

           I would like to introduce you to the Midwest Student Design Competition sponsored by the Central States Water
           Environment Association (CSWEA) and Global Water Stewardship (GWS). This year, the CSWEA and GWS
           competitions will be held Monday, April 6, 2020 in Madison, WI at the Monona Terrace Convention Center.
           This is a unique opportunity for students at the college level to demonstrate their engineering skills and practices
           by researching and preparing a design for a water quality-based project and presenting their project to water
           industry professionals.
               There are two Student Design Competitions, described in detail on the attached announcements:
               WEF Student Design Competition: For the WEF Design Competition, there are two different categories
           that student can compete in; Wastewater Design and Environmental Design. The competition at the CSWEA (WEF
           Member Association) level is intended to feed into the national competition at the annual WEFTEC conference,
           which this year is scheduled for October 3-7, 2020 in New Orleans, LA. Winning teams will receive a stipend of
           up to $1,000/student for travel and lodging expenses to attend the WEFTEC conference.
               GWS Student Design Competition: The GWS Design Competition requires teams of students to design
           and present a project meeting the requirements of the real-life problem statement titled Global Water Stewardship:
           La Fortuna, Costa Rica. Winning teams will receive a stipend of up to $1,000/student for travel and lodging
           expenses to accompany GWS representatives on their August fact-finding trip to Costa Rica.
               CSWEA has budgeted funds to assist individuals or teams to present at the WEF and GWS competitions in
           April. We understand it is hard to schedule students to participate and will be as flexible as possible in working with
           students and professors to afford the opportunity to participate on the design competition date. Design projects from
           1st semester are eligible along with Design projects that are being developed as part of a 2nd semester class. Please
           read over the attached announcements and provide this information to any interested students in the water quality
           field that you feel may benefit from such an experience.
               I look forward to hearing from you with any questions or if you need additional information on how to participate
           in these events. I can be contacted by phone at 815-762-5919 or email at mholland@kishwrd.com.

           Best Regards,

           Mike Holland, CSWEA Student Design Competition Chair

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2020

  COMPETITION GUIDELINES
 INTRODUCTION: The Midwest Student Design Competition is                  REQUIREMENTS: Teams may consist of more than four members,
 intended to promote ‘real world and hands on’ design experience          but only four students may present at the competition. Student teams
 for students interested in pursuing an education and/or career in        will compete through oral presentations, in PowerPoint format.
 water/wastewater engineering and sciences field. This year, the          Each presentation will be 20 minutes followed by a 10-minute question
 Midwest Student Design Competition will be on Monday, April 6,           and answer period.
 2020 in Madison, WI at the Monona Terrace Convention Center.                 The winning teams of the WEF competition categories will be required
 This is a unique opportunity for students at the college level to        to submit a design notebook complying with the WEF competition
 demonstrate their engineering skills and practices by researching        requirements set forth in the WEF design competition entry guidelines.
 and preparing a design for a water quality-based project and             These guidelines will be provided to competitors when published,
 presenting their project to water industry professionals.                usually in May.
     There are three categories of Student Design Competitions
 available for students:                                                  TIMELINE: January 31, 2020: Submittal of the entry form for the
     • WEF Wastewater Design                                              2020 Student Design Competition is due. Submit to Mike Holland at
     • WEF Environmental Design                                           mholland@kishwrd.com or online at www.cswea.org/students-yps/
     • Global Water Stewardship (GWS)                                     design-competition.
 WEF Student Design Competition: The Water Environment                    April 6, 2020: CSWEA Design Competition will be held in Madison,
 Federation (WEF) categories at the Midwest Student Design                WI at Monona Terrace.
 Competition, feed into the national WEF competition at the               October 3-7, 2020: The winning teams from the WEF Competition
 WEFTEC conference on October 4, 2020 in New Orleans,                     will be offered the opportunity to compete at WEFTEC 2020 in
 LA. The WEF competition requires teams of students to design             New Orleans, LA.
 and present a program meeting the requirements of a problem
 statement, developed by the students. There are two levels               SELECTION: Representatives from wastewater industry will judge
 of competition; a conventional Wastewater Design category,               the design competition. The results of the competition will be issued
 which includes traditional wastewater design projects, and an            to participants at the conclusion of the competition.
 Environmental Design category, which would include contemporary
 engineering design topics like sustainability, water reuse, wetland      AWARDS: WEF Competition Categories: The winning teams (max. of
 construction and Engineers Without Borders projects.                     four members) from each category of the WEF competition will receive
     The WEF Student Design Competition is designed to be a               free registration from WEF to the WEFTEC conference in New Orleans,
 function of the WEF Student Chapters program however being               LA (October 3-7, 2020). Stipends for travel and lodging expenses to
 part of a WEF Student Chapter is not required to compete at the          New Orleans vary depending on the student’s respective WEF Member
 Midwest Student Design Competition. However, the winning teams           Association (MA).
 will have to ultimately be WEF student members to participate in the         Prizes for the winning team at the national WEFTEC conference will
 national WEF competition at the WEFTEC conference.                       vary depending on sponsorship opportunities. Monetary awards typically
     Global Water Stewardship Student Design Competition: The             provided by WEF for the top four design teams are: 1st place $2,500,
 GWS category at the Midwest Student Design Competition requires          2nd place $1,500, 3rd place $1,000, and 4th place $750.
 teams of students to design and present a project meeting the                Global Water Stewardship Category: The winning team (max. of
 requirements of the real-life problem statement for the town of La       four members) from the GWS category will receive a travel and lodging
 Fortuna, Costa Rica titled Global Water Stewardship: La Fortuna,         stipend of up to $1,000/student (which is typically sufficient to cover
 Costa Rica. Winning teams will receive a stipend of up to $1,000/        travel and lodging) to accompany the next GWS team trip to Costa Rica
 student for travel and lodging expenses to accompany GWS                 for site analysis and investigations.
 representatives on their August fact-finding trip to Costa Rica and to
 present their project to local community representatives.                ARRANGEMENTS: Many teams may wish to stay overnight the
                                                                          night before or after the competition. Each team that competes in the
 WORKLOAD: The project should include a problem statement,                competition will be reimbursed up to $500.00 to cover travel and
 a development of alternatives and a recommended solution. The            lodging expenses. Teams are asked to manage their own budgets and
 depth of the effort should be comparable to preliminary design.          provide receipts for reimbursement. If teams need assistance in making
 A key criterion in the judging of the competition is the manner          arrangements, please contact Mike Holland at the below email address.
 and level of effort spent in evaluating the alternatives. Students
 are expected to work with little assistance from an advisor and/         FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT:
 or professor, and the students are expected to work together as a        Mike Holland
 team to find a solution to their problem. Students may use whatever      Midwest Student Design Competition Chair
 references or resources they choose.                                     Email: mholland@kishwrd.com

 14 CSWEA | Winter 2019-20                                                                  Click HERE to return to Table of Contents   w w w.cswea.org
WEF DELEGATES’           REPORT

New Year New
WEF Update
                                                      By Tracy Ekola and Derek Wold

W
                     EFTEC is the start of a                 • Critical Objective 1: Develop and         both the local and national levels. WEF
                     new year for the House                    Engage Membership. New Director of        recently created a professional operator
                     of Delegates. Derek                       Association Engagement, Lisa Ruane,       program that was introduced at WEFTEC.
                     Wold will continue                        was introduced.                           Information on this program follows:
                     serving a final year as                 • Critical Objective 2: Provide Broad
a WEF Delegate and incoming Delegate                           Range of Professional Content and         REIMAGINE CREDENTIALING
Tracy Ekola will start her three-year                          Programming. Topics discussed             WITH THE PROFESSIONAL
term. A Delegate’s WEFTEC experience                           included the Fundamentals of              OPERATOR PROGRAM
starts bright and early on Saturday                            Wastewater Treatment Vol. 1 Operator      Two letters after a name can have a big
morning with a 7 am House of Delegates                         Training Manual, Operator Fact Sheet,     impact on a career – just look at the RN
breakfast. This year, the breakfast featured                   and PFAs/PFOA issues.                     or PE. Those designations add a level
Table Talk with delegates discussing the                     • Critical Objective 3: Generate            of credibility to the professional, impact
following topics:                                              Increased Public Awareness of             their pay scale, and show they have the
1. What would each Delegate note about                         Value of Water (VOW). Discussion          knowledge necessary to perform their jobs
    their MA and WEF relationship to                           items included the Brave Blue World       to the best of their ability.
    WEF’s new hire of a Senior Director of                     documentary film, Why Water’s                 With the support of the American
    Association Engagement?                                    Worth It children’s storybook, Word       Water Works Association (AWWA) and
2. What MA and WEF collaborative                               on Water podcast, and Affordability       the Water Environment Federation
    activities provide the most mutual                         Report to EPA.                            (WEF), the Association of Boards of
    benefit for both organizations and our                   • Critical Objective 4: Innovative          Certification (ABC) recognized the need
    common mission?                                            Technologies and Approaches.              for a similar designation that gives water
This was a great opportunity to hear ideas                     Highlights include the Joint WEF-         and wastewater operators credit where
from other MAs and share ideas and                             WRF LIFT program, Workforce               credit is due.
challenges. For example, we learned that                       Diversity and Inclusion Task Force            Operators are front line protectors of
the Kentucky and Tennessee MA changed                          and InFLOW program.                       human health, either through ensuring
their name to Clean Water Professionals                      • Critical Objective 5: Operate             safe drinking water or the safety of
of Kentucky & Tennessee. The common                            Sustainable Business. Current financial   waterways through effective wastewater
themes were that the biggest needs for                         status and FY20 budget was presented.     management. They are the lifeblood of
MAs that WEF can assist with are to serve                                                                every community and deserve a way to
as an information hub for MAs, to provide                    WEFMAX 2020                                 be showcased as professionals. And so,
membership/engagement assistance, and                        All association leaders are encouraged      built by operators for operators, the
to prepare operator-training materials.                      to attend a WEFMAX to network, learn,       Professional Operator (PO) program
    Saturday’s meetings included reports                     and share experiences with other MAs.       was born.
from outgoing Speaker Keith Hobson,                          The locations for 2020 WEFMAXs are
incoming Speaker Dean Miller, and                            as follows:                                 JOIN A COMMUNITY
incoming President Jackie Jarrell. We also                   • Jersey City, New Jersey March 25-27       POs are an elite group of like-minded
had a chance to meet our new Executive                       • Honolulu, Hawaii April 15-17              individuals, deeply committed to serving
Director, Walter Marlowe.                                    • Charleston, South Carolina May 13-15      the public and growing in the industry.
    As part of the WEF Business meeting,                     • Fargo, North Dakota May 27-29             Having a supportive community for
WEF’s Five Critical Objectives for the                       Operator training and professional          sharing industry knowledge is absolutely
next year were introduced:                                   development has been a frequent topic at    invaluable. The designation opens

w w w.cswea.org      Click HERE to return to Table of Contents                                                          Winter 2019-20 | CSWEA 15
WEF DELEGATES’         REPORT

doors for international networking,          President and CEO of ABC. “With many               • Step 3: The Exam
connects operators with opportunities        benefits and potential solutions also                In some cases, operators may
to be industry advocates, and qualifies      come some challenges, but industry                   have already passed a certification
operators to attend some fun industry        leaders at WEF, AWWA, and ABC are up                 exam that ABC will accept. If not,
events along the way.                        to the task.”                                        the operator will schedule a time
                                                  The PO program is a great leap                  to take an ABC certification exam.
GROW AS A PROFESSIONAL                       toward an industry credential standard.              Once the exam is passed, the
Becoming a certified PO signals to           It includes uniform and transparent                  operator will receive a certificate,
employers that the operator is an            credentialing that is recognizable by                be invited to a POWER event to be
achiever – committed to their profession     any employer or certification body.                  formally recognized, and join the
long-term and ready to go above                                                                   PO community.
and beyond.                                  BEGIN YOUR JOURNEY
    “I became a Professional Operator        PO certification is offered to operators           For questions or additional information, please
because of the chance to test my             in four levels (from Class I through Class         visit www.professionaloperator.org or email
knowledge and accelerate my career,”         IV) for water treatment, water distribution,       directly at info@professionaloperator.org.
said Brian Faist, Professional Operator      wastewater collection, and wastewater
in Rivergrove, Oregon. “The PO               treatment. Joining the PO movement is              The PO program is administered
designation has made me a more               simple and the entire process can take             by the Certification Commission for
appealing candidate for promotion.”          as little as a few weeks.                          Environmental Professionals (C2EP),
    Whether looking to grow within a         • Step 1: Create an Online Profile                 an organization of volunteer water
company or trying to find a job, being           The path to becoming a PO starts               environment operations subject matter
a PO makes the operator stand out in             by creating a profile at www.portal.           experts created by the Association of
a crowd.                                         abccert.org. An operator will be               Boards of Certification (ABC).
                                                 asked to add information like
ENSURE ACCOUNTABILITY                            work history and education.
The PO program is the first                  • Step 2: Submit an Application
internationally recognized professional          The operator submits an application
designation for water and wastewater             and ABC reviews the operator’s
operators. With the designation, peers,          profile to ensure basic criteria have
customers, and the public can feel               been met. Applications are accepted
confident that a Professional Operator           from anywhere in the world, any day
has mastered the most rigorous                   of the year.
standards of their vocation and industry.
    “I wanted a challenge and I tackled
it!” said Georginna Lockett, Professional
Operator in Atlanta, Georgia. “Being
a PO certifies me in the industry as a
top-level operator and that has been my
goal since I started in the field.”
    All POs must also adhere to a code
of conduct, which bolsters an operator’s
reputation and builds additional
community trust.

INCREASE MOBILITY
Industry adopters of the PO program
are continuing to grow and it’s helping
to mold an expansive future for
operators.
   “Broad acceptance of a standard           Georginna Lockett from Atlanta received           Brian Faist (left), a Professional Operator from
                                             her Professional Operator certificate from        Rivergrove, Ore., receives his PO certificate from
certification can make water                 Andrew Houlihan, Water Treatment Operations       Andrew Houlihan, Water Treatment Operations
professional credentials portable across     Commissioner for Halifax Water (Nova Scotia,      Commissioner for Halifax Water (Nova Scotia,
state or country lines,” said Paul Bishop,   Canada) at ACE18 in Las Vegas.                    Canada) at ACE18 in Las Vegas.

16 CSWEA | Winter 2019-20                                                               Click HERE to return to Table of Contents   w w w.cswea.org
WISCONSIN SECTION CHAIR MESSAGE

Motivating Innovation                                                                                                                     By Rachel Lee

I
     nnovation in wastewater has been a perineal                                               programming while covering the expenses or
     topic of conversation here in Wisconsin.                                                  generating a slight positive balance. We use those
     Phosphorus removal has been a standard for                                                funds to support our young professional events,
     over 20 years, which is quite unique, compared                                            our operations challenge teams, our WEF student
     to much of the country. We also have a culture                                            chapters, and the student design and Stockholm
of utilizing technologies like anaerobic digestion.                                            Junior Water competitions. We also discussed
These days, conversations drift to low dissolved                                               implementing a Memo of Understanding for
oxygen and nitrite shunt or PFAS. Thankfully the                                               the Energy and Resource Recovery Committee.
section and the association provide numerous                                                   This draft memo is included here for your review.
opportunities to learn about the rapidly evolving                                              Please provide any thoughts or comments to
alphabet soup.                                                                                 Lindsey Busch (lbusch@carollo.com). The final
    The section hosted two seminars in November. The recent                       MOU will be included in the February section meeting agenda.
Phosphorus/Nutrients Operations Seminar featured several                              The Wisconsin Section YPs are planning two events this
discussions on innovative technologies that have been evaluated                   winter. A social charity fundraiser event and an event focused on
and tested in Wisconsin including low dissolved oxygen,                           working with manufacturer’s representatives in the wastewater
nitrite shunt, biological phosphorus removal optimization,                        industry that is targeted for the spring. The YP group will also be
deammonification, and others. The Operations Committee is                         soliciting applications for YPs to attend the YP Summit hosted
doing a great job of putting together content that interests our                  by WEF in Anaheim, CA, in late February. The section would
members. The Industrial Pretreatement Committee hosted a                          love to have a Wisconsin representative at the summit this year.
seminar with presentations including safety, PFAS, Region 5 EPA’s                 If you are 35 or under or consider yourself to be relatively new
new pharmaceutical sewer ban, and talks from two industries                       to the wastewater industry, please reach out to our YP Chair,
in the area. The slides from this seminar will be posted to the                   Emily Maher (emaher@donohue-associates.com), to get added
CSWEA website soon. Also, please keep a heads up because                          to the YP email list. It’s a fun and engaging group, and they are
the seminar will likely return to its traditional timing of August.               always interested in having people join the group.
    Our November Business Meeting was very well attended.                             Our section meeting will be on February 19 at the Radisson
Each committee provided updates on their status, and we                           in Fond du Lac. It is the afternoon before the Government Affairs
passed our section budget. The budget continues to reflect                        Seminar. It would be great to see some new faces at the meeting.
our philosophy of conducting seminars that provide great                          See you there.

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w w w.cswea.org     Click HERE to return to Table of Contents                                                                   Winter 2019-20 | CSWEA 17
WISCONSIN SECTION CHAIR MESSAGE

Memo Of Understanding                                           Save the Date! February 20, 2020
ENERGY AND RESOURCE RECOVERY COMMITTEE –
                                                                Wisconsin Government
NOVEMBER 2019                                                   Affairs Seminar
GENERAL UNDERSTANDING                                           NEW LOCATION – FOND DU LAC RADISSON!
The Wisconsin Section of the Central States Water
Environment Association (WI Section of CSWEA) Energy and
Resource Recovery Committee (Committee) will primarily
serve as an information exchange resource to section
members on all topics related to energy and resource
recovery. In doing this the Committee will serve as a liaison
to the CSWEA LIFT Committee, WI Section Biosolids
Committee, and WI Section Operations Committee, among
others. The Committee will also provide an annual Energy
and Resource Recovery award to an entity or individual within
Wisconsin, which will be presented at either the Biosolids
Symposium or the Operations Committee Seminar.

SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS
The WI Section of CSWEA will sponsor the Committee and
annual award, including financial responsibility.

CONTRIBUTING ORGANIZATIONS
The WI Office of Energy and Innovation and Focus on Energy
will serve in an advisory capacity to the Committee without     The CSWEA-WI Section, WWOA, Wisconsin DNR, League of Wisconsin
financial responsibility.                                       Municipalities, and Municipal Environmental Group-Wastewater
                                                                Division are finalizing plans for the next Government Affairs Seminar
RESPONSIBILITIES                                                scheduled for Thursday, February 20, 2020 in Fond du Lac.
The following operating responsibilities and methods of             This seminar will have updates on familiar topics like phosphorus
operation are agreed upon by the sponsors:                      compliance along with plenty of ‘breaking news’.
1. The Committee will consist of at least three individuals         Agenda items include:
   and no more than 10 individuals, with one individual from    • A ‘One Water’ overview and perspectives from drinking water,
   either the Wisconsin Office of Energy and Innovation or          storm water, and agriculture.
   Focus on Energy.                                             • What trends and patterns for phosphorus compliance are we
2. The Committee roles will include: Chair, Vice Chair, LIFT        seeing across the state?
   liaison, Biosolids Committee liaison, and Operations         • Water quality trading through a clearinghouse or using updated
   Committee liaison. One committee member may hold up              guidance – why this might be relevant to you in the future.
   to two roles at a time.                                      • Hiring, retaining, and training great employees in a changing
3. The Chair shall be responsible for organizing meetings,          work environment.
   maintaining records, leading the award process, and          • Compounds of emerging concern like PFAS.
   reporting to the WI Section meetings.                        • A jam-packed DNR update on new, revised, and
4. The Vice Chair shall be responsible for all finances,            pending regulations.
   accounting, and committee budgeting.                         The seminar will have something for everyone, whether your facility is
5. The LIFT liaison, Biosolids Committee liaison, and           large or small, and whether you are a regulator, operator, manager,
   Operations Committee liaison shall participate in the        or consultant. Experts will be available to field questions throughout
   respective calls of those committees and report updates      the day.
   back the Energy and Resource Recovery Committee.                 We have a new location! The newly renovated Radisson
6. Committee members will normally serve five years, with       Hotel and Conference Center, 625 W Rolling Meadows Drive,
   member appointments being made by each organization          is on the SW edge of Fond du Lac. For reservations call toll free
   as soon as practical after conclusion of their respective    1-800-333-3333 or 920-923-1440. Discounted and government
   term. The terms of committee members will be staggered       rate rooms are available if reserved by January 27, 2020 if you ask for
   to provide continuity.                                       the 2020 Government Affairs Seminar room blocks.
                                                                    Stay tuned for conference agenda and registration information,
                                                                which will be sent by email and will be posted on CSWEA-WI
                                                                (www.cswea.org/wisconsin/events/upcoming-events) and WWOA
                                                                (www.wwoa.org) websites. Help us spread the news of the seminar
                                                                to make this the best year ever!

18 CSWEA | Winter 2019-20                                                         Click HERE to return to Table of Contents   w w w.cswea.org
WISCONSIN SECTION CHAIR MESSAGE

Wisconsin’s Phosphorus/Nutrients Operations Seminar
By Sharon Thieszen

O
                  n November 14, the Wisconsin Section hosted a
                  Phosphorus / Nutrients Operations Seminar at the
                  Culver Family Welcome Center at the University of
                  Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Close to 60 people attended
                  the seminar. The seminar included technical
sessions on nutrient removal challenges, lessons learned, and the
changing regulatory landscape. Approximately two hours were dedi-
cated to two ‘bull sessions’ where attendees had the opportunity to
discuss the topics presented and share their experiences on nutrient
removal challenges or other operational concerns and opportunities.
    Leon Downing of Black & Veatch, kicked off the seminar
by discussing Innovative Solutions to Today’s Nutrient Removal
Challenges. Leon’s engaging presentation covered the drivers for
innovation in the wastewater industry including removal and recovery
of nutrients and how we have had to learn to do more with less
(Federal Funding is at pre-Clean Water Act levels). Past wastewater
treatment innovation focused on new pieces of equipment and
new reactors. Today the water resource recovery industry is focused
on developing a deeper understanding of the complex microbial
and chemical interactions involved with nitrogen and phosphorus
cycling, and then using this knowledge to develop new operating
approaches for biological nutrient removal. The result is innovation
focused on operation and control, and not necessarily huge
advances in equipment and mechanical components. Leon focused
on three nutrient removal technologies including:                      Matt Seib of Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD),
• Granulation – aerobic granular sludge (AGS), which settles           led the next presentation on Lessons Learned from Several Years
    faster and takes less capacity than the traditional activated      of Low Dissolved Oxygen and Nitrite Shunt Pilot Evaluations. Matt
    sludge process. Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactor                   shared MMSD’s work with partial nitritation/denitritation processes
    (MABR) which supports biofilm growth on oxygen-supplying           to reduce energy demands and enhance treatment. He pointed
    membranes and total nitrogen removal while significantly           out that while these processes potentially offer benefits, they also
    reducing energy and the capacity needed, compared with             come with challenges. MMSD’s pilot work provided insight into
    traditional wastewater treatment methods.                          factors such as impacts of low winter temperatures, changes in SVI,
• Biological Phosphorus removal with Ammonia Based Aeration            effect on biological phosphorus removal, and minimum dissolved
    Control (ABAC), which ties dissolved oxygen to an ammonium         oxygen requirements. Matt’s presentation spurred discussion
    reading and allows for increased energy efficiency and low         amongst the operators on the added challenges Wisconsin winters
    effluent phosphorus.                                               bring when optimizing treatment processes.

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WISCONSIN SECTION CHAIR MESSAGE

    Greg Paul, OP2MYZ, discussed the Bio-P Operational             The UW-Oshkosh catered lunch and then Cody Schoepke of Fond
Changes and Impacts. Greg shared first hand experiences        du Lac Wastewater Treatment & Resource Recovery Facility (WTRRF),
from Wisconsin operators on challenges and successes           presented on Five Years of Phosphorus Removal Optimization – What
optimizing their enhanced biological phosphorus removal        Do We Know? Cody shared the steps and process that Fond du Lac
(EBPR) processes. He focused on applied principles and         used to improve the phosphorus removal at their WTRRF. These steps
what has been uncovered through careful observation            included chemical feed control and dosing, basin modifications for
relative to oxidation reduction potential, pH, alkalinity,     Bio-P, chemical and tertiary treatment piloting, deammonification, and
dissolved oxygen, solids retention time control, and inline    other process items. Cody emphasized the importance of planning
fermentation. Greg emphasized the importance of getting        and preparing to optimize their phosphorus removal in advance of
back to the basics of documentation and keeping detailed       receiving the total maximum discharge loading (TMDL). The planning
logs. He also strongly encouraged operators to share           and pilot studies helped put the Fond du Lac WTRRF in the best
information and experiences with each other to broaden         possible position to achieve their future limits.
their understanding of the operating EBPR principles, as           Paul Kent of Stafford Rosenbaum LLP, wrapped up the
well as, enhance their knowledge base of operational           presentations before the final bull session with an informative
optimization tools. A perfect segue for what was to come.      presentation entitled Update on Regulatory Options for Phosphorus
    The bull sessions provided a forum for discussion of the   Compliance: A Changing Landscape. Paul gave a brief history of the
operation and maintenance issues related to phosphorus         phosphorus regulations in Wisconsin and noted that Wisconsin was
and nitrogen management practices in the wastewater            once again ahead of the curve in clean water regulations when they
treatment field. The attendees split into multiple groups      implemented phosphorus discharge limitations. The high treatment
for the bull sessions. A list of questions and topics were     costs for phosphorus removal in 2010, helped pave the way for the
provided to start the discussions and a scribe was selected    alternative regulatory compliance options, i.e., Adaptive Management
by each subgroup to report back to the full seminar group      and Water Quality Trading. Paul discussed how the alternative
on the highlights from their discussion. The bull sessions     regulatory compliance options are working, the impact of the TMDLs,
provided a great opportunity for operators to share their      the impact of staff changes at the Environmental Protection Agency
experiences and concerns with others and take some new         and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the
ideas back to their facilities.                                potential for a trading clearing house.

20 CSWEA | Winter 2019-20                                                             Click HERE to return to Table of Contents   w w w.cswea.org
MINNESOTA SECTION CHAIR MESSAGE

Collaboration and Inclusion
Equal Environmental Wins                                                                                           By Patrick Haney

T
           his past fall the Minnesota Section was                                farmers, cities, and environmental groups will lead
           a buzz with activity. In September, we                                 to better environmental results.
           conducted our Fall Collections System                                     At the end of the day, most of us are
           workshop in Duluth. Additionally, our                                  environmentalists. We want clean food, clean air,
           stormwater committee hosted its annual                                 clean water, and an overall clean environment.
Cycling, Stormwater, and Suds tour. In November,                                  How we get there, how we pay for it, and how we
we hosted the 36th Annual Conference on the                                       communicate is often the challenge.
Environment. Laura Bishop, the new Minnesota                                         In addition to collaboration, inclusion
Pollution Control Agency Commissioner provided                                    and diversity are key to the success of our
a great opening discussion about the Governor’s                                   environment. Our CSWEA community consists
environmental initiatives. The conference was well-                               of a wide range of genders, gender identities,
attended. In December, the City of Rochester in conjunction         sexual orientation, races, religions, and cultures. Still, we
with the R2E Committee, hosted an open house highlighting           need to make sure we’re casting our net as wide as possible
their recent pilot testing of Orege SLG System. The City            to bring in fresh ideas, perspectives, and approaches to
generously provided lunch, tours, and highlights of the pilot       our greatest environmental challenges. For example, while
testing results.                                                    Andrew Benedek of Zenon is widely credited for taking
    While at the Conference on the Environment, I had the           the MBR concept from an idea to a commercial product,
opportunity to speak with a WEF Delegate from Kansas                Professor Kazuo Yamamoto and his team at Tokyo University
City Water. While our conversation was brief, we spoke              were first to present study results from submerged hollow
about Missouri’s regulatory approaches, Point Source to             fiber membranes within the bio reactor. Moving forward,
Non-Point Source nutrient trading, and the idea of bubble           I’m proud to note that Ashley Hammerbeck, Vice Chair of
permit’s amongst multiple utilities within the same watershed.      the Membership Committee, has taken a leadership role
These regulatory approaches allowed utilities in the area to find   to help make the MN Section more inclusive. We’re taking
cost effective approach to treatment and nutrient management        steps forward to make sure that our wider wastewater
that provided an overall financial and environmental “win” for      community has access to our committee meetings that are
all stakeholders.                                                   often conducted via conference call. She’s also working on a
    In Minnesota, the MPCA and communities along the                centralized cloud-based location for Section documents and
Minnesota River have engaged in healthy dialogue through            collaborative efforts. Finally, she’s working with the Inclusion
the Minnesota River Ag-Urban Partnership Forum. The group           and Diversity Committee at the MN Section of AWWA to
includes a discussion of both environmental, wastewater             help implement best practices and lessons learned through
infrastructure agricultural, and financial challenges. The          their efforts.
goal of the group is to find collaborative approaches to                This winter and spring, our Section remains dedicated
improving the water quality of the Minnesota River through          to serving our states Water Resource Recovery Facilities,
shared understanding of stakeholder challenges, innovative          Cities, and Utilities. We’ll host the winter Collection System
solutions, and move initiatives forward that maximized public       Workshop on January 22 at the Metropolitan Council
investments. The approach is much different than dictated           Environmental Services Regional Maintenance Facility.
effluent standards based on Total Maximum Discharge Limits,         In February, the Innovative Approaches to Wastewater
River Eutrophication Standards, Waste Load Allocations, or          Operational Problems Workshop will be St. Cloud and our
other regulatory driven improvements at wastewater plants.          Section will conduct an outreach event at the University of
I strongly believe that the collaborative efforts of the MPCA,      Minnesota School of Engineering during E-Week. Last year

                  “It’s been a rewarding summer and I hope members continue
                      to engage, learn, and have fun in the coming months.”

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