By Christine Gunsaullus, Entech Engineering<\/strong><\/p>\nAfter a long hiatus, water professionals in southeastern PA were thrilled to return to the Joint AWWA PA Section SE District \/ Eastern Section WWOAP Spring Conference in early April. For some, this was their first in-person corporate event in two years, so there was a lot of excitement to see colleagues and friends again.<\/p>\n
Section Chair Matt Walborn (Western Berks Water Authority) kicked things off by introducing Patti Kay Wisniewski (EPA Region 3) and Serena DiMagno (Spotts Stevens McCoy) for an overview of current and upcoming changes to water rules and regulations. Focused discussion of the Revised Lead and Copper Rule and PFAS<\/em> was led by Ruby Stanmyer (EPA) via Zoom. Many attendees were grateful for this update, as they found it difficult to stay current on water regs without these in-person conferences.<\/p>\nA spirited roundtable discussion on Supply Chain Issues<\/em>, moderated by Christine Gunsaullus (Entech Engineering), included perspectives from supplier Art Auchenbach (Riordan Materials), project manager and engineer Kim Mazur (Entech Engineering), supplier Ben Reichley (LB Water), Director Keith Hass (Doylestown Township Municipal Authority), and Director Chip Bilger (Western Berks Water Authority). When posed with the question, \u201cHow much longer will this last?\u201d, the consensus from the panel was sobering: this is not going to end, and the way we have done design, procurement, and construction in the past must change.<\/p>\nOur section always enjoys case studies, and Michael Giampietro (Aqua) and Margie Gray (Mott MacDonald) did not disappoint with their review of PFAS Treatment Alternatives<\/em>, explaining the ones they studied and piloted to help Aqua treat their water, and the timeframes involved for permitting the project.<\/p>\nA trio of funding experts explained all of the opportunities available right now in the water industry, plus included tips to better your chances of being awarded the grants. Not only did Natalie O\u2019Connor and Tori Morgan (Entech Engineering) review the sources they use for their clients, they even gave out their OWN funding with $15K in Funny Money, while Rebecca Hayden from PENNVEST shared how her organization provides funding.<\/p>\n
We know the importance of training for our water operators, so a concurrent afternoon session led by John Cairnes (PADEP) covered how to maintain compliance with the Groundwater Rule<\/em>.<\/p>\nFinally, the University of Pennsylvania student chapter of Engineers Without Borders helped remind us all why we\u2019re in this industry, by sharing stories about their efforts across the globe to bring clean drinking water and better sanitation to poor communities. To support their efforts, our section was pleased to donate $1,000 to continue this chapter\u2019s work in Guatemala.<\/p>\n
Thank you to our Premier Sponsor, Aqua Pennsylvania, for helping us keep costs down for almost 150 attendees, as well as to Lijie Li (KCI Technologies) for keeping registration running smoothly. We\u2019ll see you all in the fall!<\/p>\n\n\t\t