In 2017, the Water Environment Federation reflected on the rich history of the organization and WEFTEC, its main event, with the #WEFTECat90 social media campaign
Beginning in July, the Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) reflected on the rich history of the organization and WEFTEC, its main event, with the #WEFTECat90 social media campaign.
Staff dug deep into WEF’s archives, sifting through photographs, books, newsletters, and other artifacts that help tell the story of WEF and WEFTEC. Post by post, tweet by tweet, WEF’s story was shared through social media for 90 days leading up to WEFTEC 2017.
What’s In a Name?
WEF has experienced many changes since its establishment as the Federation of Sewage Works Associations in 1928. One obvious evolution is the organization’s name, which changed to the Federation of Sewage and Industrial Wastes Association in 1950, then to the Water Pollution Control Federation in 1960, and to WEF in 1991.
While its name underwent various iterations, the organization continued to expand its reach. WEF’s first leaders hoped that the organization would obtain 1000 members in its first decade, but by the mid-1930s, WEF had more than 2400 on the member roster. Only a few years later in 1940, WEF had grown to more than 2800 members and 25 Member Associations. WEF now boasts 35,155 members, representing water quality professionals from around the world.
Growth in breadth and depth of WEFTEC
On Oct. 16, 1928, the organization’s Board of Control hosted its first meeting in Chicago. This initial meeting of the minds has evolved into WEFTEC, the world’s largest annual water quality event. In 1946, WEFTEC set a record for attendance with 812. Almost 70 years later, WEFTEC 2015 in Chicago set an all-time attendance record with 25,048 registrants. WEFTEC 2017 had 22,860 registrants and 1011 exhibitors on 28,391 net m2 (305,600 net ft2) of space. That year, WEF returned to Chicago, where the first event was held, for its 90th WEFTEC.
“Commemorating 90 years of accomplishments brought a unique energy to WEFTEC 2017,” said WEF Executive Director Eileen O’Neill. “It was especially touching to return to Chicago, the place where it all began, not only to celebrate the tradition, but also the people, ideas and innovations that will continue to move the sector forward.”
Above: Events highlighted during WEFTEC's 90th Anniversary celebration included a photo from the groundbreaking ceremony in 1985 on WEF’s current headquarters building in Alexandria, Va (WEF archive photo).
Below: The Operations Challenge, one of the most popular events during WEFTEC, was first held in 1987 (WEF archives photo).
