Technical Sessions

WEFTEC 2024 Technical Session will offer the latest innovations and insights. Engage with cutting-edge content through both traditional classroom sessions and interactive presentations. Tailor your conference experience by choosing from a diverse range of topics.

The full line-up and schedule of Technical Sessions are still under development. As of April 8, these are the session titles chosen for WEFTEC 2024.

Wastewater Treatment & Biosolids Resource Recovery

Step into a world where water isn't just treated—it's transformed to fuel the circular water economy. Uncover biosolids management, energy generation, and cutting-edge treatment processes. From nutrient removal to resource recovery, discover how integrated technologies close the loop on water management. 

Sessions

• WEF/AEESP Master Lecture
• Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Revisiting Seminal WER Papers
• Benefits and Approaches to Moving Dewatering into the Modeling Realm
• THP: Downstream Process and Maintenance Challenges
• Managing Biosolids for Tomorrow: Infinite Resources, Finite Uses
• Advances in Anaerobic Digestion
• Thickening and Dewatering: Design Considerations
• Developments in Hydrothermal Liquefaction for WRRFs
• Greenhouse Gas Strategies in Action: Measure to Mitigate
• PFAS in Biosolids: Remove and Track It
• Enhancing Digestion to Improve Operations and Resource Recovery
• PFAS in Wastewater and Biosolids: Measurement Methods and Fate during Thermal Processes
• Making Money with Biogas: Co-Digestion and RNG
• Optimization of MBR Technology
• Innovative Approaches to Address Traditional Operational Challenges
• EBPR Pulse: Current Trends, Full-Scale Optimization, Model for Sustainability
• Optimizing Design for Increased Capacity
• Internal Stored Carbon for Nutrient Removal
• Fundamentals of Biofilm Reactor Design and Operation
• Microbial Ecology Selection Under Low DO Concentration
• Mechanistic Modelling Developments for Newer Processes
• Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Applications of Advanced Filtration Technology
• N₂O Unmasked: Understanding and Taming Emissions
• Leveraging Machine Learning for Facility Operations
• Full-Scale Intensification Experience
• Anoxic Reactor Design for Low Energy BNR
• Process Intensification Using Hydrocyclones
• Three Different Flavors of Improvement for Preliminary/Primary Treatment
• Using Side-Stream Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal to Improve EBPR Performance
• Evaluating Plantwide Impacts of AGS and DAS
• Innovations in Partial-Nitritation-Anammox Processes
• Energy Conservation: From a Want To a Must
• The ABCs of Bioaugmentation
• Advancements in Non-RO Treatment for IPR/DPR: Exploring Cutting-Edge Solutions

Operations, Industrial & Workforce Development

In this area, skilled operators reign supreme. From municipal to industrial settings, this field showcases the adaptability of operational practices. Equip yourself to handle any challenge, whether it is maintaining aging equipment or implementing cutting-edge technologies like zero-liquid discharge or PFAS destruction. Find a comprehensive understanding of sustainable water resource management.

• Real-Life PFAS Issues: WRRF to Watershed to Biosolids
• Building the Workforce of Tomorrow
• Effective Strategies for Managing Organics in IPR/DPR Systems
• Enhancing Water Safety: MBR & RO Technologies for Achieving LRV Credits
• Revolutionizing PFAs Treatment: Harnessing the Power of Media Technologies
• Alternative Delivery for Potable Water Reuse Projects
• Optimizing IPR/DPR Projects: Harnessing the Power of Ozone
• Shaping the Future of Potable Reuse
• Leveraging Automation and Analytics for Better Situational Awareness and Optimization: Part I
• Integrated Resilience and Reliability Planning
• Leveraging Automation and Analytics for Better Situational Awareness and Optimization: Part II
• Intercepting Odors and Corrosion: Modeling, Mitigation, and Monitoring
• Protect your Utility from Cyber Attacks
• Application of Machine Learning and Modeling in Carbon Diversion Technologies
• Enhancing Nitrogen Removal: Insights into Carbon Sources and Mechanisms
• Optimizing Membrane Efficiency for Water Reuse and Disinfection
• Progression of PdNA: Development to Full-Scale
• Air Quality Issues Beyond Odors: Bioaerosols and GHGs
• Leveraging Advanced Condition Assessments for Facility Planning Activities
• Innovations in Phosphorus Management
• Non-PFAS Up and Coming Concerns
• Emerging Technical and Regulatory Issues in Petroleum Refinery Wastewater Management
• Ceramic Membranes for Industrial Water Reuse and Recovery
• Solutions and Ideas From Award-Winning Industrial Experts
• Petroleum Refinery Problem Wastewater Constituent Removal Advances
• Driving the Circular Water Economy by Reusing Industrial and Municipal Effluents
• Treatment Challenges and Reuse within the Semiconductor Industry
• Water Recovery in Livestock Production
• Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD): Process Selection, Design, and Operations
• PFAS Management for Industrial Dischargers
• Lithium Recovery Using Advanced Water Treatment Technologies
• Accommodating Industrial Effluents in Municipal Treatment Facilities
• Foam Fractionation, SCWO and EO for PFAS Removal and Destruction
  
  

Stormwater, Watershed & Collections Systems

Perfect for tackling urban and environmental challenges, this area focuses on managing collection systems and managing stormwater to enhance water quality and reduce flood risks. Learn to balance urban development with nature, ensuring safety and sustainability for local and downstream communities.

• The Ultimate Collection Systems Basics Trivia Challenge 3.0
• Unleashing the Power of Digital Tools for Your Collection System
• Reducing Wet Weather Flows Using Public and Private I/I Removal Solutions
• Planning Techniques to Support I/I Mitigation, Master Plans and Designs
• Interactive I/I Program Development
• Pump Station Design Considerations and Construction Solutions
• Exploring Force Main Condition Assessment Programs
• Revolutionizing Septic to Sewer Conversions
• Don't Miss the Bypass!
• Case Studies Implementing Stormwater Parks and Green Infrastructure Across North America
• Stormwater Infrastructure Operation and Maintenance: Management and Funding
• Financing Stormwater Infrastructure in Communities
• Tools for Urban Flood Management and Forecasting
• Advancements in Nutrient Removal: Insights from Urban Watersheds
• Modeling for Inland Flood Resilience
• Resilient Development: Insights from Urban and Coastal Areas
• Impacts of Innovative Solutions on Stormwater Data Gathering and Analysis
• Green Infrastructure Implementation
• Navigating Nutrient Dynamics: Modeling for Water Quality Excellence
• Nutrient Management: GET OUT (The Nutrients)!
• Innovative Approaches to Wastewater and Stormwater Permitting
• Maintaining Water Quality During Wet Weather Events
• One Water Approaches from Urban Strategies to Coastal Resilience
  
  

Public Health, Government, & Utility Management

These sessions are essential for anyone managing water utilities or overseeing public health. They focus on regulatory compliance, innovative strategies, and technology integration in such key areas as disinfection, future trends, global insights, and utility leadership. Equip yourself to deliver safe, efficient, and sustainable water services.

• Improving Disinfection Processes through Machine Learning
• Synergizing Digital Solutions and Ozonation for the Treatment of Micropollutants
• International Experience: Safeguarding Our Shared Water Resources
• Regulations, Residuals, and Recipes for Microplastics in WRRFs
• Full-Scale Demonstrations: Balancing Risks and Rewards for Successful Innovation
• Translating PFAS Risk Assessment into Regulation and Action
• How Could EPA’s 2023 Review of Recreational Water Quality Criteria Affect WRRFs?
• Peracids Challenge Traditional Disinfectants
• What’s New in UV?
• Building a Hydrogen Future
• DE&I: Representation and Impact
• Community-based Approach to Generate Equitable and Just Outcomes through Infrastructure Planning
• Assessing Climate Risk and Its Impact on Utility Operations, Financial Resilience, and Insurability
• Climate-Proofing Our Cities: Transformative Solutions
• Indigenous Environmental Practices: Lessons from the Past for the Future
• Exploring the Future Impacts and Improving Utility’s Readiness for AI Implementation
• Resilient Solutions in Response to Nature's Forces
• Leveraging Digital Technologies to Make Better Decisions
• Decentralized Systems: Wastewater Management for Small Communities
• Consumer Education Fights Back at Collection Systems Under Attack
• Resilient Communities Tackling Climate Challenges
• Advancing Your Condition Assessment Program through Digital Technologies
• Manufacturer Highlights for Small Communities: Packaging the Big for the Small
• PFAS in Wastewater: What Should Utilities Do Next?
• What Will You Make of Your Biogas?
• Utility Leaders Roundtable
• Mobilizing Emergency Response: Collaborative Strategies for Ensuring Safe Water in Jackson for All
• Cybersecurity Threats: Managing Your Facility’s Risk
• Outcome and Value-driven Asset Management: Of the People, For the People, By the People
• How Can 3D Scanning and Virtual Reality Be Leveraged for Water Utilities?
• Federal Funding Case Studies
• Stakeholder Engagement Strategies to Promote Green Infrastructure and Environmental Justice
• WIFIA and SRF Funding Accelerate Nutrient Removal in Wichita, Kansas
• Automation and Analysis: Data-Driven Strategies Improve Utility Processes
• Coastal Water Management: Strategies to Eliminate Ocean Discharge