While we may not be able to hold our conference this year, PNCWA still cares about our mission to provide education for our members. We are planning a series of five summits over the next five months to bring our members a line up of incredible speakers and virtual education events. The series kicks off at the annual business meeting on September 15th. More details to come!

The PNCWA Summit Series begins on September 30th on the topic of Communication. The speaker lineup includes water educators and communicators who will teach us about building public trust in our communities, creating effective messaging, as well as sharing case studies of engagement. Attend the first-ever PNCWA Summit and learn from amazing communicators in our region and across the country. To find more information about the topics, registration, or sponsorship opportunities visit the summit page. 

It’s that time of year again — the time when we start planning next year’s conference. But Tony, you say, PNCWA 2019 was just a few weeks ago? It can be hard to keep up the excitement after such an incredible time together, networking with so many dedicated water professionals. Post-conference feels like the time of year we tend to put the cruise control on and coast to the end of the year. Here are some things that I learned through the connections I made at conference and also some of my plans for the coming year to stay motivated. I might even help you keep the energy all the way to PNCWA 2020 in Spokane.

This year’s conference for me was amazing. I saw so many new faces and spoke with a number of both first-time attendees and long-time attendees. There were several commonalities amongst our conversations. First, we are a passionate group of people. We love water and the environment, and we're doing all that we can to improve water quality for as many people as we can reach. Our reach extends far beyond the Pacific Northwest, and we are very proud of that. Second, we have the desire to be a part of something. It might be something local and important to specific communities, or it might be something big. I mean really big—like cleaning up Puget Sound big! The third takeaway was how much talent and knowledge we have. We all bring something to the table that is of value. We have brilliant design engineers, accomplished PhDs, inspired city officials, skilled operators, and many others. 

What’s your reason for getting up in the morning?

At PNCWA, our mission supports the professional development of our members. The AWWA/WEF joint YP Summit provides the young professionals in our organization the opportunity to join other YPs from across the country to learn, grow, and build community. Each year the Student and Young Professional committee sponsor two member YPs to attend the YP Summit. Due to an increase in interest this year, the S&YP committee made a call for applications. Erica Haide, a marketing professional from Brown and Caldwell, and Brittany Sorenson, an engineer with BergerABAM, were selected through the application process.

Erica has been involved in the Pacific Northwest water industry since 2015. She applied to attend the YP summit because she knew it would only further her passion for the industry. “I would love to continue my leadership within the industry,” Haide explained. “The more exposure I can get with like-minded people will help me further those goals and turn them into reality.” Brittany was equally passionate but approached applying for a slightly different reason. “I got my PE a year ago and signed up as a WEF member but six months later felt like I hadn’t been a good member or taken advantage of member benefits like I had hoped,” Sorenson said.

PNCWA is represented well this year in Washington D.C. for the annual fly-in. Through a mix of funding, including PNCWA funding, eleven members are attending. This is by far our biggest year and we’d love to see an even bigger contingent next year.

The group will be presenting the PNCWA positions on TSCA/PCBs, Integrated Planning, and Climate Change Resiliency located here. Additionally, they will be delivering a joint message from WEF, NACWA, AWWA, APWA, and other entities. They will hear from administrators from the EPA Office of Water on a variety of topics, including their intended focus areas for the upcoming year. Check out the PNCWA public LinkedIn page this week for any updates from our fly-in team. The members attending this year are listed below. Stay tuned for a recap in May!

Oregon Operators Conference Aug 14-16 Canyonville OR

Tuesday, August 14, 2018, 8:00 AM to Thursday, August 16, 2018, 5:00 PM PDT

Back by popular demand, the PNCWA Member Services Committee is creating a calendar for 2019 which we will distribute at the PNCWA Annual Conference this fall. 

• The types of photos we are looking for include PNW water professionals in the office or in the field, PNW water professionals participating in water-related community programs, wastewater facilities, pump/lift stations, stormwater infrastructure, collection systems, etc. Be creative, be silly, be yourself. This calendar is intended to be a celebration of our industry and the work we all do as professionals protecting our most important resource: water! 
• The photo must show water quality infrastructure and/or people from the Pacific Northwest. 
• Also, the photo must be owned with no copyrights attached or where permission can be granted to PNCWA.

• The photo must be digital and a printable quality of at least 300 dpi.

Cliff Church, who holds Grade II Wastewater Operator and Grade I Water Operator licenses, received the 2016 Oregon Wastewater Operator of the Year Award from the Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association. The award announcement calls Church “an operator who exhibits a commitment to learn safe and efficient plant operations. … He is willing to understand the operations of each plant and has shown a mechanical ability by repairing, maintaining and trouble- shooting equipment.”

Church, a reclaim water technician, was nominated by Andrew Albee, former Myrtle Creek Public Works director and now superintendent of the clean-water plant in Roseburg. “Right from the start,” he says, “Cliff struck me as a real square guy who cared, was really interested in his work, and didn’t treat wastewater as a just a job.” Continue