By SYLVIE DALE
Associate Online Editor
ANAHEIM, Calif., Oct. 16, 2000— Opening general session speaker Sylvia Earle, who People Magazine called "the Jacques Cousteau of our day," kicked off the Water Environment Federation's WEFTEC 2000 in Anaheim, Calif.
The 73rd annual meeting will cover a wide spectrum of today's critical water quality issues. Seventy-nine technical sessions and 33 preconference workshops will bring innovative information on utility management, groundwater remediation, watershed management, water reuse, biological monitoring, biosolids/residuals management and more.
Conference management expects more than 15,000 to attend the conference. Daily updates are available at WEF's web site, www.wef.org.
Earle, who has led more than 50 underwater expeditions worldwide in connection with her research, spoke about marine algae and the ecology of ocean ecosystems. She is concerned about the deterioration she has observed in the ocean, specifically man's abuses of overfishing and toxic runoff.
A luncheon given by the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors and WEF scientists discussed Orange County Water District's projects to meet its future water needs.
On Oct. 17, the association will host the second annual Industry Day, a day dedicated to the latest industrial water quality issues, and the Celebration of Excellence Awards Gala and Passing of the Gavel Ceremony, where WEF for officers for the coming year will be officially announced.
A luncheon seminar entitled, "Water Quality Issues for the 21st Century" will analyze biosolids recycling and its persistent 'yuck factor'. Presenter Earle Hartling will discuss the unpopular recycling campaign "Toilet to Tap" that was attempted by Los Angeles County Sanitation District, and the lessons that can be taken from the experience. Presenter Raymond Kearney of the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation will discuss the bad press biosolids recycling has received, most notably the USA Today article, "CDC Sounds a Warning on Risks of Sludge."
Also Oct. 17, the Operations Challenge 2000 will pit 40 teams of wastewater operators against each other in a battle of speed, precision and safety. They will compete in five events — maintenance, laboratory analysis, collection systems, process control and safety — that represent different aspects of a wastewater professional's job.
Last year, the Rocky Mountain Water Environment Association's Commode Commandos won Division I of Operations Challenge '99 held in New Orleans, La. The team will return to defend its title.
North Carolina's Joe Stowe to serve as WEF president
Joe C. Stowe, Jr. of Charlotte, N.C., has been elected President of the Water Environment Federation (WEF), a 40,000-membertechnical, scientific, and educational water quali1y organization. He was elected to the post along with several other officers this week in Anaheim, California during WEFTEC 2000, the federation's annual technical conference and exposition.
Stowe brings more than 39 years experience in the utility industry to the post. Currently vice president and area manager for CH2M Hill's Charlotte Office, located in its Southeast Region, he is responsible for numerous management consulting tasks for water and wastewater utility operations throughout the United States. Prior to joining CH2M Hill in 1993, Stowe was Director of Utilities for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utility Department, Charlotte, N.C.; Director of Utilities for Hopewell Virginia Regional Wastewater System; and Assistant Manager of the Public Works Commission in Fayetteville, N.C.
A 1992 recipient of WEF's prestigious Arthur Sidney Bedell Award, Stowe served as President-Elect of WEF this past year. He was on the WEF Executive Committee from 1995 to 1997 and on the Board of Directors from 1993 to 1996. In 1998, he began a three-year stint as Chair of WEF's Millennium Task Force Committee. In recent years, he has played an active role in the American Water Works Association (AWWA)/WEF Joint Management conference, serving as Committee Chairman in 1995, and WEF Liaison from 1996 to 1998. Stowe has also served on WEF's Long Range Planning, Water Reuse, and Utility Management Committees.
Texan Robert McMillon named Vice President
Robert McMillon, of Fort Worth, Texas, has been elected Vice President of WEF.
McMillon is currently assistant water director, Pollution Control Division, for the City of Fort Worth, as well as the plant superintendent of the Village Creek. Wastewater Treatment Plant (VCWTP). More than 750,000 people and numerous industries in 24 communities are served by the VCWTP, which is capable of processing 144 million gallons of wastewater each day.
Under McMillon' s leadership, the plant received the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Operations and Maintenance Award of Excellence in 1988 and 1998.
McMillon, who joined the Federation in 1962, served on the WEF Executive Committee from 1995-1996 and the WEF Board of Directors from 1992-1996. He has chaired WEF's Utility Management Committee (1996-1999), and has been active on several other committees. He has been recognized with the Federation's Bedell Award (1992) and Hatfield Award (1985). McMillon is the principal contributing author of two WEF Manuals of Practice: Operation of Municipal Wastewater treatment Plants (MOP 11) and Anaerobic Sludge Digestion -2nd Edition (MOP 16).
California's James Clark named President-Elect of Water Environment Federation
James H. Clark, of Los Angeles, Calif., has been elected President-Elect of WEF.
Clark is currently a vice president of the engineering/construction firm Black & Veatch. Located at the firm's Los Angeles office, Clark. manages planning, design, and operations projects for many of its water and wastewater clients in western North American. Prior to joining Black & Veatch, Clark served on the faculty of Washington State University's civil and environmental engineering department, and for a manufacturer and distributor of water treatment equipment.
Clark served as the Federation's Vice President during the past year. A 1996 recipient of WEF's prestigious Arthur Sidney Bedell Award, he was a member of the WEF Executive Committee from 1997 to 1998 and on the Board of Directors from 1996 to 1999. A member of WEF since 1976, Clark has been active on numerous federation committees, including Technical Practice, Government Affairs, and Air Quality. He has also been a review author for the two most recent editions of Design of Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants (MOP 8) and a principal author of Odor Control in wastewater treatment plants (MOP 22), both WEF technical publications.
