The National Association of Wastewater Technicians, in collaboration with the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association (NOWRA), State Onsite Regulators Alliance (SORA), and the Virginia Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association (VOWRA), jointly conducted a three-day Mega Conference last November in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The 2015 Onsite Wastewater Mega Conference served as the 2015 Annual Conference for NOWRA, VOWRA and SORA, and the 2015 Treatment Symposium for NAWT. This was the first-ever collaboration among the three national organizations, which focused on onsite/decentralized wastewater systems. The partnership with VOWRA added the expertise of one of the largest and most innovative and effective statewide organizations.

Participants included professionals from all regions of the country and all sectors of the industry, including but not limited to manufacturers, engineers, system designers and soil scientists, regulators, academic researchers and educators, septage treatment facility owners and operators, and contractors who install, operate and maintain septic systems.

At the 2015 Onsite Wastewater Mega Conference, attendees heard from people from around the country and from different segments of the industry – all of whom were able to offer new thinking and fresh perspectives. Below is a summary of conference events including the NAWT educational track that focused on establishing a septage treatment facility.

The Mega Conference began Nov. 3 with a reception where attendees gathered and had an opportunity to network.

EDUCATION SESSIONS

Educational sessions on Nov. 4 covered these topics:

• Analyzing Your Resources/Getting Started – Presented by Tom Frank
• How to Select and Engineer – Presented by Dave Gustafson
• Safety Issues in a Treatment Facility – Presented by Tom Frank and Tom Ferrero
• Chemical Conditioning/Polymers – Presented by Larry Montgomery

Sessions on Nov. 5 included:

• Screening and Grit Removal – Presented by Dan Widdell
• Pumps – Presented by Larry Montgomery
• Basics of Odor Control – Presented by Tom Ferrero
• Dewatering Technologies Including Belt Press, Containers, Bags; Case Studies of Lantern Environmental – Can We Build a Bigger Processing Site? – Presented by Therese Wheaton
• Converting Waste to Resources: A Decision-Support Model For Wastewater Irrigated Short Rotation Crops – Presented by Miles Dyck
• The Benefits and Considerations in Localizing Water – Presented by Nick Weigel
• Economics of Liquid Waste Treatment … Is This Your Game Plan? – Presented by Therese Wheaton
• What Resources Can We Recover from Domestic Waste – Presented by Bob Rubin

FIELD TRIPS

On Nov. 6, two field trips focused primarily on onsite wastewater treatment facilities in the difficult coastal environment of the mid-Atlantic. The attendees of one field trip visited the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Center, a “zero discharge” green building, followed by a trip up Virginia’s eastern shore to visit a variety of larger onsite systems with unique solutions to the challenging site conditions of a coastal environment.

The attendees of the other field trip traveled down the Virginia coast toward North Carolina’s outer banks. Attendees visited several sites with systems designed to address challenging issues. In addition, they had the opportunity to watch a live demonstration of an inspection and maintenance flushing of a fairly large LPD system.

LOOKING AHEAD

If you missed the Mega Conference, don’t miss the 2016 Conference, which will be held Oct. 26-29 in Reno, Nevada. Details about the conference will be posted on NAWT’s website in the coming months. For more information on all NAWT activities, visit www.nawt.org.