GWEF initiated a Wastewater Treatment Committee (WWTC) in 2005 to serve the needs of the wastewater professionals working in the municipal sector.
The WWTC brings together Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP) members interested in municipal wastewater treatment, and includes professionals in plant operations and management, engineering design, and equipment manufacturing.
Main Functions:
1. The WWTC develops the wastewater treatment oriented sessions and activities for the GAWP Fall, Spring, and Annual Conferences. At WWTC meetings, members identify topic areas of interest, utilize submitted paper abstracts, and as necessary, solicit presentations to provide the desired content.
2. The WWTC is responsible for the GAWP Wastewater Treatment Annual Plant of the Year Awards through its Plant Awards Subcommittee. Teams of Class I-licensed wastewater operators inspect nominated facilities, separated in similar classifications, to determine the respective plant of the year.
3. Recruit new and sustain existing WWTC members by providing a return on their time investment by providing professional development in the technical aspects of wastewater treatment and opportunities for industry networking.
WWTC membership is expanding fast -- But we need your participation to make it even better! Please click on “Join Wastewater Treatment” to join our team!
The WWTC has worked toward a recommendation to the Georgia EPD for a revision to the “Major Spill” language in the Rules and Regulations for Water Quality Control. Currently “The discharge of pollutants into the waters of the State by a POTW that exceeds the weekly average permitted effluent for biochemical oxygen demand (5-day) or total suspended solids by 50% or greater for any one day is classified as a major spill.” With the discharge limits getting lower, particularly with CBOD5 limits as low as 2.9 mg/L (the “Metro Limit”), realistically a facility could have to report a major spill with an effluent cBOD5 of 6 or 7 mg/L. Major spills trigger a number of requirements including reporting the incident to those with water intakes within 20 miles downstream, notifying the local health department(s), “posting” the stream for 7 days to notify the public of the spill, etc. The WWTC has developed recommended language changes, worked through the GWEF and GAWP leadership, and has proposed new regulatory language to the Georgia EPD. The WWTC is hopeful these changes will soon be enacted.
The WWTC provided extensive support of Water Equipment Federation (WEF) Membrane Conference, January 27-30, 2008 in Atlanta. The conference was extremely successful and the attendance far exceeded the expectations of WEF. A large team of volunteers was recruited to serve as room monitors and assistant moderators for the technical sessions, as well as tour guides and tour group leaders for the conference off-site plant tours.
Welcome to the Wastewater Treatment Committee!