Water quality professionals will want to mark their calendars for WEFTEC, an annual technical exhibition and conference presented by the Water Environment Federation (WEF). This year's edition runs from Sept. 21-25, 2019, at McCormick Place in Chicago.

Source: Water Environment FederationThe event is the largest of its kind in North America, with an exhibition offering the opportunity to network with representatives from utilities, vendors and regulatory agencies as well as members of water and wastewater companies from around the world. The conference component of the event also includes the opportunity to hear featured speakers, attend technical sessions and workshops, and earn up to 1.2 continuing education units (CEUs) and 16.5 professional development hours (PDHs). Themes for this year's conference include the One Water concept, resilient practices, workforce development and diversity, plus an examination of the water industry's role at the nexus of food and energy production.

In all, WEFTEC 2019 will include 148 technical sessions, 27 workshops, 16 mobile sessions, seven local facility tours and over 1,000 exhibitors. Among the more unique options: the award ceremony for the Operator Ingenuity Contest, in which recipients will discuss straightforward fixes that made their jobs easier and safer. One example is a simple solution to stabilize an after-hours chlorine dosing alarm that had been causing a sodium bisulfite metering pump to automatically respond; the fix saved the Rodeo Sanitary District $1,200 in overtime costs and more than $12,800 annually in sodium bisulfite costs.

For more information, or to register for the conference, visit WEFTEC online.