President's Preamble
by Dr. James
Dear fellow NWEAer’s:
In the middle of a very hot southern Nevada summer, it’s good to know that cooler weather is just ahead, and with it, opportunities to add to your store of skills and knowledge about the improvement of the practice of wastewater collections, treatment, disposal and reuse.
Thanks to careful management of our finances by NWEA Treasurer Gary Hutchinson, NWEA completed its fiscal year on June 30, 2009 with a $17,800 operating surplus. This was achieved during a challenging financial environment that reduced our operating revenues. With careful tracking and reduction of expenses, we were able to reduce our costs and complete the year in the black. With Nevada’s economy still in recession, our 2009-2010 activities are being planned to keep expenses to an absolute minimum in the event that income from our planned events remains weak.
Our Certification Board continues to review qualifications, examine and award or renew certifications. The NWEA web site now hosts Assistant Administrator Jennifer McMartin’s email correspondence, and through the diligent efforts of our Web Master, Suey Huey, NWEA now has an up-to-date Training Calendar on its web page that has lots of information about upcoming PDH opportunities. Check it out!
What’s coming up on the horizon for this year?
On September 22-24, the 25th Annual Tri-State Seminar on the River will be held in Primm Nevada. Every year, NWEA partners with the California Water Environment Association and the Arizona Water Association to organize and host Tri-State. NWEA has a great team that is active the planning and execution of Tri-State including Bruce Dacko, Dave Ruegge and Keni Whalen. Keni’s article and a web-link to Tri-State appear in this newsletter. The seminar is a great opportunity for all wastewater professionals to earn Professional Development Hours towards renewal of their certifications, see the latest technologies, and have a great time. Visit the TriState Seminar website for more information.
In northern Nevada, NWEA’s WEF PWO delegate, Starlin Jones, has been holding no-cost professional development seminars at the Truckee Meadows Water Reclamation Facility. Please see the article in this issue by our own Assistant Certification Program Administrator Jennifer McMartin or email Starlin directly.
Our next annual conference, to be held at John Ascuaga’s Nugget in Reno, NV, has been set for Tuesday through Wednesday, April 13-15, 2010, and we plan to return to the South Point in Las Vegas for the 2011 conference, again in mid-April.
In this coming year, we plan to continue to strengthen our ability to communicate educational opportunities to wastewater professionals and the public through additional enhancements to the website.
As always, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved, from volunteering at Tri-State to serving on committees that support professional and public education and conference planning. Contact Angela Mackinnon or Stephen Long at if you’d like to get involved.