Water is both a life-giving source and a potentially devastating force. Citing this range of water’s power during the opening session of Weftec (New Orleans; September 24–28; www.weftec.org), New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu described how the city has triumphed over the devastation that occurred eleven years ago when Hurricane Katrina hit. People now have a great appreciation for water, he said, where it may have at one time been taken for granted.
We are often reminded of the power of water — both too much and too little of it — such as with the recent force of Hurricane Matthew, and the droughts experienced in numerous places around the world. At Weftec’s opening session, the many roles that water plays in our daily lives were depicted in a short video, which summed up water’s importance with the potent message “without clean water, life stops.”
For those of us who live in parts of the world where we haven’t had to think much about our water supply, recent news like the water quality issues in Flint, Mich., have made us realize that having clean, fresh water is something that we cannot take for granted, and have to work to achieve.
A quantified approach to conservation
Water scarcity is a worldwide issue. In his keynote address at Weftec, Joe Whitworth said that with the world’s growing population, water scarcity is a growing concern, and that “very few people see it coming.” Whitworth is the president of the Freshwater Trust (Portland, Ore.; www.thefreshwatertrust.com), a not-for-profit organization that focuses on outcome-based conservation to protect freshwater resources.
Referencing his book, “Quantified: Redefining Conservation for the Next Economy,” Whitworth gave examples of simple things that can be done, and quantified, to make a difference in water sustainability. One example involved a situation in Oregon where water effluents warmed the waterways they were being returned to, making them too hot for the salmon to exist. Cooling the water was accomplished by planting trees to shade the watershed, which was a much less expensive alternative than other solutions. Whitworth maintains that there is much that we can and should do to address water scarcity, and not just because it is the “right thing to do,” but because it is the “smart thing to do.” He says that the best investments are actually the most sustainable investments. To the Weftec audience, Whitworth emphasized that engineers can make a really big difference in worldwide water issues.
Advances in technology
The crowded aisles of Weftec’s exhibit hall held examples of engineers and others working to improve wastewater treatment and related issues. As an example, results of a year-long demonstration of the Zeelung MABR* technology at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago reportedly showed the potential for intensified nutrient removal as well as energy reduction. And scientists are working on innovative technologies, such as the plasma oxidation technology described on p. 7 in this issue.
The importance of clean, fresh water in our lives is something that many of us do not often focus on, until it is no longer available. It was inspiring to see the technologies presented at Weftec, and to meet some of the people who are indeed focusing their expertise on water-related issues. ■
*For more on this technology from GE Power & Water, see “Turning wastewater treatment into resource recovery,” Chem. Eng., November 2015, p. 7
Dorothy Lozowski, Editor in Chief
Featured Conference
November 9-11, 2026Irving Convention Center | Dallas, TX
Explore this topic and more — live at Clean Americas. Join environmental, health, safety, and emergency response professionals tackling the industry's most urgent hazards. View Conference Program →
When a major incident strikes, the people stepping into Incident Command aren't always the ones who trained for it. Engineers, operators, trades supervisors, and compliance specialists may suddenly find themselves filling Command and General Staff roles — not because they volunteered, but because the situation demands it. Panelists will share practical strategies for leading without positional authority, tools and frameworks that help personnel rapidly orient to ICS roles, and approaches for closing the gap between day-to-day job functions and emergency command readiness before the next incident makes it urgent.
Speaking
Scott Andrews (Trans Mountain Canada Inc., Manager Emergency Management)
Kelly Codlin , MSPH, CIH (Marathon Petroleum Company, Emergency Preparedness Director)
Nick Hickson (Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), Hazmat Training Manager)
Josh Dubach MSc, CEM (Onterris, Senior Response Management Consultant)
This session will examine produced water as the largest waste stream in the oil and gas industry and one of its most pressing emerging challenges. It will address the growing volumes of produced water, the increasing regulatory and public scrutiny of constituents such as PFAS, salts, and Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM), and the operational implications for management, treatment, reuse, and disposal. The discussion will also explore how operators, regulators, and communities are redefining approaches to produced water management in response to environmental, technical, and stakeholder pressures.
Speaking
Steve Pepper, Ph.D., (Onterris, Director of Response Management)
Charles Maguire (Railroad Commission of Texas, Advisor, Oil and Gas Division)
Prof. Shane Walker Ph.D. (Texas Produced Water Consortium, Director)
Ray Cheatham (Onterris, Energy Sector Leader)
This session will present a detailed case study of a large-scale lithium-ion battery fire response that extended over 12 months. Attendees will explore the hazards associated with thermal runaway events, the operational challenges of suppressing lithium battery fires, and the response strategies that proved effective in this prolonged incident. The
Drawing on insights from U.S. EPA Region 9 wildfire response efforts, the session will also highlight tactics such as hazard characterization, air monitoring and evaluation, and household hazardous waste collection and disposal. Participants will leave with a stronger understanding of the complexities involved in large-scale battery fire incidents and the critical factors to consider when planning and executing an effective response.
Speaking
Robert W. May PG (Clean Harbors, Senior Vice President, Branch Services and Sales)
Crosley Welch (Missouri Department of Natural Resources, State On-Scene Coordinator)
Samuel Cheek , CSP, RRPT (U.S. EPA, Region 6, Federal On-Scene Coordinator)
Christopher Myers (U.S. EPA, Region 9, Federal On-Scene Coordinator)
This session introduces use of remote sensing technologies to detect, characterize and monitor spills across marine and coastal environments. Discussion will highlight how tools can integrate into modern spill response workflows to improve safety and support data-driven decision making.
Speaking
James Hanzalik (Clean Gulf Associates, Vice-President)
Gordon Staples (MDA Space Ltd., Senior Radar Applications Scientist)
Grant Coolbaugh (Applied Research Associates / Ohmsett, Mechanical Engineer)
Speaking
Allyson Purcell MEP, CEM (ConocoPhillips, CMER Director)
Michael Delio (Maxum Petroleum, EHS & SECURITY MGR)
This session provides a practical, ground‑level introduction to the essential steps required after a battery undergoes a thermal event. We’ll break down how to assess site conditions, stabilize and prepare damaged cells or packs, select appropriate containment and packaging methods, and navigate the regulatory landscape that governs transport and disposal. The lecture emphasizes real‑world decision‑making, safety considerations, and compliance requirements, giving participants a clear framework they can apply immediately in field operations or emergency response planning.
Speaking
Mark Steadman (The Battery Network, Program Manager)
Environment, Health, Safety & Security
Focusing on water
| By Dorothy Lozowski, Editor in Chief
Water is both a life-giving source and a potentially devastating force. Citing this range of water’s power during the opening session of Weftec (New Orleans; September 24–28; www.weftec.org), New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu described how the city has triumphed over the devastation that occurred eleven years ago when Hurricane Katrina hit. People now have a great appreciation for water, he said, where it may have at one time been taken for granted.
We are often reminded of the power of water — both too much and too little of it — such as with the recent force of Hurricane Matthew, and the droughts experienced in numerous places around the world. At Weftec’s opening session, the many roles that water plays in our daily lives were depicted in a short video, which summed up water’s importance with the potent message “without clean water, life stops.”
For those of us who live in parts of the world where we haven’t had to think much about our water supply, recent news like the water quality issues in Flint, Mich., have made us realize that having clean, fresh water is something that we cannot take for granted, and have to work to achieve.
A quantified approach to conservation
Water scarcity is a worldwide issue. In his keynote address at Weftec, Joe Whitworth said that with the world’s growing population, water scarcity is a growing concern, and that “very few people see it coming.” Whitworth is the president of the Freshwater Trust (Portland, Ore.; www.thefreshwatertrust.com), a not-for-profit organization that focuses on outcome-based conservation to protect freshwater resources.
Referencing his book, “Quantified: Redefining Conservation for the Next Economy,” Whitworth gave examples of simple things that can be done, and quantified, to make a difference in water sustainability. One example involved a situation in Oregon where water effluents warmed the waterways they were being returned to, making them too hot for the salmon to exist. Cooling the water was accomplished by planting trees to shade the watershed, which was a much less expensive alternative than other solutions. Whitworth maintains that there is much that we can and should do to address water scarcity, and not just because it is the “right thing to do,” but because it is the “smart thing to do.” He says that the best investments are actually the most sustainable investments. To the Weftec audience, Whitworth emphasized that engineers can make a really big difference in worldwide water issues.
Advances in technology
The crowded aisles of Weftec’s exhibit hall held examples of engineers and others working to improve wastewater treatment and related issues. As an example, results of a year-long demonstration of the Zeelung MABR* technology at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago reportedly showed the potential for intensified nutrient removal as well as energy reduction. And scientists are working on innovative technologies, such as the plasma oxidation technology described on p. 7 in this issue.
The importance of clean, fresh water in our lives is something that many of us do not often focus on, until it is no longer available. It was inspiring to see the technologies presented at Weftec, and to meet some of the people who are indeed focusing their expertise on water-related issues. ■
*For more on this technology from GE Power & Water, see “Turning wastewater treatment into resource recovery,” Chem. Eng., November 2015, p. 7
Featured Conference
When a major incident strikes, the people stepping into Incident Command aren't always the ones who trained for it. Engineers, operators, trades supervisors, and compliance specialists may suddenly find themselves filling Command and General Staff roles — not because they volunteered, but because the situation demands it. Panelists will share practical strategies for leading without positional authority, tools and frameworks that help personnel rapidly orient to ICS roles, and approaches for closing the gap between day-to-day job functions and emergency command readiness before the next incident makes it urgent.
This session will examine produced water as the largest waste stream in the oil and gas industry and one of its most pressing emerging challenges. It will address the growing volumes of produced water, the increasing regulatory and public scrutiny of constituents such as PFAS, salts, and Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM), and the operational implications for management, treatment, reuse, and disposal. The discussion will also explore how operators, regulators, and communities are redefining approaches to produced water management in response to environmental, technical, and stakeholder pressures.
This session will present a detailed case study of a large-scale lithium-ion battery fire response that extended over 12 months. Attendees will explore the hazards associated with thermal runaway events, the operational challenges of suppressing lithium battery fires, and the response strategies that proved effective in this prolonged incident. The
Drawing on insights from U.S. EPA Region 9 wildfire response efforts, the session will also highlight tactics such as hazard characterization, air monitoring and evaluation, and household hazardous waste collection and disposal. Participants will leave with a stronger understanding of the complexities involved in large-scale battery fire incidents and the critical factors to consider when planning and executing an effective response.
This session introduces use of remote sensing technologies to detect, characterize and monitor spills across marine and coastal environments. Discussion will highlight how tools can integrate into modern spill response workflows to improve safety and support data-driven decision making.
This session provides a practical, ground‑level introduction to the essential steps required after a battery undergoes a thermal event. We’ll break down how to assess site conditions, stabilize and prepare damaged cells or packs, select appropriate containment and packaging methods, and navigate the regulatory landscape that governs transport and disposal. The lecture emphasizes real‑world decision‑making, safety considerations, and compliance requirements, giving participants a clear framework they can apply immediately in field operations or emergency response planning.