Letter from Steering Committee Chair - Spring 2018

I am amazed at the activity and very positive developments with the Partnership In the first four months of 2018. This past January, the Partnership named a new Senior Manager as the previous Senior Manager, Barb Martin, assumed the AWWA Engineering and Technical Services Directors role after 5+ years with the Partnership program. The new Senior Manager, who began in late January and has been introduced to many subscribers, is Todd Brewer. His previous employer is City Utilities of Springfield in Missouri, and Mr. Brewer has participated in the Partnership for more than seven years and is a long-term AWWA member of more than 25 years! Welcome Todd! I encourage you to introduce you and your utility to Todd at AWWA and Partnership events and by contacting him at AWWA headquarters in Denver.

Mr. Brewer serves as the third Senior Manager of the program in its 23-year history – stability that has helped the program remain relevant to the entire water sector and to the hundreds of utility subscribers that participate in Partnership programs (for instance we are fast approaching the milestone of 500 treatment plants participating in the Treatment aspect of the Partnership!). These programs have also been supported by a host of volunteers over the course of many years who hold a broad-range of water sector experiences and knowledge. This is a testament to the popularity and long-term effectiveness of our programs. As new water science, technology and processes are constantly introduced, and new Partnership volunteers step-up to help manage activities, the program has been a positive element in the water sector. It’s proof that the Partnership’s mission has remained relevant over the past two decades, as it has kept pace with new drinking water science, technology and operational practices. I appreciate seeing the Partnership maintain stability while bringing new and innovative approaches to subscribers over the program’s many years.

One activity that demonstrates the Partnership’s innovative spirit while being supported by dedicated volunteers and utility employees is the Rocky Mountain Partnership Summit, (which was held in Aurora, Colorado, on Wednesday, April 18, 2018.) Featuring a day-long summit of technical topics and hands-on practice, the Summit was established several years ago as a subscriber-benefit for Rocky Mountain region utilities (really all subscribers that wish to attend). The Summit featured topics that are impactful to utilities located in Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming. Thanks go out to our PEAC Treatment Chair – Kevin Linder, Partnership program staff, and Steering Committee members for organizing and providing this program. In fact, Partnership Programs have been presented at events across North America throughout the years on many Treatment and Distribution related topics at a wide variety of venues. These presentations have been a key way for utility managers and operations & distribution personnel to get a more personal and in-depth understanding of how these programs can assist in addressing operational issues and ultimately lead to improved performance for the treatment plant or distribution system. I encourage Partnership utilities with “a story to tell” to work with Partnership program staff who can help facilitate these types of outreach and education efforts. The Partnership’s reiterative optimizing approach has helped make a real and long-lasting impact on the water sector over-all, and specifically for participating utilities.