LATHAM, N.Y. — The Eastern Water Quality Association (EWQA) held its first Water Treatment Systems Training Event in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. yesterday, attended by water treatment professionals including dealers, manufacturers and municipal employees.
The event was organized to build connections between water treatment professionals across the 13 states covered by the organization, providing opportunities to learn and earn credit toward certification, but also to build connections and a support network between the many facets of the water treatment industry in each state, according to EWQA Executive Director Dean Srygley.
“We like to think of our association as a family. If someone in our family has a problem [at any time, any day], all they have to do is call and we can put them in touch with the right person for the challenge they are faced with,” said Srygley.
Morning WQA Certification Testing kicked off the day from 8-11, and meanwhile others attended a session by Kristine L. Wheeler; P.E. of the New York State Department of Health. Wheeler’s presentation, “When Does a Private Water System Become a Public System,” went over the state, county and regional regulations for public water systems and what it takes to have one approved by the DoH.
Other highlights of the day included two lectures by New Hampshire Senator and Vice-President/Co-Owner of R.E. Prescott Co. Inc. Russell Prescott, P.E., on arsenic and radon removal methods; a presentation on the “What, Where, When and How of Backflow” by Dave Reith; a discussion of what goes into testing water samples with EPA/N.Y. state regulations by Brian Collins and John Wilson of St. Peter’s Hospital Environmental Laboratory; an afternoon session, “Chemical Feed Systems and Disinfection,” by Ronald Wakefield Jr. of Cyclops Process Equipment; a lecture on the basic design and maintenance of metering pumps by DSA Representative Mike Pilcher; and “Strategic Ideas to Increase UV Sales and Service” with a round table, presented by Carol Russell, former EWQA executive director.
Be sure to check out the June issue of Water Technology for more in-depth coverage of the event.
