2024 AWWA Water Quality Technology Conference (WQTC)

Join us at the premier conference for water quality, 2024 AWWA WQTC.

We’re excited to be a sponsor and present at the 2024 Water Quality Technology Conference. We hope you will join us as we share research, case studies, and insight on topics, including: 

• Testing and selection process for contaminants of emerging concern
• Case studies showcasing advances in water treatment
• Developing lead service line inventories and replacement strategies using AI

Our WQTC Conference Sessions

Monday, November 18

Monday Morning Poster Sessions 
Hexavalent Chromium Removal Alternatives Process Comparisons and Lifecycle Costs | 9:30 a.m. 

This presentation compares commercially available treatment alternatives to remove hexavalent chromium from groundwater. Three treatment alternatives, including multiple sub-alternatives, were analyzed for effectiveness and suitability at two of the City’s well stations. The unique water quality at these two locations allowed for early deletions of some sub-alternatives, and the remaining options were evaluated against a wide range of criteria, including capital cost, lifecycle cost, and O&M flexibility.

• Speaker: Sifang Shan
• Co-Authors: Rich Stratton and Michael Babayev

Tuesday, November 19

Tuesday Poster Session
St. Charles, Missouri – Emergency GAC Implementation to Remove Volatile Organic Compounds from the Drinking Water Supply System | 9:45 a.m. 

St. Charles, Missouri, has experienced groundwater contamination migration through the raw water supply well field of the drinking water system. The contaminants are vinyl chloride (VC) and Cis-1, 2-dichloroethylene (Cis-1,2 -DCE). This presentation will begin by framing the project issues, goals, and emergency action plan, then will dive deeper into the technology alternatives evaluation, bench testing, regulatory collaboration, GAC system design, expedited construction sequencing, as well as startup and commissioning challenges encountered during construction.

• Speaker: Ryan Saffels 
• Co-Authors: Roope Matole and Gwen Woods-Chabane

Track: PFAS - PFAS Planet Planning, Design and Operation Considerations 
GAC:10 Years of Full-Scale Lessons Learned at TWO WTPs | 4:30 p.m.

This presentation will detail the experiences of two utilities that have built and operated Granular Activated Carbon contactor facilities with production capacities of 15 and 44 MGD. Both utilities have accumulated 10 years of operating data and lessons learned. Presenters will explore GAC’s general effectiveness, operational strategies, and capital and operating cost histories. Additionally, the utility presenters will offer tips to extend media life and improve process efficiency. Other communities considering GAC for contaminant removal will benefit from the practical knowledge.

• Speaker: Brent Tippey
• Co-Author: Andy Tompkins

Wednesday, November 20

Track: Water Quality, Monitoring, and Next-Gen Applications - AI/ML – Applications in Distribution Systems Optimization 
AI as an Ally in LCRR Compliance | 11:30 a.m. 

This presentation describes how Artificial Intelligence (AI) was used to develop the City of St. Petersburg’s lead service line inventory for Lead and Copper Rule Revision (LCRR) compliance. The city maintains tabulated records of work orders which include valuable information for the inventory including service line materials and replacement dates. However, much of this information is stored in free-form text fields which are tedious to review manually. GeoAI was used to increase the efficiency and accuracy of text classification within these fields and provide a model to assess new records. This presentation demonstrates how utilities can leverage AI tools to extract useful information from large datasets for LCRR inventory development.

• Speaker: Carlee Fullenkamp

Track: PFAS - PFAS Planet: Modeling and Optimization
Optimizing GAC Design for PFAS Removal Using Bench, Pilot and Full-Scale Studies | 9:30 a.m. 

This presentation will share results from Rapid Small Scale Column Testing studies used for the removal of PFAS and other emerging contaminants using GAC. RSSCT studies will be compared with pilot and full-scale applications in a water reclamation facility in Virginia and in an indirect potable reuse application in Anne Arundel County, MD. This study will provide tools to accurately scale up RSSCT data and predict GAC media bed life prior to the breakthrough of contaminants, thus reducing overall O&M costs related to media changeouts. This study will provide quick solutions for PFAS management in not only drinking water utilities but also wastewater facilities that would be impacted by the upcoming EPA proposed PFAS rule.

• Speaker: Ramola Vaidya
• Co-Authors: Chance Lauderdale and Christina Alito