Share Your Stormwater Successes at the WEFTEC 2020 Stormwater Pavilion

Innovation in stormwater management never stops. From small towns to big cities worldwide, stormwater professionals like you continue to make groundbreaking advances. To reap the full rewards from new stormwater management products, practices, and public outreach approaches, share your wins with other stormwater professionals.

The Stormwater Pavilion Theater on the WEFTEC 2020 exhibition floor will offer stormwater-sector innovators this chance from Oct. 5 to 7. Submit abstracts that detail your experiences with underutilized approaches to stormwater management for an invitation to participate in a Stormwater Pavilion presentation.

The WEFTEC Program Committee is seeking abstract submissions for 15- or 30-minute presentations under three distinct themes: Stormwater Technology or Program Innovation; Stormwater Best Practices; and Stormwater Workforce.

Theme No. 1: Stormwater Technology or Program Innovation

Sound technology and program design is at the core of effective stormwater management, affecting every aspect of the profession from designing new types of flood-mitigation infrastructure to determining regulatory compliance.

Describe how an innovative technology or program has enhanced the way your organization protects the environment and public health. Include details on how others could apply the technology or program to fill specific stormwater-sector needs that offer advantages over existing approaches. Discuss the process of adopting the new technology or program at your organization as well as tips to help other organizations avoid common pitfalls.

Theme No. 2: Stormwater Best Practices

Sometimes, the difference between the success or failure of a specific stormwater product, practice, or service can come down to understanding how to use it most effectively. The Stormwater Best Practices category focuses on new techniques to make the most of existing stormwater management approaches that may already be in use by many stormwater organizations.

Show off the outside-the-box ways your organization uses existing products and approaches. Describe how the practice leads to more effective flood mitigation tactics, reduced expenses, and increased community engagement. Use case studies to help audience members understand why the practice is truly “best,” and how it fills stormwater-sector needs that are currently unmet by existing practices.

Theme No. 3: Stormwater Workforce 

Workforce issues uniquely affect the stormwater segment of the water profession. A typically newer sector than wastewater or drinking water treatment in most communities, stormwater organizations face the same looming skills shortage as other areas of the water sector but with even lower awareness of opportunities in stormwater management among jobseekers. Therefore, new ways to attract talent to careers in stormwater management are in high demand.

Help other stormwater organizations better navigate recruitment by sharing details about successful outreach and onboarding programs. Describe how your organization’s jobs program has helped fill vacancies and discuss any challenges or obstacles that have hindered your past recruitment efforts.

Submit Today

Abstract submissions for all three themes should:

• be a maximum of one page long;
• use a session format more engaging than just PowerPoint, such as panels, debates, and multimedia;
• be fresh (please do not resubmit old abstracts or those previously submitted; and
• avoid focus on selling a specific product or service.

Submit abstracts by April 22 at 9 a.m. Eastern time via the WEFTEC online abstract submittal system. Questions? Contact the WEFTEC Program Committee at speakers@wef.org.