ACE16 Summary - Eva Nieminski

ACE16

By Eva Nieminski, Section Member

As a regular attendee of the Annual AWWA conferences and exhibitions for many years, I established high expectations for the quality of presentations, variety of the products, and professional and social interactions with peers in the drinking water industry.  The 2016 Conference, held in beautiful Chicago in perfect weather, exceeded my high expectations in all three areas.  The technical presentations covered all "what's new" topics, including the never-ending analyses of what went wrong in Flint, MI, as well as highlights of new research projects, contaminant occurrence and treatment, and optimization initiatives.  This year's exhibits were huge - with showing of many new technologies, instrumentation, and analytical tools.  And the interactive part, being so most valuable for me, allowed me to re-connect with old friends and meet great people, participate in several committee meetings, shepherd a student and thus make a new friend, participate in an interview session with the Director of EPA's Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water Peter Grevatt, and cheer for a dear friend - Jeanne Bennett-Bailey - the Association's incoming female president (!).  It was a week full of long days, great experience, and wonderful memories.