Video by Alec Mackie, LABS Corporate Director
Story by Matthew Copeland,
LABS Newsletter Editor
On May 25, the CWEA LABS Young Professionals toured the Bixby Marshland in Carson. Mary Jacobs of LACSD (shown left) started the tour by briefly explaining the background of the marsh. Historically, the current Bixby Marshland was part of a larger freshwater marshland called the Bixby Slough. Over time, development encroached into the slough and cut off its water supply. The overall health of the marsh declined. In the mid 1970s LACSD and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works agreed to protect a portion of the slough from future development. A pump was installed to supply water from the adjacent Wilmington Drain to the Bixby Marsh.
Rebecca Ye of Bangor, Maine was named the U.S. winner of the 2010 Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP) – the most prestigious international competition for water-related research – during a ceremony this weekend at the Sheraton City Center in St. Louis, Mo. Read more
Paul Freedman, 2009–2010 WEF President
Spring is here now, and with it come graduations from most of our high schools, colleges, and trade schools. As many young adults begin their life career pursuits, I ask you to reflect on how many of your children, brothers, sisters, cousins, and friends chose clean water as a career? I can tell you the answer: not enough.
Not only do we not have enough family and friends entering the water field, but more so, we have an overall shortage of new professionals entering our field to replace retirees and take on new industry challenges. The reasons are complex, but we are part of the problem. We have undersold the excitement of our profession and its importance. The Water Environment Federation (WEF; Alexandria, Va.) recognizes this challenge and is committed to changing this oversight to attract a new generation of professionals.
www.WorkforWater.org is the place where students and job seekers can explore green careers, and utilities will find a clearinghouse of resources for recruiting in the wonderful world of water. Developed by the American Water Works Association and Water Environment Federation, the world’s leading technical experts on drinking water and water quality, this site is packed with resources to find jobs or prepare for rewarding careers in protecting public health and the environment. Learn about what it takes to work for water and get a great job for a great cause! The site has landing pages for four audiences: high school and vocational school students, college students, second career and retired military job seekers, and advanced science professionals. For more information, visit www.WorkforWater.org.
WEF and the American Water Works Association have joined forces on a new public outreach campaign that will enhance the image of water careers and encourage students and job seekers to “Work for Water”. The campaign will promote water careers as both professionally fulfilling and aligned to the greatest public health and environmental cause of our day. The outreach will also address one of the water community’s top concerns in the coming decade—the expected retirement of 30% of the water workforce and the need to recruit new talent to the field.
The program provides annual scholarships for individuals attending a College, University, Community College or Technical Trade School and pursuing a course of study related to the Water Environment Field. Congratulations to the 2010 Kirt Brooks Memorial Scholarship Winners:
• Lauren Blomberg
• Joshua Cosgrove
• Cathleen McKinney
• Mina Mustafavi
• William Sharp
• Kyle Shimbaku
• Megan Yoo
Generous donors makes this program a success. Consider making a contribution today (or be fined by forgetting to wear your lapel pins or tie clips!). Several local sections presented checks at this year’s Annual Conference, which are shown in the photos below. Over $14,000 was raised. Thanks to all for supporting youth pursue water environment careers!
UPDATE: And the winners are…
Mark Sulik, City of Chico
Michael Riddell, City of Ceres
David Haas, Rain for Rent
Jonathan Searcy, City of Lodi
90% of you say that you would recommend CWEA membership to other water environment professionals. Here’s your chance! Register for CWEA’s 2010 Annual Conference by April 12th for the opportunity to win a 1-year CWEA gift membership for someone in the early stages of his or her water environment career. Two generous sponsors are making this special offer possible so you can get your friends and colleagues involved in our work to keep California’s water clean and workforce strong.
Don’t miss these opportunities planned just for you! Interact and network with other students and CWEA members of all backgrounds (engineers, operators, lab technicians, and more) at the CWEA’s 2010 Annual Conference.
Scavenger Hunt
Wed., April 21, 7:30-8:45 p.m.
Participate in CWEA’s own hour-long Amazing Race around the State Capitol. Test your knowledge of California history, wastewater trivia, and oceanic factoids as your team of 2 to 3 people solves clues leading to items, photos, and physical challenges that earn your team points. Have your digital camera or camera phone ready. Great prizes await the teams that collect the most points. The race culminates with a victory celebration “happy hour” for all participants at the finish line.
Student and Young Professional Mixer
Fri., April 23, noon – 1:30 p.m.
Mix and mingle, and get to know industry newcomers and seasoned veterans in a fun, friendly atmosphere. In addition to meeting new people and reconnecting with acquaintances, door prizes and free luch are sure to make this a great afternoon for all. There’s no cost to attend.
See the full conference brochure for more information and register online now for the 2010 CWEA Annual Conference. Remember, full-time students attend the annual conference at no cost — a bargain too good to pass up!
Inspired by the WEF YP Summit on Leadership in April 2009, the Students and Young Professionals Committee (SYPC) is proud to announce the first SYPC Specialty Conference being held Wednesday, March 24, 2010. This SYPC Specialty Conference is titled, “Planting a Successful Future: Cultivating Leaders,” and the goal of this event is to do just that. To create a program that promotes and fosters growth and development of our future leaders, a dynamic group of past and present energetic and engaging CWEA and WEF leaders have come together to share their ideas and experiences. In an effort to keep up with technologic and economic times, and ensure that attendees in the North and the South hear all the great topics our speakers have to share, we will be hosting and web-casting the conference simultaneously in two locations, one in the North and one in the South. Live speakers will be split between Northern and Southern locations, and their presentations will be broadcast via web/video-conferencing. This will be CWEA’s first specialty conference ever to utilize web/video-conferencing. We are very excited to offer the same program at the same date and time in two different locations!
As a reminder, all events hosted by the Students and Young Professionals Committee (SYPC) is open to all audiences…Students, young professionals, seasoned professionals…everyone is invited to attend this groundbreaking event!
To register today, please visit cwea.org/conferences or complete this registration form: Registration Form. Students, to register for free, please mail or fax in your registration form with proof of enrollment in at least 9 units. If you have any questions, please contact Megan Yoo at meganyoo@gmail.com.
Thank you, and we hope to see you all there!
