Fall Tradeshow

GMWEA's Fall Tradeshow is not only our flagship event, it's Vermont's largest, best, and longest-running water quality conference, presented each year at the state's premiere venue, the DoubleTree Hotel in Burlington.

Each fall, over 400 water, wastewater, and stormwater professionals, water quality technology and service providers, DPW administrators, staff from nonprofit organizations, and State agency administrators convene at the DoubleTree Hotel.  After a night-before welcome session in the exhibit hall, they attend six hours of training sessions, tour an incredible array of over 90 vendor exhibits, eat a delicious lunch, and hear distinguished speakers from Vermont and throughout New England.  

Trainings and speakers vary from year to year, dependent upon member preferences.  

Below is a representative training schedule, from the November, 2019 Tradeshow:

Early Start – Morning Technical Session, 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
A) WET Testing
Presenter: John Williams, Director, Aquatec Environmental
This session will cover the hows and whys of proper sampling procedures, preservation, and hold times.  Attendees will learn about the procedures used in the laboratory, how to interpret the final results, and what steps to take if the results fail.

Morning Technical Sessions, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

B) Fire Hydrant Basics and Their Relationship with ISO
Presenters: Jay Nadeau and Nathan Pion, Champlain Water District
Fire hydrants are often the only visible component of a water distribution system -- like an iceberg, only one part of it is visible, but the part that can cause the most trouble is out of sight.  This session will provide a general overview and nomenclature of fire hydrant assemblies, and introduce operators to the important relationship of hydrants and the distribution system to insurance carrier ratings. 

 C) Green and Gray Climate Change Adaptation and Resilient Stormwater Designs
Presenter:  Steven Roy, Weston & Sampson Engineers
This presentation will focus on stormwater management and drainage improvements using a combination of grey and green approaches. The case study project in Hyattsville, Maryland, encompasses 2.7-square miles in an urban suburb that has experienced tremendous redevelopment over the past decade.

Afternoon Technical Sessions, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

D) Uniform Water and Sewer Disconnects
Presenter: Jay Nadeau, Champlain Water District; John Choate, Winooski City; Kevin Newton, Morrisville Village
One of the most difficult customer situations water and wastewater operators need to deal with is the disconnection of water service for delinquent bills.  This roundtable discussion will provide operators with examples on how a variety of different water systems comply with Title 24, Chapter 129: Uniform Water and Sewer Disconnects. 

E) Affordable SCADA for Small Systems
Presenter:  Ron Gehl, EOS Research
SCADA is not just for large utilities – it can be a valuable tool to help streamline operations for even the smallest system. This session will cover the basics of the technology, and discuss concepts that result in a successful, affordable SCADA application for your operations. Following an overview of some of the hardware required to make it work, examples of straightforward SCADA implementation will be presented. Most importantly, the focus will be on operator-friendly technology that can reduce the time spent on mundane tasks, and leave you with time (and budget) available for dealing with more critical issues.

F) Continuously Monitor to Reduce Non-Revenue Water
Presenter: Brett Johnson, Clow Valve Company 
Put your fire hydrants to work! There are new technologies that can be retrofitted to fit existing fire hydrants, or you can buy a new fire hydrant with the technologies already installed. The intelligent hydrants constantly monitor pressures and temperatures and sends alerts via text message or email via cellular technology. A dedicated website and customer support are provided to the end user to maximize the comprehension of the data. Let the intelligent hydrants assist in running your water system while helping with the following initiatives: optimize pressure, identify transients, reduce energy costs, identify actual water temperature, reduce non-revenue water, and assist in leak detection.

G) Brewery Discharges and Wastewater Treatment Facilities
Presenter: Randy Bean, Vt. Agency of Natural Resource (retired), Consultant.
Discharges from breweries and specialty food industries have been rapidly increasing in Vermont, and the process wastewater discharged by these industries is very different from domestic sewage. The discharges from these industries into your municipal WWTF can have significant impacts on the ability to properly treat wastewater, operational costs, and the connection of future projects to your system. This session will provide an overview of the pollutants discharged from these industries, the impacts on your WWTF, and how to work with these industries to control and reduce their impacts on your facility.