Tune in and cheer on your favorite Ops Challenge team in this year's VIRTUAL competition. Teams will compete via a live Zoom meeting link that will be broadcasted on WEAT's Facebook page. This year, even more than years past, sector operators have proven that they are essential frontline workers protecting human health and the environment. Show your appreciation and watch some of Texas' best water professionals compete in the Collections Event simulating real-life operations challenges. More information (including log-in information) to come!

The WEAT Student Design Competition gives students the opportunity to design and present a project based on a real-world wastewater treatment plant design problem. Students will be competing to represent WEAT at the WEFTEC Student Design Competition at WEFTEC 2021. The prompt this year is focused around the City of Houston’s Intercontinental Airport Wastewater Treatment Plant in Houston, TX. Students shall propose design alternatives to construct new facilities required for expanded capacity, rehabilitate existing facilities, convert the plant from a conventional activated sludge facility to a biological nutrient removal facility, and design of proposed solids processing facilities. Come on out and support your alma mater or see some prospective future leaders in the industry!

This year, teams from the University of Houston, Lamar University, Southern Methodist University, Texas Tech University, and SMACC will compete.

Please join Austin Water for a virtual tour of its South Austin Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant. Built in 1984, South Austin Regional (SAR) is one of three wastewater treatment facilities in the City of Austin and has the capacity to treat up to 75 MGDs. Other large wastewater facilities include the Walnut Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Hornsby Bend Biosolids Management Plant. Austin Water has invested over 45 million dollars over the last four years on improvements to update the air distribution system and convert aging sand filter galleries into a state-of-the-art cloth disk filter complex.

Staff will walk you through the plant virtually, giving you a behind the scenes look at the facility and operations. This walkthrough will highlight new equipment, technologies, recent upgrades, as well as some of the future challenges for the plant. After the virtual tour, staff will be on hand to answer questions and facilitate an exciting discussion about the operations and maintenance of the SAR Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The Dodson’s Drive was created in the spring in 2011 to honor the life and work of Kenneth Dodson. Kenny D worked in the wastewater industry for 20 years and was a tireless supporter of YP education and growth. The net proceeds from the registration fees in this event benefit our young professionals by providing contributions for scholarships and assisting them to attend the annual Young Professionals summit. All timed-donation participants will receive an official event tech shirt and access to our virtual timing portal with eligibility for team and single participant awards! Runners are also welcome to join us as untimed participants and participate in our virtual social media contests. Donations can be made on the Dodson Drive 5k registration page, any amount is appreciated.

The 2021 Dodson’s Drive Fun Run will be completely virtual. All the event information will available, and updated regularly on our online platforms. Participants can run at their convenience anytime during the week of Texas Water starting on Thursday, March 25^th The 5k will also feature a pre-run stretch-out and warm-up, which will be posted on our online platforms. We will provide several sample routes for various cities across Texas. Try them out or make your own! Runners will be able to print a finisher certificate and be able to post photos for a social media photo contest!

Tech shirts for Timed/Team participants will be mailed. Awards will be during the YP Recognition Event, as always! Be sure to follow our social media page for other event updates. Finally, thank you so much to our generous sponsors for their support of this year’s YP Dodson Drive 5k!

Help raise funds for scholarships to assist students with families in the water and wastewater industry. All profits from the Virtual Texas Water Golf Tournament go toward the scholarship programs. This year our mission is to keep all players safe by following safety precautions but still enjoy a round of golf and continue our mission to assist students with scholarships. We are changing our format this year to accommodate every golfer playing as a single, a group of two, three or foursome. Your golf event will be held at a golf course in your community. Your group will complete the registration form and independently pick a course and submit your scorecard and picture of yourself or group to Texas Water before the March 15th deadline to be displayed vertically on the Texas Water virtual site during the conference. Since we cannot be together to enjoy the game of golf, we are still offering opportunities to assist with fundraising by offering four levels of Scholarship Sponsorships. In addition, there are mulligans for purchase and the forward tee to be used at the team’s discretion on any Par 5. Your generosity is sincerely appreciated by all and let’s enjoy our golfing event.

To make a monetary donation, please fill out the online submission form.