Texas Water 2026 Conference Preview

April 27–30, 2026

Henry B. González Convention Center

San Antonio, Texas

Head to San Antonio in April for Texas WaterTM 2026!

Join the Texas Water community in San Antonio for Texas WaterTM 2026, the largest regional water conference in the United States! Our dedicated volunteers have been working tirelessly to ensure your time in San Antonio is both educational and enjoyable.

This year’s technical program, thoughtfully developed by an exceptional technical program committee, brings you the latest insights, research, and practical tools designed to make your work easier and more effective.

At the Henry B. González Convention Center Exhibit Hall, in the heart of downtown near the iconic San Antonio River Walk, you’ll discover cutting-edge technologies, innovative solutions, and new approaches to the challenges facing our industry. Don’t forget to experience the competitions—and consider signing up to compete yourself!

After a full day of learning and networking, it’s time to relax and celebrate at Wednesday’s Conference Night Out at The Espee, a restored historic railway station turned vibrant entertainment venue, all within walking distance of the convention center.

We look forward to welcoming you to San Antonio for an unforgettable Texas WaterTM 2026!

Katie Overstreet Texas Water Co-Chair

Water Environment Association of Texas

Full registration is your best value for Texas WaterTM 2026. With full registration, you receive:

• access to all technical sessions

• access to the Exhibit Hall

• access to the Awards Lunch, the Women of Water Breakfast, the Box Lunch and the Wednesday Night Out event

Non-member full registration includes a free* one-year membership to either WEF/WEAT or AWWA/TAWWA.

*New members only, not for membership renewals

Access to the Women of Water Breakfast, Facility Tours, Lunches, Conference Night Out event and the Gloyna Breakfast are also available for purchase.

Ann Peche Texas Water Co-Chair Texas Section American Water Works Association

You may also register by mail, using the form on page 38, to Texas Water c/o

TENTATIVE CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

All events are at the Henry B. González Convention Center, 900 E Market St, San Antonio, TX 78205, unless otherwise noted. Schedule is subject to change.

MONDAY, APRIL 27

Golf Tournament • Quarry Golf Course

Exhibitor Move-In • Exhibit Hall

Curtis Smalley Environmental Event

Confluence Park

WEAT Annual Board Meeting and Leader

Networking • Convention Center

TAWWA Annual Board Meeting

Convention Center

WEAT Ops Challenge Pre-Meeting

WEAT Ops Challenge Process Control Event

Meet & Greet • Exhibit Hall

TUESDAY, APRIL 28

Dodson Drive Fun Run (7 am start time)

WEAT Ops Challenge Check In

Speaker Ready/Moderator Check in Room

WEAT Ops Challenge Laboratory, Exhibition

Maintenance Events • Exhibit Hall

(Exhibit Hall is only open early for competitors; it opens at 10 am for attendees)

TAWWA Hydrant Hysteria Pre-Competition Meeting • Exhibit Hall

TAWWA Student Design Competition

WEAT Student Design Competition

Nutrient Removal Workshop*

Water License Exam Prep*

TAWWA Hydrant Hysteria • Exhibit Hall

TAWWA Business Meeting

Beverage Break • Exhibit Hall

Exhibits/Innovation Lounge • Exhibit Hall

Water For People Silent Auction •

Conference Awards Lunch*

WEAT Business Meeting

TAWWA Meter Challenge Pre-Competition Meeting • Exhibit Hall

TAWWA Jr. Meter Challenge • Exhibit Hall

TAWWA Meter Challenge • Exhibit Hall

Technical Sessions/Posters

Value of Water Program

Networking Break/Door Prizes • Exhibit Hall

Biosolids Beauty Contest • Exhibit Hall

Fastest Saw Cut • Exhibit Hall

Technical Sessions/Posters

Exhibit Hall Closes For Day

Young Professional, Student and Dodson Drive Award Ceremony

5:30 pm–6:15 pm

Young Professional, Student & Mentor Networking Event

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29

7:15 am–9:00 am Women of Water Breakfast*

7:30 am–5:00 pm Registration

8:00 am–2:45 pm WEAT Ops Challenge Safety, Collection System, Electrical and Exhibition Events • Exhibit Hall

8:00 am–5:00 pm Speaker Ready/Moderator Check in Room

8:30 am–9:30 am Exhibit Hall Break • Exhibit Hall

8:30 am–1:15 pm Water For People Silent Auction • Exhibit Hall

8:30 am–4:00 pm Exhibits/Innovation Lounge • Exhibit Hall

9:00 am–9:30 am TAWWA Top Ops Pre-Competition Meeting • Exhibit Hall

9:00 am–9:30 am TAWWA Pipe Tapping Pre-Competition Meeting • Exhibit Hall

9:00 am–11:50 am Technical Sessions/Posters

9:30 am–1:30 pm TAWWA Top Ops Competition • Exhibit Hall

9:30 am–4:00 pm TAWWA Hydrant Hysteria • Exhibit Hall

9:30 am–4:00 pm TAWWA Pipe Tapping Competition • Exhibit Hall

Noon–1:00 pm Box Lunch with Exhibitors* • Exhibit Hall

Noon–1:05 pm Awards Celebration (Box Lunches will be available)

1:10 pm–2:50 pm Technical Sessions/Posters

1:10 pm–5:00 pm Young Professionals Technical Session

1:30 pm–3:00 pm Professional Ethics Workshop for Engineers

1:30 pm–3:00 pm TAWWA Best-Tasting Drinking Water Event • Exhibit Hall, Top Ops Area

2:45 pm–4:00 pm WEAT Operations Awards & Biosolids Beauty Contest Ceremony

2:50 pm–3:20 pm Networking Break/Door Prizes • Exhibit Hall

3:20 pm–5:00 pm Technical Sessions/Posters end at 4 pm

4:00 pm Exhibit Hall Closes/Exhibit Breakdown

6:15 pm Gavel Passing • The Espee

6:30 pm–8:30 pm Conference Night-Out • The Espee*

THURSDAY, APRIL 30

7:00 am–8:30 am Gloyna Breakfast*

7:00 am–Noon Registration • Outside Tech Session Rooms

8:00 am–9:00 am Beverage Break • Outside Tech Session Rooms

8:00 am–Noon Facility Tours • Depart from Convention Center*

8:00 am–Noon Speaker Ready/Moderator Check in Room

8:30 am–10:10 am Technical Sessions

8:30 am–Noon Young Professionals Technical Session

10:10 am–10:20 am Networking Break • Outside Tech Session Rms

10:20 am–Noon Technical Sessions

Noon Conference Adjourns

* Indicates attendance is limited to certain registration levels or requires purchased access

Keynote: Rep. Josey Garcia

Texas Water is excited to welcome State Representative Josey Garcia to provide the keynote comments at Texas WaterTM 2026. The address will take place during the Opening Session at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 28.

Newly-elected to serve in the 88th Texas Legislature, Rep. Garcia is the first woman, active-duty veteran to serve in the Texas House. She represents West San Antonio’s House District 124.

Rep. Garcia has committed her life to serving others, her lived-experiences guiding her quest for solutions to increase opportunities for all Texans. Rep. Garcia spent her early years bouncing from one foster home to another. By the time she reached high school, she had attended 13 schools and lived with various families. At the age of 16, she signed up for the Delay Enlistment Program, securing her place in the U.S. Air Force, serving in deployments to Cameroon, Africa and Iraq, where she served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. After Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Rep. Garcia was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in 2001. Here she would retire after 20 years of a military career. An active member of her westside community, Rep. Garcia made San Antonio her forever home.

Upon her retirement in 2014, Rep. Garcia became a published author and community advocate in San Antonio. In 2020, she co-founded Uniting America Outreach, a nonprofit that delivers food and supplies to people in need. During Winter Storm Uri in 2021, Uniting America Outreach delivered over 9,000 meals to San Antonio’s most vulnerable residents. Her organization raised over $50,000 to provide food, clothing, and hygiene products, which they took directly to Ciudad Acuña, Mexico during the 2022 crisis at the border.

Rep. Garcia is happily married to her husband Ramon, an Army veteran who served in both Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan, where he was awarded a Purple Heart when he was shot during a combat mission. Their blended family consists of eight children, including two adult sons on the autism spectrum.

SCHOLARSHIP GOLF TOURNAMENT

MONDAY, APRIL 27, 7 A.M.

The Texas Water 2026 Scholarship Golf Tournament will be held at the Quarry Golf Course. The tournament benefits the scholarship programs of both WEAT and TAWWA and is a great way to meet new friends and colleagues. Get more details and a registration form on Page 35 or sign up online at www.txwater.org

CURTIS SMALLEY ENVIRONMENTAL EVENT

MONDAY, APRIL 27, 8:30 A.M. TO 11:30 A.M.

The Curtis Smalley Environmental Event honors the legacy of Curtis Smalley. His contribution, leadership, mentorship, dedication to service and passion for the water industry left a significant impact. He was a driving force to include the environmental event as part of Texas Water to provide fellowship for colleagues and an opportunity to give back to the community. The 2026 event will be held in partnership with the San Antonio River Authority on Monday, April 27, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Confluence Park along Mission Reach—an 8-mile section of the San Antonio River that connects four of the city’s Spanish colonial missions. We will be cleaning up litter and planting native species to help keep the parks beautiful and safe for visitors and wildlife. We will also be collecting photos of wildlife for the worldwide 2026 City Nature Challenge, a global “bioblitz” competition in which San Antonio was #2 in the world in 2025! Work gloves, tools and supplies will be provided along with light breakfast and refreshments. Come prepared to get dirty as we help maintain the natural beauty of the river! The park is located South of Downtown San Antonio. Transportation is not provided, but there is limited free parking. Please consider carpooling if possible. If you would like to volunteer, sign up online at www.txwater.org (under “Events”) and be sure to also sign the waiver.

MEET & GREET/EXHIBIT HALL

MONDAY, APRIL 27, 4:30 P.M. TO 6:30 P.M.

Texas Water attendees Meet & Greet in the Exhibit Hall at the Henry B. González Convention Center for refreshments. Registration opens at 4 p.m., then you can enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of the Exhibit Hall. Texas Water hosts the largest regional water exhibition on the continent. More than 600 exhibit booths are in one place, at one time, in the convention center.

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CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

INNOVATION LOUNGE

MONDAY, APRIL 27 – WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29

The Texas Water™ Conference has always promoted innovation and creative design to solve some of our most complex water problems. The Innovation Lounge highlights innovative and advanced technologies from across North America. Don’t miss this opportunity to check out these new technologies while collaborating with your colleagues in the Innovation Lounge inside the Exhibit Hall. There is no additional fee to visit the Innovation Lounge.

TEXAS WATER YP DODSON DRIVE 5K FUN RUN/WALK

TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 6:00 A.M. CHECK IN;

7:00 A.M. START TIME

The Dodson Drive Fun Run supports young professionals in the Texas water industry by raising funds to support the TAWWA/WEAT Dodson Drive Fund. The Dodson Drive Fund, established in 2011 to honor the late Kenneth Dodson, provides scholarships for young professionals and funding to send our young professionals to the annual Young Professionals Summit. This year’s Fun Run is a 5K course starting on the San Antonio River at 220 E Nueva Street, a short walk from the convention center and hotels. Participants will run along a scenic route adjacent to the San Antonio River. The route is perfect for a morning run, offering participants a chance to experience the relaxed atmosphere of the San Antonio River through the Historic King William and Blue Star neighborhoods. All teams and paid participants will be chip timed and receive a performance t-shirt. All finishers will also receive their very own finisher’s ribbon to wear on their Texas Water badge. Awards will be given to the fastest male and female overall runners, fastest male and female masters runners, fastest YP male and female runners and the fastest team. Sign up at www.txwater.org! Don’t miss being a part of this conference tradition!

OPENING GENERAL SESSION

TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 9 A.M. TO 10 A.M.

Joining keynote Rep. Josey Garcia at Tuesday’s Opening Session will be WEF Board of Trustee member Kalpna Solanki and AWWA Vice President Ken Kawahara.

NETWORKING BREAKS

TUESDAY, APRIL 28 – WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29

Start each Texas WaterTM 2026 day with networking breaks in the Exhibit Hall Tuesday and Wednesday and near the Technical Sessions on Thursday.

TECHNICAL SESSIONS

TUESDAY, APRIL 28 – THURSDAY, APRIL 30

Experience the Cutting Edge of Water and Wastewater Innovation at Texas Water 2026

The Texas Water Program Committee is bringing together the brightest minds in the industry to tackle today’s most pressing water and wastewater challenges. This year set a new record with more than 1,000 abstracts submitted, resulting in over 250 peer-reviewed, leading-edge presentations available only at Texas WaterTM 2026. For a full listing of the technical program, see Pages 26-33.

TECHNICAL POSTER DISPLAY

TUESDAY, APRIL 28 – WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29

Discover the next wave of water and wastewater innovation through our expanded Technical Poster Series! These engaging visual displays highlight breakthrough projects and creative solutions from rising stars and seasoned experts alike. Stroll through the poster displays in the Henry B. González Convention Center from Tuesday morning to Wednesday afternoon to explore new ideas, meet the minds behind the research, and spark valuable collaborations. Authors will share contact information for continued discussion, and you can find the full poster listing in the Texas Water Conference Program and app.

WATER FOR PEOPLE SILENT AUCTION

TUESDAY, APRIL 28 – WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29

All net proceeds from the silent auction benefit Water For People, a global non-profit with a revolutionary mission of water and sanitation for every family, every school, and every clinic! Water For People insists on remaining for generations, gaining district-wide matching support, employing locals, and empowering women. Their motto is “Everyone Forever” and the model they employ to execute programs and projects ensures long-lasting, sustainable impacts to communities. To donate an auction item, visit www.txwater.org

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

TAWWA STUDENT DESIGN COMPETITION

TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 9 A.M. TO 1:30 P.M.

The TAWWA Student Design Competition (SDC) gives students the opportunity to design and present a project based on a real-world municipal water treatment plant design problem. The second edition of the TAWWA SDC will focus on Upper Trinity Regional Water District’s (UTRWD) Tom Harpool Water Treatment Plant (HWTP), located in the town of Providence Village, situated in North Texas. The 30 MGD Harpool WTP was originally built in 2006 to meet demands of a growing region as a 20 MGD and was recently expanded to its current capacity in 2022. As growth in the region continues at breakneck pace, UTRWD is looking again to the facility’s next expansion up to 40 MGD but must also consider provisions for future expansions up to 60 MGD. Students participating in the competition are tasked with expanding portions of the existing plant to meet growing water demands. Student’s scope for the expansion will be limited to a new Membrane Filtration System Complex; their existing chemical facilities, and clearwell storage capacity.

WEAT STUDENT DESIGN COMPETITION

TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 9 A.M. TO 1:30 P.M.

The WEAT Student Design Competition gives students the opportunity to design and present a project based on a real-world wastewater treatment plant design project. Students will be competing to represent WEAT at the Student Design Competition in New Orleans at WEFTEC 2026. The prompt this year is based on the John T. Hickerson Water Reclamation Facility, which is owned and operated by El Paso Water. Students shall propose design alternatives to treat increased levels of influent BOD, increased peak flows, and operational challenges. Come out and support your alma mater or see some prospective future leaders in the industry! This year teams from Texas Tech University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Houston, the University of Texas at El Paso, and Texas State University will compete. Thank you to our sponsors!

We are thankful... to all of you who work tirelessly to provide treatment and flow of water, wastewater, and reuse water t iti o our commun es. THANK YOU.

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CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

WORKSHOP: NUTRIENT REMOVAL

TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 9 A.M. TO 3 P.M.

SPECIAL REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Course highlights for this nutrient removal workshop include wastewater characteristics; biological nitrogen removal; enhanced biological phosphorus removal; combined nitrogen and phosphorus removal; biological nutrient removal; polishing treatment for high quality reuse waters; why remove nutrients?; nutrients in water quality standards and regulations; chemical nutrient removal; hands-on exercises and a brief overview of biological nutrient removal. 6 hours of Wastewater CEUs have been approved through the TCEQ. Workshop costs $200 by April 7; $240 after; and includes a boxed lunch and access to the Exhibit Hall after the workshop ends. Limited to 25 attendees.

WORKSHOP: WATER LICENSE EXAM PREP

TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 9 A.M. TO 3 P.M.

SPECIAL REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Calling all Water Operators that are preparing to take a TCEQ Licensing Exam. We can help. Texas Section

aimed at improving the pass rate for water operators that take the C, B or A Water License exam from the TCEQ. The highest pass rate for licensing exams is typically in the 50% range, or less. This exam preparation workshop is designed to help you learn how to study for the exam, how to prepare the night before, and go over material that you will more than likely encounter on your exam. The workshop is limited to 50 participants, so register now to ensure that you have a spot. 6 hours of Water CEUs have been requested through the TCEQ. Workshop costs $200 by April 7; $240 after; and includes a boxed lunch and access to the Exhibit Hall after the workshop ends.

CONFERENCE AWARDS LUNCH

TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 11:30 A.M. TO 1:00 P.M.

Attendance is limited to Full Registrants, Tues. Only Registrants or those who purchased access separately. Enjoy a great meal with your colleagues at the Conference Awards Lunch. The luncheon will feature the first of the conference award ceremonies, recognizing some of the longtime leaders of our water/wastewater community. Access is included with Full or Tuesday-Only

VALUE OF WATER PROGRAM

TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 1:20 P.M. TO 5:10 P.M.

Please join us at Texas WaterTM 2026 for six exciting presentations that will dive into building trust in water resources through water infrastructure/resiliency planning! The Value of Water (VOW) Program at the Texas Water conference is a half-day session devoted to promoting water communication successes and best practices in Texas. This unique session provides an interactive and collaborative environment for water professionals interested in improving their relationship with rate payers and the general public.

YP, STUDENT & DODSON DRIVE RUN AWARD CEREMONY

TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 5:15 P.M. TO 5:30 P.M.

This special ceremony will recognize the outstanding achievements and hard work of the winners of the WEAT and TAWWA Student Design Competitions, the University Forum, and Dodson Drive Fun Run, setting the stage for an evening of inspiration and connection. The celebration will seamlessly be followed by the YP, Students and Mentors Networking Event. All are welcome!

YP, STUDENT & MENTOR NETWORKING EVENT

TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 5:30 P.M. TO 6:15 P.M.

Join us for an engaging evening of networking with students, young professionals and experienced mentors over drinks and hors d’oeuvres. This is a fantastic opportunity for Young Professionals to interact with mentors, share their career journeys, and gain valuable insights. Learn about the WEAT and TAWWA Mentoring Program and discover how you can get involved. Don’t miss this chance to expand your network and foster meaningful connections! All are welcome!

Exclusion of Liability: This is an in-person conference. As such, Texas Water will make all reasonable efforts to protect participants from accident, injury, or illness (including COVID-19) but your attendance at Texas WaterTM 2026 also acknowledges that WEAT and TAWWA cannot guarantee any personal health outcome. By attending Texas Water you are signaling that you understand the risks of attending an in-person Conference and are agreeing to release WEAT and TAWWA from liability for any accident, injury, or illness sustained during your attendance.

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

WOMEN OF WATER BREAKFAST

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 7:15 A.M. TO 9:00 A.M.

YP TECHNICAL SESSIONS

Attendance is limited to Full Registrants or those who purchased access separately.

The annual Women of Water Breakfast will feature three dynamic panel members who will share their career stories, leadership successes and challenges, their thoughts on work-life integration, mentorship, and much more. This year’s Breakfast will feature a panel moderated by Delaine Mathieu, a former veteran news anchor and 5-time Emmy-winning journalist. Participating will be Stacey Allison Steinbach, Executive Director Texas Water Association; Brooke Paup, Chair of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; and L’Oreal Stepney, Chair of the Texas Water Development Board. We look forward to having you join us for breakfast as these women showcase the difference women can make in our water community, while also providing a forum for future leaders to network with seasoned professionals. Entrance is included with Full Registration. Access can be added on for $50 if purchased by April 7; $60 after.

BOX LUNCH

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, NOON TO 1:00 P.M.

Limited to Full Registrants, Weds. Only Registrants or those who purchased separately. Wednesday is a big day at Texas Water. In addition to the great Technical Programs and the full day of Exhibits, Wednesday is also your opportunity to cheer on your favorite team at the Exhibit Hall competitions –Pipe Tapping, Operations Challenge, Hydrant Hysteria or Top Ops. So you won’t miss a minute of the action, we’ll serve a great Box Lunch at numerous locations in the Exhibit Hall. Your Full Registration or Wednesday-Only Registration includes a Box Lunch. Extra lunches are available for $30.

WEAT AND TAWWA AWARDS CELEBRATION

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, NOON TO 1:05 P.M.

Texas Water will honor WEAT and TAWWA friends and colleagues who have demonstrated their commitment to the water and wastewater profession. Your box lunch for the Awards Celebration is included with Full or Wednesday-Only Registration (you can pick up your box lunch at the event).

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29 & THURSDAY, APRIL 30 Young Professionals will share their knowledge and experiences on an array of matters aimed at engaging YPs and seasoned professionals alike. Reference the program lineup for details.

ETHICS WORKSHOP FOR ENGINEERS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 1:30 P.M. TO 3 P.M.

The Engineer’s Ethics Seminar is an interactive and thought-provoking session led by Bob Pence and Gina Smith from Freese and Nichols, Inc. While earning one Professional Development Hour and satisfying the annual ethics requirement, you will learn to recognize ethical situations faced by engineers, analyze the issues of ethical situations and discuss how to resolve ethical situations in a creative and professional manner. There is no additional fee or need to preregister for this training.

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CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

CONFERENCE NIGHT OUT

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 6:15 P.M. TO 8:30 P.M.

Attendance is limited to Full Registrants or those who purchased access separately.

Join us for a memorable night at The Espee, San Antonio’s beautifully restored Southern Pacific Railroad Depot, originally opened in 1902. Once known as the city’s “Grand Central Station,” this striking Mission Revival landmark served as a bustling gateway that connected travelers across Texas and beyond. Today, The Espee has been transformed into one of San Antonio’s most distinctive venues—where historic character meets modern energy.

The evening will feature live music, great food, and drinks (includes one drink ticket, followed by a cash bar). We’ll kick things off with the gavel-passing ceremony at 6:15 p.m., then continue the celebration of another successful Texas Water Conference.

Shuttle buses will depart from the Hyatt Grand Regency Conference Hotel beginning at 6 p.m. Transportation and parking details will be provided closer to the event.

Access to the Conference Night Out is included with Full Registration. Additional access is available for purchase at the cost of $100 by April 7; $110 after.

The Espee is located at 1174 E. Commerce Street, San Antonio, TX 78205 and is within walking distance from the conference convention center.

Mark your calendars and be part of an evening that blends San Antonio’s rich history with the excitement of our Texas Water community!

GLOYNA BREAKFAST

THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 7 TO 8:30 A.M. Attendance is limited to those who purchased access separately. Jeff Haby will be the featured speaker at the Gloyna Breakfast at 7 a.m. on Thursday, April 30.

Haby retired from the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) in December 2025 after a 38-year engineering career including 28-years at SAWS where he served as the Senior Vice President of Production. During his 28-years at SAWS, Haby supported and managed SAWS engineering’s replacements and improvements, infrastructure planning, wastewater treatment operations, recycle operations, chilled water operations, lift station operations, electrical maintenance, instrumentation & controls maintenance, mechanical maintenance, and predictive maintenance.

Haby is a graduate of Texas A&M University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering. He

is a registered Professional Engineer in Texas and Missouri. He holds an “A” Water Operator license in Texas and is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Water Works Association, the Water Environment Association of Texas and the Water Environment Federation, and a Board Member of the South Texas Underground Construction Technology Association.

The breakfast honors the long and distinguished career of the late Earnest F. Gloyna, professor of Environmental and Water Resources Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Gloyna’s teaching, research and professional practice have touched an unusually large number of students, educators, engineers and the public leadership not only in Texas but throughout the world. Access to the Gloyna Breakfast is $50.

Texas WaterTM 2026 is a registered trademark of Texas AWWA for the

Fastest Saw Cut

Fastest Saw Cut Competition Schedule of Events:

3:30 - 4:30 p.m. RELAY EVENT

Fastest team to cut a 6-in pipe* wins!

• 3-person team relay

• Teams must have at least one female team member

• Teams may include pro(s) *Teams with a pro must all cut an 8-in pipe*

Top 4 teams with the fastest team time will make it to the playoffs!

4:30 - 5:00 p.m.

Traditional Head to Head Sawcut (Women, Men, Pro)

All events are open to all TX Water attendees.

Proceeds benefit the Curtis Smalley Memorial Fund

Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Entry Details:

$15 per relay team entry · $5 per individual entry All equipment provided

Pre-Registration + Questions: e-registration (recommended, not required) and additional information, Stefanie.Massey@aecom.com

Which division title will you take home? Team Relay · Women · Men · Pro

COMPETITIONS

TUESDAY, APRIL 28–WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29

WEAT Operations Challenge

Competitions: Tuesday, April 28, 8 am–Wednesday, April 29, 2:45 pm

Awards Ceremony: Wednesday, April 29, 2:45-4 pm

Watch the nation’s best operators and maintenance staff compete in the Operations Challenge Competition at Texas Water. This multi-day competition challenges utility teams to test their knowledge in different aspects of their day-to-day responsibilities. The Operations Challenge is composed of five individual events that carry over to nationals. In addition, Texas has created additional exhibition events to provide other opportunities for teams to compete. The competitions include:

Freese and Nichols Process Control Event

Teams will complete a written test consisting of short math and process scenario questions, electronic multiplechoice questions, and process simulation using GPS-x software. This event is also available for YP Teams to compete in pairs of two! See the flyer on page 36 for more info and to sign up.

Hartwell Environmental Laboratory Event

This year, the lab event will include taking total phosphorus and soluble phosphorus readings as well as chlorine residuals.

STV - Walter Chiang Maintenance Event

The purpose of this event is to test the skills of a maintenance team to respond to trouble at a sanitary sewer lift station that has resulted in an alarm. Teams must remove an in-service pump and replace the impeller, and put it back in service as fast as possible.

AECOM Collection System Event

Teams are required to cut out a section of an 8-inch PVC sewer pipe with water flowing through it, drill and install a 4-inch ADS tee in the replacement pipe, cut and install the replacement section with couplings. Building a Victaulic pipe tree is also required.

Carollo Safety Event

Teams will be required to rescue an unconscious worker from a simulated lift station. Team members will set up a retrieval system, perform a permit-required confined space entry, rescue the downed worker, and replace some faulty check valves.

Gupta Electrical Event

A race to troubleshoot a lift station control panel and power supply. Teams must work through relays to determine where the problem is before it’s too late!

Seepex Exhibition Event

Competitors will race to replace the stator and rotor in a Seepex Smart Conveying Technology (SCT) pump.

Victaulic Exhibition Event

A race to put together a style 31 coupling tree arrangement using Victaulic couplings, pipes, and drill drivers.

Grundfos Exhibition Event

Timed race for competitors to remove and replace a Grundfos pump cartridge.

Ardurra Fastest Saw Cut

Who can saw through sewer pipe the fastest? Come test your pipe-cutting skills and compete for a plaque and bragging rights within a division: Ops Challenge Competitor or Men and Women’s Open Division. There will also be a team relay saw cut for teams of 3, with the fastest 4 teams advancing to the playoffs! This competition will be at 3:30 pm on Tuesday, April 28. See flyer on page 18 for more information.

Awards Ceremony

Awards for the Operations Challenge Competition, as well as the Three Municipal Treatment Plant of the Year awards and Operator of the Year Award, will be handed out at the Operations Awards Ceremony on Wednesday at 2:45 pm in the Convention Center.

Competitors can receive up to 10 TCEQ CEU hours, t-shirts, entry into the technical sessions and exhibit halls, and bragging rights! The top Texas Teams earn a free trip to the National WEFTEC competition. YPs can also sign up to test their knowledge of operations in the YP version of the Process Control event. Contact Jeff Sober at 214-883-6263 or jlsober@garverusa.com or register at www.txwater.org/operations_challenge_2026.cfm

COMPETITIONS

TUESDAY, APRIL 28

TAWWA Hydrant Hysteria

Tuesday, April 28, 9:30 am-4 pm, Exhibit Hall

Wednesday, April 29, 9:30 am-4 pm, Exhibit Hall

Hydrant Hysteria is a fast-paced competition where two member teams assemble a specified hydrant as quickly as they can. Hydrant Hysteria will be for Texas bragging rights only as there is no national competition being held at AWWA ACE in 2026. Visit www.txwater.org/hydrant_ hysteria_2026.cfm for more information and to sign up.

TAWWA Junior Meter Challenge Contest

1 pm-2 pm, Exhibit Hall

The Junior Meter Challenge Contest matches students from high school environmental programs for a test of their meter-assembling skills and dexterity. Please support these future water professionals by attending on Tuesday.

TAWWA Meter Challenge

2 pm-4:30 pm, Exhibit Hall

Contestants race to assemble a 5/8-inch meter from loose parts and test for leaks. The winner represents

Texas at AWWA ACE26 in Washington, D.C. in June. Visit www.txwater.org/meter_challenge_2026.cfm for more information and to sign up.

WEAT Biosolids Beauty Contest

Tuesday, April 28: 3:00 pm-3:30 pm, Exhibit Hall - Judging Wednesday, April 29, 2:45 pm: Awards Ceremony

Enter the Biosolids Beauty Contest! Raise awareness and provide recognition for the great work utilities do in producing this valuable nutrient-rich resource. Categories include Class B, Class AB, Class A, Most Creative Presentation, and People’s Choice. Visit www.txwater. org/biosolids_beauty_2026.cfm for more information and to sign up.

WEDNESDAY,

APRIL 29

TAWWA Top Ops

9:30 am-1:30 pm, Exhibit Hall

The Top Ops competition is widely regarded as the “Super Bowl” of the water industry. It challenges competitors’ technical knowledge and problem-solving

UNMATCHED EXPERIENCE. UNPARALLELED CLIENT CARE.

abilities with complex math and operational questions. Some topics covered are water treatment plant processes, distribution, groundwater, lab procedures, maintenance, and safety. It aims to recognize and promote excellence and professionalism in all aspects of water operations by establishing a competition that gives operators the opportunity to showcase their talents. The winning team advances to the National Top Ops Competition at AWWA ACE26 in Washington, D.C. in June. Visit www.txwater.org/top_ops_2026.cfm for more information and to sign up.

TAWWA Pipe Tapping Contest

9:30 am-4 pm, Exhibit Hall

Four-person teams from across the state compete to determine who will represent Texas at the National Pipe Tapping Competition at AWWA ACE26 in Washington, D.C. in June. Visit www.txwater.org/pipe_tapping_2026. cfm for more information and to sign up.

TAWWA Best Tasting Drinking Water Contest

1:30 pm-3 pm, Exhibit Hall

The Best Tasting Drinking Water Contest brings together entries representing utilities across Texas. A panel of

celebrity judges will grade the samples. Along with Texas bragging rights, the winning entrant competes at AWWA ACE26 in Washington, D.C. in June. Visit www.txwater. org/best_tasting_drinking_water_2026.cfm for more information and to sign up.

C.E. HOURS

TCEQ Operator Training Certification Hours will be available for attending technical sessions and participating in competition events and facility tours.

Enter your TCEQ license number when registering in order for Texas Water to be able to report your hours post-conference.

Be sure to get your badge scanned at each session you attend. A certificate will be created post-conference based on the sessions you attended and had your badge scanned at. Engineers may also self-report CE hours for attending sessions.

Please note that we will not have engineering forms onsite. You must have your badge scanned at each session your attend in order for a certificate to be created, which you can use for self-reporting.

HOTEL INFORMATION

The host hotels for Texas WaterTM 2026 are:

Hyatt Regency Riverwalk 123 Losoya Street San Antonio, TX 78205

Room rates start at $213 a night plus taxes and fees. Book online at https://www.hyatt.com/events/en-US/ group-booking/SATRS/G-MI9S Hyatt’s reservation number is 877-803-7534.

Valet parking is $57 per night. Reservation cut-off date: Friday, April 3, 2026.

Grand Hyatt River Walk

600 E Market St San Antonio, TX 78205

Room rates start at $213 a night plus taxes and fees. Book online at https://www.hyatt.com/events/en-US/ group-booking/SATGH/G-MDQC. Hyatt’s reservation number is 877-803-7534.

Valet parking is $57 per night. Reservation cut-off date: Friday, April 3, 2026.

Please note that Texas Water will not have additional room blocks at other hotels once the host hotel room

See special information regarding booking more than 5 hotel rooms: Texas Water negotiates hotel rates to provide reasonable rates for conference attendees. As part of this agreement, Texas WaterTM 2026 assumes financial responsibility for any unsold rooms at the hotels where we have contracts.

The following policy will apply to anyone who books more than 5 hotel rooms at the negotiated Texas Water rate. Any person, group, company or organization that reserves more than 5 rooms at the Texas Water Conference rate agrees that they will cancel any rooms they do not plan to use earlier than the normal cut-off date for room reservations. The cut-off date for reservations in excess of 5 rooms is February 20, 2026.

By registering for Texas WaterTM 2026 at the conference rate, and/or within the Texas Water negotiated room block, any person, group, company or organization agrees that if they fail to cancel the rooms by the cutoff date above, they will assume full responsibility to pay for any unused rooms at the full conference rate including all taxes and other fees in the event the rooms go unsold and the hotel acts to hold Texas WaterTM 2026, WEAT and/or TAWWA, responsible for any unused rooms under the terms of the contract. Please direct any questions regarding this policy to info@txwater.org.

Texas WaterTM Code of Conduct

The Water Environment Association of Texas (WEAT) and the Texas Section of the American Water Works Association (TAWWA) are dedicated to providing a safe, harassment-free experience for everyone during Texas WaterTM and official Texas WaterTM conference events. WEAT and TAWWA will not tolerate harassment of conference attendees, exhibitors, speakers, volunteers, or staff. WEAT and TAWWA prohibit Texas WaterTM participants from intimidating, harassing, unwelcome, abusive, disruptive, violent or offensive conduct. Texas WaterTM participants asked to stop any such behavior must comply immediately. Violators may be subject to expulsion without refund. Harassment should be reported to conference staff immediately. Refer to our full Code of Conduct at www.txwater.org/codeofconduct_2026.cfm for more information including contact information for reporting actions contrary to the Texas WaterTM code of conduct.

TEXAS WATER 2026

SAN ANTONIO, TX APRIL 27 + 28

Typical donations include experiences, gadgets, event tickets, gift baskets, decorative items, collectibles, artwork, gift cards, and cash.

Proceeds will benefit Water for People, a global non-profit bringing water and sanitation to every family, every school, and every clinic in which it works.

https://www.waterforpeople.org/

https://www.txwater.org/wfp_auction_submission_2026.cfm

FACILITY TOURS

TOURS

Attendees can add to their Texas WaterTM 2026 experience by registering for one of the three Thursday morning tours. Tour access is in addition to conference registration and includes transportation. Cost is $35 if purchased by April 7; $40 thereafter. Choose one of the three tours that will leave from the Henry B. González Convention Center at 8 a.m. on Thursday, April 30:

Option 1: SAWS H2Oaks Center

The San Antonio Water System’s H2Oaks Center is the hub for three unique water supplies, which provides up to 60 million gallons per day (MGD) to the citizens of San Antonio. After watching a brief film at the Visitor’s Center, guests will embark on a tour of the facility to see how SAWS manages the three supplies including:

Desalinated water: The SAWS desalination plant was commissioned in 2017, where water from the Wilcox Aquifer located 1,200 to 1,800 feet below ground is treated through a state of the art reverse osmosis facility and produces up to 10 million gallons per day. To supply water to the facility, there are 14 desal wells and 7 Carrizo wells.

Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR): Commissioned in 2004, the SAWS ASR facility stores excess Edwards Aquifer water in the Carrizo Aquifer during rainy or low demand seasons for use during dryer times of the year.

Local Carrizo Aquifer: Constructed in conjunction with the ASR, SAWS has the ability to pump up to 9 MGD of water directly from the Carrizo Aquifer and treat it through a separate conventional treatment facility with a capacity of 30 MGD to handle a combination of Carrizo Aquifer water and stored Edwards Aquifer water.

Desal and Carrizo both use treatment processes to condition the water to be compatible with the Edwards Aquifer water. The tour is limited to the first 50 people who sign up. Attendees will need to wear closed-toe shoes.

Option 2: Exploring

San Antonio’s Watershed: A Tour of Flood Control and Creek Restoration Projects

Join us for a guided tour exploring how San Antonio’s waterways work together to manage flood risk, improve water quality, and strengthen our watershed. We’ll begin at the Lock and Dam on the Museum Reach, a critical structure that helps regulate water levels along the San Antonio River, balancing flood management, navigation, and ecosystem needs.

Next, we’ll visit the San Pedro Creek Cultural Park, a remarkable example of how engineering and design can protect the community while celebrating heritage. The project reduces flood risk through a large underground tunnel that diverts excess stormwater, while the creek above provides a vibrant place where history, art, and culture come together.

As we continue, we’ll drive by Alazán Creek, one of the four creeks included in the Westside Creeks Restoration Project. These creeks, Alazán, Apache, Martinez, and San Pedro, are all part of the same watershed and eventually flow into the San Antonio River. The restoration effort aims to improve flood conveyance, restore natural habitats, and create safer connections for surrounding neighborhoods.

Our final stop will be Confluence Park, located where San Pedro Creek meets the Mission Reach of the San Antonio River. This restored river segment functions as a natural floodplain, reducing erosion, absorbing stormwater, and supporting native wildlife while offering a scenic and educational public space. Through this tour, you’ll see firsthand how thoughtful watershed planning and restoration are creating a safer, more resilient San Antonio, one creek at a time. The tour is limited to the first 30 people who sign up. Attendees should wear closed-toe shoes, light clothing (it may be hot), sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat/cap and bring a water bottle.

Option 3: Innovative Technologies at Gruene Reclamation Facilities & Trinity Membrane Treatment Plant

Mosey on over to where Texas history and German heritage meet cutting-edge wastewater treatment technology at the New Braunfels Utilities (NBU) Gruene Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) and Trinity Membrane Treatment Plant.

Gruene Water Reclamation Facility

Originally built in 1975 and serving the Gruene Historic District, the Gruene WRF was relocated and replaced in 2019 to serve the City of New Braunfels’ rapidly growing population. The WRF discharges into the Guadalupe River, a popular spot for tubing and other contact recreation activities. It utilizes an enhanced biological phosphorus removal process combining an Anoxic/Oxic process with an anoxic selector for return activated sludge and backup alum feed system to meet its 1 mg/L Total Phosphorus limit.

This facility is one of the first in the state of Texas to install and operate silicon carbide plate membranes for sludge thickening. Tour participants will have an opportunity to see the two-stage membrane thickening equipment including the permeate pump station, blowers, 2-mm fine screens, and back pulse/ clean-in-place equipment.

aerobic digestion, a chemical phosphorus removal system, and submerged membrane thickening and belt filter press dewatering.

NBU Trinity Membrane Treatment Plant

Commissioned in 2019, the New Braunfels Utilities (NBU) Trinity Membrane Treatment Plant is a state-of-the-art facility providing high-quality drinking water to the growing New Braunfels community by treating groundwater from the Trinity Aquifer. Originally designed with a capacity of 3.75 million gallons per day (MGD), the facility was recently expanded to a total treatment capacity of 7.5 MGD to meet increasing system demands.

The Trinity Plant employs a direct microfiltration membrane process—without intermediate settling—to remove turbidity and other particulates from groundwater under the direct influence of surface water (GUI). The process provides a compact, efficient, and highly reliable treatment solution that consistently meets stringent water quality and regulatory standards set by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

Key components of the facility include five membrane racks, feed water pumps, automatic strainers, a clean-inplace system, chlorine and coagulant feed systems, two 1.5-million-gallon ground storage tanks, and an expanded booster pump station with horizontal split-case pumps. The plant also features advanced process controls, energy-efficient variable frequency drives, and a backwash recycling system that enhances overall sustainability and water recovery.

NBU staff will also give participants a tour of key facilities including a 70-foot-deep coarse mechanical screen, submersible lift station, elevated headworks with mechanical screens and grit removal, main process unit with secondary EBPR and hydraulic differential clarifiers, alum feed system, automatically backwashing tertiary sand filters, in-channel ultraviolet disinfection, aerobic digestion, membrane thickening and a belt filter press dewatering facility. Environmentally conscious features include a water quality pond, dissolved oxygen control system for energy efficiency, and a bulk water delivery area to promote and make available non-potable water for public use grit removal, secondary clarifiers utilizing the first Texas installation of the SEL system, single stage aeration system, alum feed system, chlorine disinfection,

The tour will take attendees to the membrane building, which houses the membrane filtration gallery, on-site chemical and clean-inplace systems, and operations control area; wash water recycle facilities; VFD Building and booster pump station; Chemical Building; and a few of the seven nearby well sites that feed the treatment plant. The tour is limited to the first 50 people who sign up. Attendees will need to wear closed-toe shoes.

*The Texas Water Program Committee has cultivated a wide-ranging array of technical sessions that address many pressing drinking water and clean water issues. While these sessions have been arranged into primary subject tracks for organizational purposes, attendees are encouraged to review the entire program in-depth, as many technical sessions address multiple relevant subjects.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE • TECHNICAL SESSIONS

TUESDAY AFTERNOON, APRIL 28

3:304:00 pm

Facing Fatal Fumes:

Research-Driven Odor Control Design for Extreme H2S

Dhruv Deshmukh

Freese and Nichols

Coby Gee

Freese and Nichols

Top Ten Corrosion & Materials Issues Design Engineers Face in Wastewater

Douglas Sherman Corrosion Probe

Jarod Barbee

Corrosion Probe

Murray Heywood Corrosion Probe

A Holistic Odor and Corrosion Mitigation Strategy for a Complex Large Diameter Interceptor System Experiencing Rapid Growth

Neepa Shah, Hazen and Sawyer

Scott Hoelzle, NTMWD

Ashley Burt, NTMWD

What Will Make My Sludge Trucks Smell Better on the Road and How Can I Prove It?

Ian Atkins

Mead & Hunt

Mark Perkins

Mead & Hunt

Bradley Crement

North Texas Municipal Water District

Asset Management and Service Life: How to Prioritize Repairs to Concrete Infrastructure

Stephen Foster

Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates

The Other Type of Severe Wastewater CorrosionPart 2

John Mitchell

Austin Water

Rode Mora

Austin Water

Utility Executives on the Three Keys to Building Future Ready Organizations

Jason Carter Arcadis

Esteban Azagra Arcadis

Marc Cottingame

Dallas Water Utilities

Gilbert Trejo

El Paso Water Utilities

Matthew Jalbert

Trinity River Authority

Interactive CIP Tools to Support Informed and Near Real Time Decision Making

Geneva Caponi Black & Veatch

A Complex Program –Managing a $1B CIP & Construction Challenges with Large-Diameter Water Lines

Mackrena Ramos

Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam

Melissa Mack

Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam

Panduranga Kuruva City of Houston

Going With The Flow: Predictive Digital Twin At Denton Creek

Eric Redmond

Black & Veatch

Scott Kisner

Trinity River Authority

Caitlin Ruff

Black & Veatch

Houston’s AIAP as a Catalyst for Transformation: Aligning Workforce Expectations with RealTime, Predictive, and Prescriptive Analytics

Fazle Rabbi City of Houston

Joseph Majdalani City of Houston

Water as a Limiting Factor in Texas

Carlos Rubinstein RSAH2O

B.M.P. Easy as 1,2,3. Conserve with TWDB! Jessica Paz

Texas Water Development Board

Is Public Trust on Your Asset Management List? It Should Be!

Chelsea Boozer Rogue Water Lab

Turning Vision into Value: Taylor’s Water Supply Journey to High-Tech Growth

Jacob Walker HDR

Cool Clouds, Hot Demands: Big Data’s Big Thirst in Texas

Toni Rask

Lloyd, Gosselink, Rochelle & Townsend

View from Washington: Federal Update from WEF or NACWA

Updates from the Public Water System Supervision Program and Water Supply Division

Michele Risko TCEQ

Sunlight-Based Photobioreactors for Rapid Silica Removal from Reverse Osmosis Concentrate

Using Mixed Diatom Cultures from South Texas

Keisuke Ikehata, Texas State University

Lokendra Acharya, Texas State University

Harrison Gredick, Texas State University

Emma Clow, Texas State University

Hunter Adams, City of Wichita Falls

TCEQ Updates on Water Quality and Related Issues

Developing the First Carbon Based Advanced Treatment (CBAT) Direct Potable Reuse (DPR) Facility in the United States

Anthony Luu, Steger Bizzell

Mitchell Haug, Mustang Special Utility District

Cragi Stowell, Steger Bizzell

You’ve Heard this One Before: It’s Always a Water Session in Texas

Julie Nahrgang WEAT/TACWA It had to be Reuse - the City of Liberty Hill’s Journey to Long Term Water

Supply Resilience

Jennifer Glaess

Pape-Dawson

Jeff Meadows

Garver

James Herrera City of Liberty Hill

Once Upon a Flush: Public Education Through the Magic of Storytelling

Nikki Ingram City of Tyler

Finding the Right Biosolids Management Solutions in a New Era of Uncertainty

Gregory Knight Garver

Reclaimed Reality: The Gap in TCEQ’s Beneficial Reuse Credit

Christianne Castleberry

Castleberry Engineering & Consulting

*The Texas Water Program Committee has cultivated a wide-ranging array of technical sessions that address many pressing drinking water and clean water issues. While these sessions have been arranged into primary subject tracks for organizational purposes, attendees are encouraged to review the entire program in-depth, as many technical sessions address multiple relevant subjects.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE • TECHNICAL SESSIONS

TUESDAY AFTERNOON, APRIL 28

Watershed Mgmt/ Stormwater

Getting Pumped About Storm Water for NHHIP

Paul Smith WSP USA

Charging Construction

Stormwater Compliance for Lower Colorado River Authority’s Long Linear Projects Using Technology-Powered Solutions

Nathaniel Gregory, Plummer

Jennifer Leeper, Lower Colorado River Authority

Jumpstart Your Project with CMAR Contracts, an Overview of the Will Ruth Pond and Conveyance Improvements

Clinton Swearingen Arcadis

Stormwater Compliance

Under the New MultiSector General Permit: A Spotlight on Driving Watershed-Scale Improvements

Meg Pierce-Walsh Plummer

Tres Koenings Plummer

From Proposition 1 to Policy Impact: Building Resilience Through the Edwards Aquifer Protection Program

Rose Sobel

Seagull PME

Mikel Wilkins

San Antonio River Authority

Gian Villarreal

Seagull PME

Sinkhole Whack-A-Mole: Adaptive Management in San Antonio’s

CMP Program

Sulieman Naser

Tetra Tech

Sylvester Ogidan

Tetra Tech

Victoria Escobedo

City of San Antonio

Solving The Human Risk In Cybersecurity

Randy Petersen San Jacinto River Authority

Demystifying SCADA Cybersecurity for Utilities

Clayton Tidwell Garver

TRA Embarks on Ultimate Safety Journey for Handling Chlorine and Sulfur Dioxide

Spencer Lindsay, Freese and Nichols

Gennady Boksiner, Freese and Nichols

Theo Chan, Trinity River Authority

Digester Doomsday: A Tale of Revival

Daniel Roberts

Trinity River Authority

Miguel Zavala

Trinity River Authority

Modernizing Solids

Handling: Replacing Belt Filter Presses with Centrifuges to Improve Safety, Capacity, and Hauling at a WRRF

Bradley Crement, North Texas Municipal Water District

Anton Dapcic, Carollo

Steve Frost, Carollo

Using a Holistic Approach to Assessing the Impact of PFAS Emissions on Human Health Using Lifecycle Assessments (LCA)

Andrew Shaw, Black & Veatch

Patrick McNamara, Black & Veatch

Leah Pifer, Black & Veatch

Lynne Moss, Black & Veatch

Wet Weather Resilience Across Two BiofilmBased Wastewater Treatment Technologies

Priyanka Ali

Black & Veatch

Andrew Shaw

Black & Veatch

Lauren Stadler Rice University

Implementing a Novel Biodrying Process to Transform THP Biosolids Cake Arifur Rahman Jacobs

Tanner Pipher Jacobs

Todd Williams Jacobs

Development of Design Criteria for Partial Denitrification Anammox (PdNA) for Low Cost BNR

Ahmed Al-Omari Brown and Caldwell

Networking Break in the Exhibit Hall

• 3:00 - 3:30 PM

TBD

Ripple Effects: Evaluating the Financial Impact of Cybersecurity on Water Utility Infrastructure

David Brearley HDR

Pranav Kapadia HDR

Leveraging Connected Devices to Promote Lone Worker Safety

Chad Grady Blackline Safety

Securing the Flow: Lessons from a Real-World Cyberattack

Tamika Bass GFT

Optimizing Biosolids ManagementTransitioning from Class B to Class A Amid Cost, Energy, and PFAS Challenges

Aykut Sayin

CDM Smith

Advancing Toward Class A Biosolids

Certification: Strategic Pathways for Wastewater Treatment Plants

Jack Dillavou, Stantec

Nicole Stephens, Stantec

Jacob McCrary, City of Chattanooga

To Recover or Sequester? - Holistic Approaches to Managing Phosphorus (and Struvite) through Anaerobic Digestion

Brandt Miller

Hazen and Sawyer

Wendell Khunjar

Hazen and Sawyer

The Slow Burn: How Low-Level Anti-Freeze Compound Propylene Glycol Sneaks Up to Inhibit Nitrifiers

Yunfan Lu UT Austin

Nutrient Data Collection in the Texas Hill Country and a Review of Laboratory Total Phosphorus Methods

Elizabeth Edgerton Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority

Miliana Hernandez Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority

Pilot Testing New Filter Media Configurations for the East Water Purification Plant

Enhancement Project

Greg Pope, Carollo

Xi Zhao, Carollo

Drew Leonard, City of Houston

TBD

Texas Two Step: Showcasing Voices in the Water Industry

Dedra Ecklund

Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam

Shape the Future. Lead with Purpose

Shawna Arroyo

TBD

San Antonio River Authority

Sandy West San Antonio River Authority

TBD

Putting Data to Work: Using AMI Insights to Proactively Assist Low-Income Customers with Leaks

Chad Cosper San Antonio Water System

TBD

Bridging Connections; Strengthening Collaborations between Operators, Engineers & Water Professionals

Fernando Olivas Brown and Caldwell

Sergio Castro El Paso Water

TBD Make Neuroscience Your Superpower

Chelsea Boozer

Rogue Water Lab

-

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE • TECHNICAL SESSIONS WEDNESDAY

Finding the Just-Right Dose: Revisiting the “Goldilocks Principle” in Two-Stage Ozone Treatment

Mohammad Bayan Quiddity Engineering

Mariana Anguiano

Trinity River Authority

Soon Wong

Trinity River Authority

Tania Ho

Trinity River Authority

Optimizing Multi-Barrier Approaches for Geosmin, TOC, and DBP Challenges at Lake Palestine WTP

Katie Livas

HDR

Nikki Ingram

City of Tyler

Samuel Brodfuehrer

HDR

Matthew Dieffenthaller

HDR

Cutting-Edge Approach to LCRR Compliance: Field Testing of Advanced Metal Detection for Service Line

Material Identification

Kirstin Eller

San Antonio Water System

Bradley Ficko

White River Technologies

David Arambula

San Antonio Water System

Veronica Cantu

San Antonio Water System

Gregory Schultz

White River Technologies

From Disposal to Reuse: Produced Water Lessons from Texas Pilots and National Comparisons

Bhavani Chowdary Chimata

University of Texas at Arlington

Madhuri Arjun

University of Texas at Arlington

Kruthika Kokku

Eyncon Engineering and Surveying

Blueprint for Indirect Potable Reuse: Cleburne’s Path to Augmenting

Lake Pat Cleburne

Jeremy Hutt City of Cleburne

Nick Landes Freese and Nichols

David Jackson Freese and Nichols

From Lab to Utility: A Case Study Piloting Electrodialysis Metathesis for Brine Management in El Paso

Tayia Oddonetto Garver

A Tale of Two Winters: South Austin Regional Wastewater Plant Overcoming Nitrite Locks with Operational Innovation and Engineering Solutions

Wesley Tait

Austin Water Utility

Ozone in Action: Enhancing Filtration While Controlling Bromate in Houston’s EWPP Pilot Study

Xi Zhao Carollo

Drew Leonard City of Houston

Greg Pope Carollo Planning for Emergency Reuse Implementation: Utility Responses to Drought in Texas

Brigit Buff Plummer

Noelle George WateReuse Texas

PFAS in Wastewater –Opportunities for Managing PFAS using Existing WRRF Processes

Samir Mathur

CDM Smith

Eliminating Uncertainties and Improving Hydraulic Efficiencies at Walnut Creek WWTP by Utilizing Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations and Physical Modeling

Xiaohong He AECOM

Ioan Chilarescu AECOM

Step Up Your Screening Game: Reviewing the Design and Operation of Step Screens in the 212.5 MGD Headworks A Fine Screen Facility at TRA CRWS

Matthew Jalbert

Trinity River Authority

Kevin Flinn Garver

Less Than a Year to Go: Your Guide to Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) Readiness

Wendy Lundeen

CDM Smith

TRAcking Against the Clock: TPDES Permitting Strategies for Fast Growing Wastewater Systems

Peter Reale Plummer

Jennifer Moore

Trinity River Authority

Simplifying Digital Transformation: Lessons from Houston for Smaller Utilities

Pratistha Paudel

PNA Technical Services

Fazle Rabbi

City of Houston

AI Readiness and Hallucination: When Your Data and Your AI Disagree

Paola De La Torre

City of Sugar Land

Huy Ton

City of Sugar Land

Alence Poudel

City of Sugar Land

Carla Barrios

City of Sugar Land

Trevor Surface

City of Sugar Land

The Federal Funding Cliff and Texas’ Strategic Response: Maximizing IIJA Funding, Managing Annual Appropriations Uncertainty and Advancing Opportunities in the Texas Water Fund

Stacy Barna CDM Smith

Stronger Together: Partnerships That Move Flood Projects Forward

Scott Elmer

Harris County Flood Control District

Chitra Foster Carollo

Right-Sized, Future-Ready: Strategic Improvements in a High-Growth Era

Jennifer Henke Jacobs

Kurt Staller

Upper Trinity Regional Water District

Adam McKnight Upper Trinity Regional Water District

Digital Twins in the Water Industry: Asset-Centric, Network-Centric, and Operational Approaches

Freddie Guerra GHD

Management of Nitrification in Consecutive Systems: Best Practices and Wholesaler Engagement

Amlan Ghosh

Corona Environmental Consulting

Beyond the BeamAdvanced UV Design Approaches for Tomorrow’s WRRFs

Nicole Stephens Stantec

Navigating Cultural Resources During the Federal and State Permitting Process

Molly Hall

AR Consultants

Allen Rutherford

AR Consultants

City of Houston Driving Opportunities for Data in the Age of AI

William Kuehne

Ardurra

Fazle Rabbi

City of Houston

Source Water Protection

Integrating Urban Flood Risk and One Water Strategies in Fort Worth’s Urban Flood Risk Initiative

Zubin Sukheswalla

Pape-Dawson

Kiran Konduru

City of Fort Worth

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE • TECHNICAL SESSIONS

Securing the Stream: A Case Study in Successful Water and Wastewater Funding with East Rio Hondo Water Supply Corporation

Brian Macmanus East Rio Hondo Water Supply Corporation

Liz Range-Pendell Halff Associates

Piloting In-pipe Filters and Biofiltration Basins to Remove Bacteria from Stormwater in New Braunfels

Nissim Gore-Datar Arcadis

Phillip Quast

City of New Braunfels

Ashley Kent Arcadis

Coastal Water Authority

Main Canal Capacity Evaluation and Recommendation

Christopher Doherty BGE

Greg Olinger

Coastal Water Authority

Lizanne Douglas BGE

Feasibility of Regional Aquifer Storage & Recovery to Help Small Water Providers in Medina County, TX

Meet 55-year Projected Water Demands

Russell Persyn

RESPEC Company

Scooter Mangold

Yancey WSC

Cole Ruiz

Lloyd Gosselink Rochelle & Townsend

Chasing Water: How to Access Deeper, More Challenging Aquifers in Texas

Madeleine Brehaut

CDM Smith

Aaron Bustamante

CDM Smith

Jayson Barfknecht

City of Bryan

It’s Now or Never Part 2, How Rapid Growth in Fort Worth and Northlake Led to a Mutually Beneficial Solution

Frank Crumb Halff Associates

Turning Biogas Surplus into a Facility Superpower

Megan Miller CDM Smith

Laurel Schaich CDM Smith

Centrifuge Operational Adjustments Result in Real Cost Saving Opportunities

Adam Parmenter

HDR

Connecting Your Utility Across Generations for a Global Impact

Melissa Mack Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam

Farida Goderya

Fort Worth Water

Jessica Carner

Water for People

Julie Kauffman

Water for People

Binational Cooperation, Challenges, and Strategies for Transboundary Water Governance in the Rio Bravo/Rio Grande Basin

Alfredo Rodriguez

CDM Smith

QACs – The Emerging Contaminants Actually Impacting Plants Around Texas

Andrew Shaw

Black & Veatch

Elaine Masters

Trinity River Authority

Eric Redmond

Black & Veatch

Patrick McNamara

Black & Veatch

Impact of Quaternary Ammonium Compounds on Wastewater Treatment and Regulatory Compliance

Mary Sadler

Hazen and Sawyer

Brandt Miller

Hazen and Sawyer

Snow White and the Seven Hundred Feet of Clogged 84-inch Pipe: Mining 620 Tons of Mineral Build-up from a Critical Treatment Pipeline

Andrew Brower NTMWD

Kelly Rouse NTMWD

From Flood to Fine-Tuned: Austin Water’s Journey to Resilience with Polymer

Feed Systems

Chance Bailey

Austin Water

Olivia Beck

Austin Water

Greg Pope Carollo

Tips and Tricks for State and Federal Funding

Erika Donaghy Carollo

Solids Handling Study: Optimizing Sludge Transfer at the South Austin Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant

Wesley Tait

Austin Water Utility

Water For People Impact Exchange – Malawi 2025: Creating Sustainable Access to Water and Sanitation for Everyone Forever

Kim Hanson

Hazen and Sawyer

Broken Arrow PFAS Study: Wastewater Considerations, Actions, and Planning

Jonathan Thompson

HDR

Timothy Robins

Broken Arrow Municipal Authority

Pilot Scale Aeration for TTHM Reduction

Erin Mulligan

NCS Engineers

Community Dollars in Action: Improving Small Water Systems Through Public Collaboration, Funding Strategy and Proactive Agency

Engagement

Mariana Williams

HR Green

Leigh Thomas

HR Green

Adopt, Update, Audit: Navigating New Texas Impact Fee Requirements

Jessica Vassar Freese and Nichols

Solids-Centric Wastewater Treatment: Navigating the New Paradigm

Joel Cantwell

HDR

Patrick Young

HDR

Pressing Matters: Phased Sludge Dewatering System

Improvements Under Pressure: A Case Study from the City Pasadena, Texas

Keval Satra

HR Green

Venu Upadhyay

HR Green

Transforming Peru’s Water Systems: Strategies for Infrastructure and Quality Enhancement

Jill Tarski

Malone & Wheeler

Demonstrating an Onsite, Closed-loop PFAS Pre-Treatment Solution for Hauled-in Landfill Leachate at a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP)

Steven Butel

E2Metrix USA

How Computer and Physical Modeling Came Together to Save the Day! Addressing the Design Challenges of a 105 MGD Raw Water Pump Station Upgrade

Chetan Soni

CDM Smith

Emily Phaneuf

CDM Smith

Seawater DesalinationRecent Trends to Address Water Quality Changes due to Climate Change

Vasu Veerapaneni

Black & Veatch

Christopher Munson

Black & Veatch

Could Your Effluent Be Toxic? What to Know, and When to Worry

Jenni Griesel Plummer

Emerging Disinfection Byproducts: Challenges, Solutions, and Regulatory Readiness

Ashley Pifer

Halff Associates

2:202:50 pm

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE • TECHNICAL SESSIONS

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, APRIL 29

Innovative Costing Tool for PFAS Treatment: Supporting Utility Planning and Compliance in a Changing Regulatory Environment

Ramanathan Ganesan

Civitas Engineering Group

Corey Smith

Civitas Engineering Group

Sulochana Sneha Eati

Civitas Engineering Group

Addressing PFAS Rule Compliance at a Surface Water Treatment Plant

Zaid Chowdhury Garver

CMOM Without the Chaos: A Friendly Guide to Getting Ahead of Emergencies

Neepa Shah

Hazen and Sawyer

Alfredo Alcala-Jordan

El Paso Water

Kate Mennemeyer

Hazen and Sawyer

Beyond Conveyance: Evaluating the Trade-Offs Between Storage and Treatment Expansion in a Major Regional Wastewater System

Joel Wilson, Aguaze Solutions

Rami Issa, AECOM

Brad Pierce, Trinity River Authority

A Collaborative Effort to FastTrack Critical Repairs that Restore Production Capacity at the City of Houston East Water Purification Plant

Yong Wang, City of Houston

Ryan George, Freese and Nichols

Sheldon Buck, Freese and Nichols

David Munn, Freese and Nichols

Alyssa Lawrence, Freese and Nichols

Gail Charles Arcadis

Matthew Johnson City of Dallas

Advanced Statistics Driving Lead and Copper Rule Success Before and After the Deadline

Manal Alduraibi, Ardurra

Chad Morris, Ardurra

Matthew Carlson, Ardurra

Kaden Morris, Ardurra

Lewisville’s Journey to Achieve Enhanced Multi-Barrier Treatment: A Process / Pilot Study at the CRFWTP

Robert Hoffman

HDR

Katelyn Hearon

City of Lewisville

Samuel Brodfuehrer

HDR

Seeing Beneath the Surface: Prioritizing Sewer Rehabilitation in an Aging Wastewater Basin

Brian Fiske

Gresham Smith

Sweating the Assets - Low Build Intensification with the Mobile Organic Biofilm™ (MOB) Process Installation in Reno, Nevada

Graig Rosenberger NUVODA

Resilient Wastewater Solutions for the Semiconductor Surge: Sherman’s Fast Track

MBR CMAR Design, Startup and Lessons Learned

Jeff Rigdon, City of Sherman

Paul Monaco, Plummer

Quentin Geile, Plummer

Low DO, High Impact: An Affordable Approach to Nitrogen Management Integrating Mobile Media

Nicole Stephens

Stantec

Bikram Sabherwal Stantec

Sludge Treatment Reed Beds: A Proven, NatureBased Alternative for Sustainable Sludge Management

Christopher Allen Plummer

Cody McCann Plummer

Steen Nielsen

WSP Denmark

Less Can Be More: Practical Approaches for Selecting the Right Hydraulic Model

Dave Christiansen

Freese and Nichols

Maia Dupes

Freese and Nichols

Thinking Outside the Box: Design Considerations for One of the First-MBR Facilities in Texas to Incorporate Vertically Oriented External Tubular Membranes for Enhanced Process Efficiency

Julia Nania, Kimley-Horn

Raul Dominguez, Kimley-Horn

Jeff Danner, Innovatreat

First Mechanical Evaporator Approved for Domestic Wastewater Disposal!

Kendall Longbotham reUse Engineering

Lauren Wahl reUse Engineering

Anatomy and Evolution of the Combination Sewer Cleaning Machine

Rusty (M.A.) Nezat Nezat Training and Consulting

Toward Fuel-resilient Thermal Hydrolysis Process (THP) Operation at TRA CRWS Plant: Boiler Fuel Management and NG Distribution

Arifur Rahman, Jacobs Raj Mehta, Jacobs

Travis Clabaugh, Trinity River Authority

Tom Davies, Trinity River Authority

So You Have a CIP, Now What? A Case Study in Planning for Project Implementation

Ethan Shires Freese and Nichols

When the Force isn’t with You: Utilizing Innovative Force Main Design Approaches for Lift Stations in Developing Areas

Natalie Cronk

Kimley-Horn

Jack Earney

Kimley-Horn

Will Weidman

Kimley-Horn

Wastewater Sizing Using Development Density and Land Use Overlays –The FLOWS Method

Sarah Alverson

Austin Water

Joe Smith

Austin Water

Rachel Chisolm

Austin Water

Redefining Disinfection: Texas’ First Full-Scale Peracetic Acid (PAA) System at Hutto South WWTP

Ankita Jain Garver

A Look into the Crystal Ball for Three Forks WRF: How to Predict the Future with Quantitative Probabilistic Modeling

Theresa Kopper

CDM Smith

Alexandra Doody

CDM Smith

Sterling Greback

CDM Smith

Operational Considerations & Preparedness for Primary Clarification Emergency

Bypass: A Case Study at El Paso Water’s Roberto R. Bustamante WWTP

Chamindra Dassanayake Hazen and Sawyer

Jaime Benevides, El Paso Water

Sergio Castro, El Paso Water

Septic to Spectacular: Increasing the Capacity of Existing Wastewater Infrastructure for Rural Communities with Limited Resources

Anastasia Lassmann

AECOM

Erin Morris

AECOM

Oh No, My Water’s Red! How We Tamed Iron and Manganese at Rock Creek

Mohammad Bayan

Quiddity Engineering

Derek Kovalcik

Texas Water Utilities

Keyur Gorji WETS

Toby McQueary

Quiddity Engineering

Beyond the Bore: Balancing Site Selection, Budget, and Regulatory Hurdles of Well Drilling

Camryn Smiley

Kimley-Horn

Operational Excellence Through Generational Collaboration and Training

Lance Phillips

Kimley Horn

Ryan Kelly

Dallas Water Utility

Rodney Johnson

Dallas Water Utility

Preventing Electrical Failures: HVAC Strategies for Water Facilities

Electrical Rooms

Garrett Bennett

Freese and Nichols

Using Cloth Media Filtration to Remove Microplastics from the Environment

Josh Gable

Aqua-Aerobic Systems

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE • TECHNICAL SESSIONS

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, APRIL 29

Young Professionals Construction Asset Management Public Information Water Distribution

Can Bugs Climb a Mountain: Adaptation of Microorganisms to Low Dissolved Oxygen Conditions

Shashank Khatiwada Carollo

The Dog Ate the Record Drawings: Tips and Tricks for Successful Project Onboarding and Documentation from a YP’s Viewpoint

Kelly Lewis

Kimley-Horn

Maggie Erickson

Kimley-Horn

Calming the Mains:

Turning a Water Model into a Management Machine

Varenya Mehta

Civitas Engineering Group

Alence Poudel

City of Sugar Land

Carla Barrios

City of Sugar Land

Samanata Silwal

Civitas Engineering Group

Playing Nice in the Sandbox: Coordinating Four Construction Contracts at the City of Houston’s Southeast WWTP

Christopher Varnon

CDM Smith

Micah Allison

LEM Construction Company

Gauher Khan City of Houston

Austin Water’s Wastewater Treatment Plant Rehabilitation - Collaborating With Two CMARs Constructing Four CIPs Worth $1.5B With Overlapping Construction Limits, Aggressive Schedules and Twelve GMPs

Erik Kunkel, City of Austin

Charles Celauro, City of Austin

Joe Sesil, MWH Constructors

Kevin Little, MGC Contractors

Resilience Realized with CMAR: The EPWater + Arcadis + PCL/SUNDT Story

Joel Mora Arcadis

Geoffrey Espineli

El Paso Water

Juan Lopez

PCL Construction

Cracking the Code: Lessons Learned from One of North Texas’s Largest Wastewater Regional System

Hydraulic Model Calibration

Nick Dons

Trinity River Authority

Don Walker AECOM

Free Asset Management Program for Small Systems - Everything You Wanted to Know

Elston Johnson, Elston

Johnson and Associates

Gian Villarreal, Seagull PME

Michael Urrutia, Elston

Johnson and Associates

Tehrene Hart, Texas Water Development Board

Miles Ahead of the Breaks - Predictive Planning for Smarter

Pipe Replacement

Lane Rothe

San Antonio Water System

Cristina Brantley

San Antonio Water System

Digging Smarter, Not Harder: San Antonio’s Blueprint for Inventory Success

David Arambula

San Antonio Water System

Veronica Cantu

San Antonio Water System

Kirstin Eller

San Antonio Water System

Engaging Your Community and Telling Your Water Story

Adam Holguin

El Paso Water

Traci Peterson

Arlington Water Utilities

From Hydraulic Model to Digital Twin: Establishing an AI-Ready Foundation for Real-Time and Predictive Operations in a Mega-Utility

Satish Tripathi, City of Houston

Jim Cooper, Arcadis

Ben Chenevey, Arcadis

Shah Rahman, Arcadis

Pump It Up: Lessons Learned and How to Spec Pump Testing in the Field

Chloe Walsingham AECOM

Matthew Abbe AECOM

From Breaking News to Building Trust: Real-Life Strategies from Journalists Turned Water Agency Communicators

Terry Fairchild Hazen and Sawyer

Engineering Flexibility:

Designing an Evolving Pilot for Emerging Treatment Needs

Harrison Duban

Hazen and Sawyer

Enhancing Design Efficiency and Accuracy

with Advanced Mobile Scanning Technology

Chris Ackerman Garver

Flush with Challenges, Full of Solutions: Thinking Inside the Box at DCRWS

Prachi Salekar

Black & Veatch

Tania Ho

Trinity River Authority

Eric Redmond

Black & Veatch

Texas Design Build –How Does Legislation Effect You?

Patrick Worley

Burns & McDonnell

Scaling Up Without Slowing Down: The MABR Expansion Story

James Nash

Black & Veatch

Prachi Salekar

Black & Veatch

Tania Ho

Trinity River Authority

Monica Ramirez

Black & Veatch

From the Huddle to the End Zone: Scoring Big with a Texas-Sized Collaborative Water Program

Jean Autrey

Pape-Dawson

Paul Terrill

Terrill & Waldrop

Chad Sharbono

Garney Construction

Advancing Consent Decree Compliance and Digital Twins Through Automated Data Lakes in Houston

Christopher Capps

Houston Public Works

From Data-Poor to Knowledge-Rich: Advancing Asset Management

Marcela Tunon

Hazen and Sawyer

Bottom-Up Approach to Achieving Citywide Asset Management and Coordinated Infrastructure

Renewal Planning

Steven Rhodes

Freese and Nichols

Janalea Hembree

City of Burleson

Tanu Kulkarni

Freese and Nichols

Pause, Prep, Plant: A Community-Based Approach to Water Saving Landscapes in San Antonio Juan Soulas

San Antonio Water System

Smart Solutions, Steady Service: Reimagining the DWU’s Walnut Hill Pump Station

Swaroop Puchalapalli STV

Tight Fit: New EST with Unique Tank Geometry

Replacing an Existing EST on a Tight Site near DFW Airport

Ashley Waits

Irving Water Utilities

Ryan Opgenorth Garver

Bob Werling Landmark Structures

Construction in Motion: Visual Storytelling for Water Infrastructure Projects

Janet Rummel

Sigler Communications

James McQuery

Dallas Water Utilities

Crafting the Conversation:

A Sustainable Water Future for the

Hill Country

Martin Bartlett

Consor

Dalton Rice

City of Kerrville

Making GAC Work for

PFAS: Design and O&M Lessons from Full-Scale U.S. Plants

Dhruv Deshmukh

Freese and Nichols

Viraj deSilva

Freese and Nichols

This Little Piggy Went to the Water Plant. The Challenges of Operating and Maintaining 24 Miles of 30” Raw Water Pipeline

Kasey Belote Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority

Scaling for the Future: Strategic Planning and Execution of Central Texas WTP

Ana Marie Karamalegos

CDM Smith

A Tale of Two Ceramic Membrane Evaluations: A Perspective on Membrane Reliability and Flexibility and Future Trends

Yue Sun Ardurra

Catastrophic Water Plant Failure – Are You Prepared to Respond

Robert Upton

GCWA

When the Lake Turned on Us: 2025 Flood Impacts and Treatment

Austin Water

William Bailey

Austin Water

“LCLL” – Lead and Copper Lessons Learned

Abigail Hall

Garver

Playing for Time: Balancing Urgency and Sustainability with Brackish Groundwater

Amid Extreme Drought in Corpus Christi

Crystal Ybanez

City of Corpus Christi

Nicholas Winkelmann

City of Corpus Christi

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE • TECHNICAL SESSIONS

THURSDAY MORNING, APRIL 30

Expanding Baytown’s Water Future – A

Using Digital Twins to Train and Equip Operators at Houston’s NEWPP

Joey Eickhoff City of Houston

Mike Bernard Specific Energy

Electrical Equipment Procurement: Design Strategies to Avoid a Shock to Your Project Schedule

Robert Dickman STV

Closing the Cybersecurity Gap: What Utilities Have Learned and What to Fix Next

Nicholas Claudio Freese and Nichols

From Patchwork to Masterpiece: Untangling Your SCADA Systems through Master Planning

Kevin Patel

McKim & Creed

Doug Short

Trinity River Authority

Generating Harmonics:

A Review on the Impact of VFDs on Generator Sizing and System Efficiency

Robert Dickman

STV

Bobby Rodriguez

Canyon Regional Water Authority

Machine Learning Based Risk Detection and Predictive Maintenance of Wastewater Lift Station Pumps Using SCADA Data in AWS Data Lake

Nahal Maymandi, IMS Engineers

Fazle Rabbi, City of Houston

Progressive Design-Build Approach for the BAWA

East Water Treatment Plant

Geovanna Arguelles, City of Baytown

Xi Zhao, Carollo

Sarah Espinosa, McCarthy

Building Companies

Lindsay Kovar, BGE

Redefining Possibilities:

Value Engineering Collaboration at Goliad WWTP

Prachi Kala

Ardurra

Shane Simpson Associated Construction Partners

When Servers Meet Service Lines: A Primer and Lessons Learned for Utilities, Water Managers, and Data Center Developers

Morgan Jackson, Stantec

Shiladitya (Shil) Basu, Stantec Eric Hersh, Stantec

Cloud Computing Without a Forecast: The Data Deficit on Data Center Water Usage

Adam Conner, Freese and Nichols

Jeremiah Bihl, City of Abilene

Adam Foster, Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts

Margaret Cook, Houston Advanced Research Center

Strengthening the Current: Training the Next Wave of Water/Wastewater Operators

Katie Overstreet

San Antonio River Authority

Sandy West

San Antonio River Authority

Building the Texas Water Workforce by Bridging Perspectives between the Public and Private Sector

Ola Wenno Plummer

Mariana Anguiano

Trinity River Authority

Paula Szymanski City of Frisco

TXWIN Contractor

Panel Discussion

Perry Fowler Texas Water Infrastructure Network

Collaborative Delivery Saves Time! Expanding Taylor Regional Water Treatment Plant in a Hurry - $150M Construction Executed through 6 Packages, 4 years Conception to Commissioning

Jordan Muell Plummer

Addressing Differential Settlement for Critical Services while meeting Schedule and Budget at the Largest Municipal Project Utilizing Collaborative Delivery

Randy Rogers, CDM Smith

David Briggs, Victaulic

Andrew Molly, City of Houston

Data Centers, Exploring the Water/Energy Nexus

Eddie Wilcut Plummer

Gigs to Gallons – Municipal Considerations for Data Center Development

Marcela Tunon Hazen and Sawyer

Balancing Digital Growth and Water Sustainability: The Impact of Data Centers in Texas

Burhanuddin Khuzema Zaveri

Mead & Hunt

Austin Water’s Talent Apprenticeship Program (TAP)

Israel Custodio

Austin Water

Erin Blair

Austin Water

Flow Forward: Empowering the Next Generation of NTMWD’s Operations Staff

Zachary Jackson North Texas Municipal Water District

Caitlin Ruff

Black & Veatch

Eric Redmond

Black & Veatch

Bridging the Gap: GenAI Implementation Roadmap

Justas Rutkauskas

Freese and Nichols

Impacts of High TDS Discharges on Activated Sludge Nitrification and Settleability Performance

Soklida Hong Hazen and Sawyer

From Downtime to Uptime: AI-Powered Asset Intelligence for Water/ Wastewater Systems

Bret Young Rockwell Automation

Process Intensification

Paul Wood Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam

Brooke Schroeder Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam

First Prioritize, Then Optimize: The Difference Between Risk-Based and Reliability-Based Decisions

Tacoma Zach MentorAPM

Smarter Pump Management Starts Here: From Three SCADA Signals to Many Meaningful KPIs

Nahal Maymandi, IMS Engineers

Fazle Rabbi, City of Houston

Pratistha Pradhan Paudel, PNA Technical Services

Coordinating the Relocation of a 72-inch Water Line in Downtown Houston

David Pineda

Data Center Trends and the Texas WaterEnergy Nexus

Michael Weller

Tetra Tech

Beyond Innovation:

Building a Resilient Foundation for Change

Stephanie Corso Isle

Joseph Majdalani, City of Houston 11:30Noon

Pratistha Pradhan Paudel, PNA Technical Services

Joseph Majdalani, City of Houston

Aurora Technical Services

Kenneth Nichols

Tetra Tech

Greg Wukasch

San Antonio Water System

Beyond the Blueprint: How Collaboration with Operations, Laboratory, Engineering, and Maintenance Provided a Recipe for Success During Upset Conditions

Tim O’Brien, Gresham Smith

Ryan Kelly, Dallas Water Utility

Chad Kopecki, Dallas Water Utility

Darrell Poore, Dallas Water Utility

4D Puzzle: Design-Build

Delivery With 3D

Utility Modeling

Jared Jeffries

Halff Associates

Leah Hodge

Halff Associates

Planning with People: How Public Participation

Shaped Water System

Improvements in Central Texas

Mariana Williams

HR Green

Owen Krauskopf HR Green

Lessons Learned Along the Line

Brett Bohn

Providence Infrastructure Consultants

Daniel Rice

Providence Infrastructure Consultants

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE • TECHNICAL SESSIONS

THURSDAY MORNING, APRIL 30

From Manholes to Master Plans: A Holistic Take on CMOM

Marissa Bradley Freese and Nichols

Stephen Johnson Freese and Nichols

Smart Asset Intelligence: Revolutionizing Sewer System Risk Assessment Through Integrated GPAD-SSO Analytics

Sateesh Puri, Ardurra Jinia Islam, City of Houston Fazle Rabbi, City of Houston

The First Drop:

The Lift Station and Force Mains Supplying North Texas’s Newest Regional Water Resource Recovery Facility

Chloe Walsingham, AECOM

Matthew Abbe, AECOM

Roshan Thapa, North Texas Municipal Water District

Bridging Condition and Risk: An Integrated Asset Management Approach at VCWRF

Fari Samadi

City of Fort Worth

Reza Broun

City of Fort Worth

Launching a Water & Wastewater

Infrastructure Enterprise

Asset Management Initiative for Amarillo Water Utilities

William Johnson

City of Amarillo

Prescilla Finkey

City of Amarillo

Planning with Flexibility – A Dynamic Master Plan

Tania Ho

Trinity River Authority

Eric Redmond

Black & Veatch

Tom Davies

Trinity River Authority

Jennifer Loconsole

Black & Veatch

From Insights to Action: How NTMWD is Applying Public Opinion Research Results to Strengthen Water Conservation Messaging and Programming

Alex Johnson

North Texas Municipal Water District

Empowering Customers to Fix Leaks through Phone Consultations

Martha Wright

San Antonio Water System

From Policy to Action:

Making Water Conservation a Cornerstone of LongTerm Water Supply Planning in Texas

Qiwen Zhang Plummer

Brigit Buff Plummer

Mining for Gold - How to Leverage AMI Data for Better System Operations

Taylor Townes

Kimley-Horn

Thickening the Plot:

Choosing the Right Solids Handling Process for Your System

Imaya Farrell Plummer

Ana Pena-Tijerina Plummer

Hannah Leppla Plummer

Data to Dollars:

Optimizing the City of Denton’s WWTP Design Through Influent Sampling

Santos Sotelo

Kimley-Horn

Gillian Burger

EnviroSim Associates

Matthew Rowland

City of Denton

Meeting Demand, Ensuring Compliance: A Success Story in Executing Fast-Paced Water System

Improvements in Missouri City, Texas

Keval Satra, HR Green

Nicholas Cook, City of Missouri City

Gabriela Mejia, HR Green

Transforming Water Management: El Paso

Water’s Journey from High NRW to Operational Excellence

Jo-El Moore

Kamstrup Water Metering

Adam Wickersham El Paso Water

AI Agents in Water Utilities: Advancing Modeling, Planning, and Operations

Satish Tripathi

City of Houston

Networking Break in Technical Session Area • 10:10 - 10:20 AM

Transforming Wastewater Management: El Paso Water Uses Real-Time Monitoring & Data

Alfredo Alcala-Jordan El Paso Water

Rudy Daniels SmartCover Systems

Innovative Solutions to Meeting TCEQ Flow Standards in New Sewer Siphons

Adam Eddy

San Antonio Water System

K.W. Chan

Unintech Consulting Engineers

Smarter Water Main Management in Sugar Land: Dual-Horizon Planning and Machine Learning for Break Prediction

Alence Poudel, City of Sugar Land

Carla Barrios, City of Sugar Land

Paola De La Torre, City of Sugar Land

Huy Ton, City of Sugar Land

Trevor Surface, City of Sugar Land

How the City of Baytown is Building Resilience through Asset Management

- Sustaining Critical Water Infrastructure in an Era of Aging Assets and Limited Budgets

Sterling Beaver, City of Baytown

Amy Andrews, City of Baytown

Camille Brooks, Carollo

Vidula Bhadkamkar, Carollo

Ann Casey, Carollo

Better Irrigation: Mandatory Inspections for New Residential Irrigation Systems in Austin

Steve Villatoro

Austin Water

Cultivating Conservation: A Community-Wide Approach to Outdoor Water Efficiency

Jennifer Barr

El Paso Water

Balancing Growth and Supply: A Collaborative Approach to Utility Planning

Noreen Housewright

City of Grand Prairie Lane Cheek

City of Grand Prairie

Mazen Kawasmi

Freese and Nichols

Andrew Franko

Freese and Nichols

Nicholas McCormick

Freese and Nichols

Physical Modeling to the Rescue; Addressing the Design Challenges of a 50 MGD Expansion of Eagle Mountain WTP in Fort Worth, TX

Chetan Soni

CDM Smith

Pass or Fail? Reviewing WET Testing Laboratory Reports

Meg Pierce-Walsh Plummer

Chris Pasch

Plummer

Kristin Arnold Plummer

Reducing the Cost of Poor Quality and Improving Efficiency with Quality Management

Elizabeth Turner Eurofins Environment Testing

Methods for Monitoring Cyanobacteria, Cyanotoxins, and Taste and Odor in Water

Hunter Adams

City of Wichita Falls

Mark Southard

City of Wichita Falls

Sam Reeder

City of Wichita Falls

Ben Colvin

City of Wichita Falls

Inside the Pipeline: Technical Workflows in Wastewater-Based Epidemiology

Victoria Salinas

Texas Department of State Health Services

Laura Langan University of South Carolina

Strategic Lab Planning for Water Sector

Leaders: Designing for Compliance, Credibility, and Collaboration

Steven Andersen Mead & Hunt

A Double Inversion: Defying Gravity to Make Way for a New River in Fort Worth

Josh Kercho

Kimley-Horn

Go Vertical! Raising NTMWD’s Vertical Asset Management Program to New Heights

Thomas Paulmann

HDR Tyler Mott

North Texas Municipal Water District

Creating the Weekly Watering Advice Service for North Central Texas

Dustan Compton

Tarrant Regional Water District

Built to Last, but at What Cost? Life-Cycle Cost Analysis for Optimum Design Life for Water Pipelines

Firat Sever

CDM Smith

Advancing Drinking Water Methods for Comprehensive Potable Water Reuse Monitoring

Yongtao Li

Eurofins Eaton Analytical

TEXAS WATER 2026 SCHOLARSHIP GOLF TOURNAMENT

Monday, April 27 - Quarry Golf Course

7 am check-in w/ breakfast. 8 am Shotgun Scramble w/ lunch, prizes & awards following. No on-site registration. Limited to 36 teams. This year’s golf tournament will be held at the Quarry Golf Course located at 444 E Basse Road, San Antonio, TX 78209. This golf course is just 11 minutes from the Henry B. González Convention Center. The Quarry Golf Course was formerly the abandoned quarry of the Alamo Cement Plant. Keith Foster converted this unique location into a challenging layout with a links-style front nine and a back nine that plays entirely through the former rock quarry with limestone walls over 100 feet tall on three sides. The first half of the golf course plays through open fields of rolling hills with native grasses and multiple creeks and steams along six of the front nine holes. The quarry pit on the back nine is truly the most unique feature of the golf course which has a beautiful overlook from the club house. The course’s most dramatic hole is the 17th, which requires a tee shot over a deep ravine that is framed by a 40-foot waterfall.

TEAM & SPONSORSHIP PACKAGES

for every golfer, and tournament recognition

GOLD: ONE Team registration, Breakfast Sponsorship, closest to pin, longest drive (Men and Women), and tournament recognition

SILVER: ONE team registration with Tee Box Sponsorship................................

CALCULATE FEES

Want to test your operational skills?

Are you up for a c hallenge?

Want to earn braggi ng rights?

Participate in our 20-minute co mpetition to see which team of two at Texas Water has the best operational know-how.

Anyone ca n sign up!

EVEN T DETAILS:

Teams of two will solve operational challenges that occur in a wastewater treatment facility using a computer simulator.

You’ll have 15 minutes to tackle as many challenges as possible.

Get in the game and see if your team has what it takes to operate!

In addition, there will be two written operational scenarios (one for water and one for wastewater). Teams can choose which scenario to tackle, with an additional 15 minutes to complete it.

TEXAS WATER 2026 REGISTRATION

Early Registration Deadline: April 7, 2026

April 27-30, 2026 San Antonio, Texas

Payment must accompany this form or registration cannot be processed REGISTER ONLINE: www.txwater.org. PLEASE PRINT OR TYPE

EMAIL (REQUIRED FOR PROCESSING)

Received on/ before 4/7/26

Full Registration includes access to the Tues. Awards Lunch, Wed. Women of Water Breakfast, Wed. Box Lunch and Wed. Night Out

❑ Full Registration - MEMBER ....................... $395 ......... $445 ........

❑ Full Registration - NON MEMBER .............. $645 ......... $695 ........ NON MEMBERS ONLY. Full registration at the non-member rate also includes a free one-year membership in either WEF/WEAT or AWWA/TAWWA. With full, non-member registration, please indicate which organization you wish to join (new members only - no renewals): ❑ WEF/WEAT ❑ AWWA/TAWWA

❑ Student ........................................................ $50 ........... $60 .......... (no meals/special event access included, must register with .edu email)

❑ Tuesday Only - MEMBER (includes Awards Lunch access) ............... $225 .......... $265 ........

❑ Tuesday Only - NON MEMBER (includes Awards Lunch access) ............... $285 .......... $325 ........

❑ Wednesday Only - MEMBER (includes Box Lunch access) ..................... $175 ......... $215 ........

❑ Wednesday Only - NON MEMBER (includes Box Lunch access) ..................... $235 ......... $275 ........ ______

❑ Thursday Only - MEMBER $110 ......... $120 ........

❑ Thursday Only - NON MEMBER ................... $120 ......... $135 ........

❑ Exhibit Hall Only (4/28, 4/29) ........................ $65 ........... $75 .......... (No one-day passes available)

WORKSHOPS: Workshops are from 9 am-3 pm Tues. (4/28) only and include a Box Lunch and access to the Exhibit Hall

❑ Nutrient Removal Workshop (Tues.) ............. $200 ......... $240 ........

❑ Water License Exam Prep (Tues.) $200 ......... $240 ........

THURSDAY FACILITY TOURS

Select One Tour Below: ............................... $35 ........... $40 .......... ______

❑ Tour 1: SAWS H2Oaks Center

❑ Tour 2: A Tour of Flood Control and Creek Restoration Projects

❑ Tour 3: Gruene Reclamation Facilities/Trinity Membrane Treatment Plant

ADD ONS QUANTITY

*Access included with Full Registration

❑ *Conference Awards Lunch (Tues.) .............. $75 ........... $85 ..........

❑ *Women of Water Breakfast (Wed.) $50 ........... $60 ..........

❑ *Box Lunch (Wed.) ..................... . $30 ........... $30 ..........

❑ *TW26 Wednesday Night Event $100 .......... $110 ........

❑ Gloyna Breakfast (Thurs.) .............. $50 ........... $50 ..........

❑ Donation to Water For People - Optional

TOTAL PAYMENT (add right column)

TCEQ Operator License #___

I have special dietary needs: ❑ Vegetarian

❑ Other ❑ This is my first time attending the Texas Water Conference

THE EASIEST WAY TO REGISTER IS ONLINE: www.txwater.org

PAYMENT METHOD:

❑ Check Payable to: WEAT - Texas Water

Bill My: ❑ AMEX ❑ VISA ❑ MasterCard ❑ Discover

Cardholder Name__________________________________ Signature________________________________________ Credit Card Billing Address___________________________

(Put “Same” if same as above; necessary to process)

For more information, contact: Texas Water 512-251-8101 info@txwater.org Register online at www.txwater.org or mail form with payment to:

Texas Water 2026 Registration c/o GCP Association Services PO Box 676 Pflugerville, TX 78691 or fax to 512-251-8152

Early registration deadline: April 7, 2026 Received after 4/7/26

No refunds will be granted after April 7, 2026. A $60 cancellation fee will be assessed to all refund requests made prior to April 7, 2026. Substitutions allowed. Substitutions may incur a $25 processing fee. All refunds must be requested in writing. Send refund or substitution requests to Texas Water at info@txwater.org.