W EFTEC just keeps getting bigger. This year’s show, which will take place from Oct. 13 to 17, will host an estimated 1,000 exhibitors on more than 260,000 sq ft of space in the San Diego Convention Center. (Last year’s show featured 965 exhibitors on 245,000 sq ft of space.)
Learn more
Whether through networking, attending workshops and technical sessions or by being an exhibitor, everyone can learn something at the WEFTEC show. The conference offers many forums for learning about and discussing the water/wastewater industry’s most pressing and timely issues, such as regulations, membrane technologies, new research, water reuse and watershed management.
Because WEFTEC is so large (119 technical sessions and 29 workshops), and there are so many topics available to discuss and learn about, attendees can tailor their schedule to what best fits their needs. For instance, if you’re a marketing manager for a company that deals in water or wastewater products, you may be interested in the session called, “The Media Uncovered: Understanding Them So They Can Understand You,” for tips on getting better press coverage for your company. Or, if you’re a utility manager trying to deal with storm water overflow, you would want to attend the technical session entitled “Managing Stormy Weather: Best Practices,” for solutions to your challenges.
See it up close
A great opportunity for WEFTEC attendees to see products in action and technologies at work is to attend a facility tour, and this year’s conference will offer eight tours from which to choose. Each event costs $50 to attend, but note that most come with a free lunch and a chance to enjoy the outdoors.
One highlight of this year’s conference is the Padre Dam Municipal Water District/Santee Lakes tour, where tour-goers can see firsthand a wastewater agency that’s also in the business of recreation. This district created a recreation preserve—complete with camping, fishing, boating, running trails and even movies by the lake—using recycled water from a nearby reclamation plant. Urban planners, architects and government officials frequently visit Santee Lakes.
Visiting and exhibiting If you’re visiting WEFTEC as an attendee, the event offers a vast array of companies and products to view up close and personally. If you and your company are exhibiting at WEFTEC, the Water Environment Federation has six of the best reasons why exhibiting at the show is beneficial:
• 88% of attendees are buyers and decision-makers; • Attendees spend an average of 9.4 hours visiting exhibits; • Many attendees only go to WEFTEC, and 27% were first-timers last year; • All 50 states and 62 countries are represented; • It’s the largest water/wastewater exhibition in the world; and finally, • Of the 8,000 to 10,000 WEFTEC visitors, about half come just for the exposition.
Prepare
Be on the lookout for WWD’s convenient WEFTEC.07 Show Companion guide that will be featured in the September issue. You’ll want to have the guide handy for the conference, as well as comfortable shoes and a solid plan of what you want to see and learn about. WEFTEC is a one-of-a-kind show that only comes around once a year, so be prepared.
For more detailed information on the exhibitors, technical programs, facility tours and housing and travel, please visit www.weftec.org.
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