What Is 'The Voice Of The Industry' Saying?
By Dan Durda, President and CEO of Aeration Industries International
All’s well along the Potomac, at least for another year.
We all know that winter has given way to spring when we see those beautiful cherry blossoms along the Potomac River and Congress starts packing up and heading home. But most of all, it is that time of year when all the water industry leaders gather in the nation’s capital to get the most current information on what will affect their respective companies and markets in the coming years by attending the Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association’s annual Washington Forum.
A three-day event, the 39th Washington Forum featured participants from across industry lines and engaging discussion of the subjects currently affecting them. Speakers included the co-chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Water Council, who addressed the challenges large, medium, and small town mayors face with budgets strapped between allocating funds for patching pot holes to investing in sewage plant upgrades. City officials are now taking a longer view of the life cycle costs for the acquisition of capital equipment costs, rather than the old system of “low bidder.”
There has never been a conference that has not addressed the never-ending challenge of funding and this WWEMA Forum was no exception. An in-depth presentation was made regarding the increasing interest in public-private partnerships or the “P3’s.” This is an interesting concept where a public entity partners with a private company to maximize the use of each other’s strengths. By doing so, the entity can reduce reliance on public capital investment, maximize underutilized assets, improve efficiencies, and provide the utility and the community with improved service, cost effectiveness, and equitable risk allocation. Public-private partnerships are not to be confused with “privatization,” as P3’s are contractual agreements between public and private sectors to enlist the skills and assets that each party shares with the other and not a wholesale takeover of one partner over the other. At last count, 31 states have begun the process to implement a path towards public-private partnerships.
Making for a stimulating point of conversation was the interplay of politics and the economy, and how that dynamic affects the business community. An in-depth and lively presentation covered key economic drivers that are steering today’s economy, and was presented in terms that lent meaning behind the numbers. Topics ranged from what to expect from the next congressional session to how changing customer behaviors — driven, in part, by social media and cultural influences — are affecting the way marketing executives will approach their marketing styles and techniques.
Holding WWEMA’s Forum in our nation’s capital each year offers the participants access to many senior EPA officials who can offer the latest updates on the regulatory front. This year was no exception, with speakers covering major initiatives pertaining to drinking water standards that are being pursued, as well as wastewater management issues covering responsible treatment and disposal of wastes, restoration of utilities, and protection of watersheds.
No program would be complete without the proverbial look ahead at future technology developments pertaining to a suite of issues ranging from nutrient contaminants to minimizing impacts from various industrial sectors. Last but not least, there was discussion of new approaches toward “enforcement” and “compliance” and how EPA intends to move away from its traditional role of vigorous civil and criminal enforcement to a new policy framework which allows communities to prioritize their water quality goals and discharges through a permitting process. This new mechanism takes into account affordable solutions geared towards investment in innovation rather than fines and other decrees so that utilities may even explore “green” solutions as a means of resolution.
Speakers from Congress, the private sector, and a broad band of international trade experts shared their thoughts on pertinent subjects pertaining to the rebirth of U.S. manufacturing and the outlook for construction and exports.
In the final analysis, whether you are a manufacturer of equipment or desire to keep abreast of the changing times and events in the environmental industry, WWEMA is the voice of the industry and the only organization that speaks for the manufacturers. As the American humorist Will Rogers once lamented, “You maybe on the right track, but if you don’t keep moving you’ll get run over.”
About the Author
Dan Durda is the President & CEO of Aeration Industries International (www.aireo2.com) and the Past Chairman of the Water & Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (WWEMA). Durda co-founded Aeration Industries in 1974 along with his late father, Joseph Durda. The company manufactures process aeration equipment and wastewater treatment systems worldwide. Durda graduated from the University of Minnesota and the Harvard Business School Owners President Management (OPM) Program.