The next Central Texas Section WEAT meeting of the 2025/2026 season will be on May 19, 2026 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at, City of Austin Permitting and Development Center (PDC) at 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Dr, Austin, TX 78752!

Please RSVP by clicking the button below:

RSVP

Prepay For Meeting

Cost for Members and Guests:

$30 – includes dinner

Click here to Prepay via Credit Card

Cost for Students:

$5 – includes dinner

Click here to Prepay via Credit Card

Location: Austin Permitting and Development Center (6310 Wilhelmina Delco Dr, Austin, TX 78752)

CENTRAL TEXAS WEAT PRESENTS

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

Presented By:

Jessica Vassar, P.E., Freese and Nichols, Inc.

Impact fees are used by many municipalities to fund infrastructure, but recent legislative changes have reshaped how Texas utilities adopt, update, and defend impact fees. This presentation will unpack the changes and their effects, helping utility staff understand how to comply with the new requirements.

Jessica Vassar, P.E.

Jessica Vassar is Freese and Nichols’ Senior Technical Professional for water and wastewater impact fees. She has been involved in more than 25 impact fee studies including new programs and program updates. Jessica is an FNI Associate and Project Manager in the Water/Wastewater Master Planning Group and is an active member of the Water Environment Association of Texas (WEAT).

The post Central Texas Section WEAT 2025/2026 May Meeting appeared first on Water Environment Association of Texas.

The next Central Texas Section WEAT meeting of the 2025/2026 season will be on March 24, 2026 from 11:30 am – 1:00 pm at Austin Water-Center for Environmental Research, 2210 South FM 973, Austin, Texas 78725

Please RSVP by clicking the button below:

RSVP

Prepay For Meeting

Cost for Members and Guests:

$30 – includes dinner

Click here to Prepay via Credit Card

Cost for Students:

$5 – includes dinner

Click here to Prepay via Credit Card

Location: Austin Water – Center for Environmental Research (2210 FM973, Austin, TX 78725)

CENTRAL TEXAS WEAT PRESENTS

Weathering the Storm: SAWS Emergency Preparedness Efforts and Disaster Recovery

 Presented By:

Alycia C. Tretta, San Antonio Water Systems (SAWS)

Water systems are good at responding to small and medium water emergencies, but what happens when you have a large or new water emergency event that disrupts water and wastewater services? It is critical that your system can provide water and wastewater services during times of crisis. New hazards/threats, large events and cascading/complex events can have significant impacts to a water or wastewater system. Systems must become resilient to the everchanging threat landscape. By implementing an emergency management program, systems can improve their resiliency to handle all-hazard complex events. This presentation will cover conducting a risk and vulnerability assessment, emergency response and specific hazard/threat plans, incident response training and exercises, claims and seeking reimbursement, and communication, documentation, and post-incident reports through best practices and lessons learned at the San Antonio Water System.

Alycia C. Tretta, SAWS

Alycia C. Tretta is the Director of Operations Support for the Production Operations & Maintenance group at San Antonio Water System (SAWS). She has worked in the Customer Service, Innovation and Efficiency, Engineering, Office of the COO, Production and Treatment departments throughout her 18+ years at SAWS. She is responsible for filing the FEMA/TDEM Disaster Reimbursement Claims and oversees the emergency mass notification system for SAWS. She is a Certified Public Manager for the State of Texas and holds a Master of Arts in Legal Studies from Texas State University-San Maros and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Texas Lutheran University.

The post Central Texas Section WEAT 2025/2026 March Meeting appeared first on Water Environment Association of Texas.

The next Central Texas Section WEAT meeting of the 2025/2026 season will be on February 17, 2026 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at, City of Austin Permitting and Development Center (PDC) at 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Dr, Austin, TX 78752!

Please RSVP by clicking the button below:

RSVP HERE

Prepay For Meeting

Cost for Members and Guests:

$30 – includes dinner

Click here to Prepay via Credit Card

Cost for Students:

$5 – includes dinner

Click here to Prepay via Credit Card

Location: Austin Permitting and Development Center (6310 Wilhelmina Delco Dr, Austin, TX 78752)

CENTRAL TEXAS WEAT PRESENTS

Bridging the Gap Between Engineering and Public Works/Utility Operations

Presented By:

Matt Woodard, Public Works Director for City of Manor

Frank Phelan, P.E.,GBA 

 Imagine a project where engineering and operations work as one team, turning complex designs into practical, sustainable infrastructure. Bridging the Gap Between Engineering and Public Works/Utility Operations explores how collaboration transforms projects from technical exercises into operational successes. When engineering teams engage operations early through planning, scoping, equipment selection, and design, projects align with real-world needs. Involving operators in design reviews, inspections, and commissioning reduces transition pain and improves long-term performance. Regular meetings, clear communication, and accessibility build trust and accountability, ensuring smooth handoffs from bidding to warranty. By embedding operational perspectives throughout the lifecycle, organizations deliver infrastructure that is efficient, sustainable, and ready for the future.

Matt Woodard, Public Works Director for the City of Manor, brings over 31 years of experience in the public works industry. He previously retired from a neighboring city that underwent significant population growth and numerous infrastructure projects to meet increasing demand and prepare for future expansion. The City of Manor is a rapidly growing community, ranked as the sixth-fastest-growing U.S. suburb over the past decade. In his current role, Mr. Woodard is responsible for the comprehensive management of the city’s critical infrastructure, services, and personnel, including Water, Wastewater, Stormwater, Streets, Parks, and the Cemetery. He holds multiple professional licenses issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, including Class “A” Wastewater Treatment Operator, Class “A” Water Operator, Landscape Irrigator, Customer Service Inspector, and Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester.

Frank Phelan, P.E., is an accomplished engineering executive with 29 years of progressive leadership experience in the A/E industry, specializing in municipal infrastructure. As Principal at George Butler Associates, Inc. (GBA), Frank leads the Texas Municipal Services Group and serves as City Engineer for multiple Texas cities. He is recognized for delivering complex public and private projects with technical precision and strategic vision, successfully managing multimillion-dollar capital improvement programs. His experience covers every stage of the project lifecycle, including master planning, capital program management, design, construction, and commissioning. Frank’s specialties include water resource planning, hydraulic modeling, water distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, utility operations, and regulatory compliance. He earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Texas.

The post Central Texas Section WEAT 2025/2026 February Meeting appeared first on Water Environment Association of Texas.

The next Central Texas Section WEAT meeting of the 2025/2026 season will be on January 20, 2026 from 11:30 am – 1:00 pm at Austin Water-Center for Environmental Research, 2210 South FM 973, Austin, Texas 78725

Please RSVP by clicking the button below:

RSVP

Prepay For Meeting

Cost for Members and Guests:

$30 – includes dinner

Click here to Prepay via Credit Card

Cost for Students:

$5 – includes dinner

Click here to Prepay via Credit Card

Location: Austin Water – Center for Environmental Research (2210 FM973, Austin, TX 78725)

CENTRAL TEXAS WEAT PRESENTS

SCADA Master Planning

 Presented By: Nick Claudio, P.E., Freese and Nichols, Inc. 

This presentation explains how a SCADA Master Plan gives your utility a clear, long-term roadmap for your control systems. It starts by describing common problems: aging equipment, inconsistent standards, cybersecurity risks, and “firefighting” instead of planned upgrades. From there, it introduces the idea of moving from scattered, project-by-project work to a structured, multi-year program guided by a single master plan.

The story then walks through how the plan is built. First, we perform a Current State Assessment to understand what you have today, what is working, and where the biggest pain points are. Next, we gather input from operations, maintenance, IT, and management to define business and technical requirements. A cybersecurity assessment follows to identify vulnerabilities and needed protections. With this information, we complete a gap analysis, develop alternatives, and group the work into projects. Finally, we build a phased implementation roadmap with budgets, schedules, and responsibilities, and set expectations for ongoing program management.

Nick Claudio, P.E., Freese & Nichols, Inc.

Nick has over 18 years of experience in developing, deploying, and operating SCADA systems for the water and wastewater industry. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Florida Atlantic University and is the I&C Team Manager at Freese and Nichols. Nick has also managed a cloud-based SCADA system with over 1,000 remote sites and played a key role in SCADA Master Planning projects. He was published in the Florida Water Resources Journal for his work on the Mount Pleasant Waterworks SCADA Master Plan.

The post Central Texas Section WEAT 2025/2026 January Meeting appeared first on Water Environment Association of Texas.

The next Central Texas Section WEAT meeting of the 2025/2026 season will be on November 20, 2025 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at a NEW LOCATION, City of Austin Permitting and Development Center (PDC) at 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Dr, Austin, TX 78752!

Please RSVP by clicking the button below:

RSVP HERE

Prepay For Meeting

Cost for Members and Guests:

$30 – includes dinner

Click here to Prepay via Credit Card

Cost for Students:

$5 – includes dinner

Click here to Prepay via Credit Card

VERY IMPORTANT: LOCATION CHANGE

Location: Austin Permitting and Development Center (6310 Wilhelmina Delco Dr, Austin, TX 78752)

CENTRAL TEXAS WEAT PRESENTS

 Liberty Hill Pure Water LHTX Initiative

Presented By: Jeff Meadows, P.E.  

Jeff Meadows will present on Liberty Hill’s Pure Water LHTX initiative, a direct potable reuse program developed to address two of the City’s key challenges, newly lowered phosphorus limits at the South Fork Wastewater Treatment Plant and limited water supplies in the rapidly growing northwest Austin region. The presentation will outline the project’s background, regulatory drivers, and upcoming pilot program, which will evaluate both reverse osmosis (RO) and carbon-based (non-RO) treatment trains and illustrate how Liberty Hill’s innovative approach could serve as a model for future inland potable reuse projects across Texas.

Jeff Meadows, P.E.

Jeff Meadows serves as a Facilities Team Leader for Garver and has over a decade of experience in water and wastewater treatment plant design. His experience includes detailed design for small- and large-scale facilities, hydraulic modeling, membrane pilot testing, and hands-on operations. Jeff is a licensed Professional Engineer and holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Georgia Tech and a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University.

The post Central Texas Section WEAT 2025/2026 November Meeting appeared first on Water Environment Association of Texas.

The first Central Texas Section WEAT meeting of the 2025/2026 season will be on September 23, 2025 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at the Thompson Conference Center!

Please RSVP by September 16th by clicking the button below:

Prepay For Meeting

Cost for Members and Guests:

$30 – includes dinner

Click here to Prepay via Credit Card

Cost for Students:

$5 – includes dinner

Click here to Prepay via Credit Card

 Low Effluent Phosphorus is Here: Case Studies from the San Gabriel River Watershed

 Presented By: Alexandra Doody, P.E.  

Total phosphorus limits issued in new and amended Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits for municipal entities in discharging to the San Gabriel river in Central Texas are becoming increasingly strict. This presentation will highlight the technologies that municipalities have employed across the United States to achieve ultralow phosphorus concentrations, and then will review case studies of how the City of Liberty Hill and the City of Georgetown are rising to the challenge to expand their wastewater treatment capacity needs while also protecting the San Gabriel watershed. 

Alexandra Doody, P.E.

Alex has 18 years experience as a wastewater treatment process specialist at CDM Smith in Austin, Texas. Her professional experience has ranged across the lifecycle of wastewater treatment projects in both warm and cold-weather climates, including bench-scale and pilot-scale treatability studies, process alternatives evaluation, process/mechanical design and construction oversight, as well as optimization and fine-tuning of treatment process performance and operational costs. She is a licensed professional engineer in the State of Texas and in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The post Central Texas Section WEAT 2025/2026 September Meeting appeared first on Water Environment Association of Texas.