September 2023
CENTRAL TEXAS WEAT PRESENTS
STV: Tom Entsminger
EPA’s WIFIA Program: A Powerful Option for Water and Wastewater Project Financing
Through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 (WIFIA), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers substantial financial assistance for water, wastewater, and storm water projects. WIFIA’s unique financing terms and flexible application process make it a great option, but a lack of awareness has led Texas to fall behind in terms of WIFIA funding. Using the City of Pflugerville’s WIFIA experience as an example, this presentation will inform you about the program’s benefits and help you build a comprehensive funding strategy for your project.
Tuesday – September 19 at 6:00 pm
Please RSVP by following the RSVP button below.
Tom spent 13 years developing and managing state financial assistance programs, including more than seven years at the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and six years working with the Texas Community Development Block Grant program (TxCDBG). He has direct experience administering and supervising a long list of infrastructure funding programs and played a key role in the development of recent additions such as the Flood Infrastructure Fund (FIF), Asset Management Program for Small Systems (AMPSS), and revamped Economically Distressed Areas Program (EDAP). As a Funding Specialist at STV, his goal is to help communities understand their public financial assistance options and pursue the ones that suit them best. Tom studied Philosophy at the University of Texas at El Paso.
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CONGRATULATIONS 2022 WEAT CENTRAL TEXAS SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
WEAT Central Texas Chapter is proud to present five scholarships to the following applicants:
Ivanna Heigl Maza – $1,000
Ramitha Irrinki – $500
Sophie Lean – $500
Cooper Roalson – $500
Benjamin He – $500
Keep Austin Beautiful – Adopt a Creek
September 9th, 2023, 9 am-12 pm
Due to increased interest in creek clean-up events, CAC TAWWA and CTS WEAT have formally adopted a creek segment! As part of Keep Austin Beautiful, we adopted 0.41 miles of Tannehill Branch West within Bartholomew Park. Over the next two years, we will have a creek clean-up event once a quarter to pick up trash and maybe even clear out some invasive species and revegetate the creek area with native species. For each event, CAC TAWWA will provide trash bags, grabbers, gloves, bug spray, etc. – anything you’ll need.
Come join us to kick off this project on September 9th, 2023, 9 am-12 pm! We have dubbed ourselves the Bartholomew Brush Busters and we want YOU to help us bust some brush. We will meet in the parking lot of Bartholomew Municipal Pool. If you have any questions, please contact Hannah Leppla at hleppla@plummer.com.
Sign up at the link below!
Register for September 9, 2023 Creek Clean Up
Save the dates for our upcoming cleanups:
• November 11, 2023
• January 20, 2024
• March 23, 2023
2023 TAWWA Capital Area Chapter & WEAT Central Texas Section Member Appreciation Social
September 14, 2023 6-9pm
Date/Time: Thursday, September 14, 6 pm-9 pm
Location:
Lazarus Brewing Co.
1902 E 6th St
Austin, Texas 78702
Contact: Daniel Lamas – Daniel.Lamas@austintexas.gov
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Second Annual Professor Desmond Lawler Lecture Reminder
September 21, 2023 @ 3:30 PM
Location: Engineering Education and Research Center (EER) at UT Austin, Mulva Auditorium with Reception in the Mulva Foyer
Free event with no advanced registration required.
Membranes for Selective Ion Separations at the Water-Energy Nexus
Yale School of Engineering and Applied Sciences:
Dr. Menachem Elimelech
About the Speaker: Professor Elimelech received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University in 1989. In 1998, he moved to Yale University to initiate their Environmental Engineering program. His research is in the general area of the water-energy nexus. Specifically, the research in his group involves: (i) membrane-based processes for energy-efficient desalination and wastewater reuse, (ii) advanced materials for next-generation environmental separation and water decontamination technologies, and (iii) environmental applications of nanomaterials. Professor Elimelech has received numerous awards for his research, including the Clarke Prize for excellence in water research in 2005, the Eni Award for Protection of the Environment in 2015; election to the National Academy of Engineering in 2006, and election to the Chinese, Australian, and Canadian Academies of Engineering in 2017, 2021, and 2022, respectively.
Abstract: Synthetic membranes are enabling components in key technologies at the water-energy nexus, including desalination, water purification, and energy conversion. Many applications at the water-energy nexus require ion selectivity, or separation of specific ionic species from similar species. Herein, we highlight how insights from nanofluidics and ion-selective biological channels establish the basis for a new class of membranes with ion-ion selectivity. We present a few examples demonstrating the paramount role of ion-membrane interactions in governing ion permeability and selectivity. First, we assess how ion–membrane binding energies affect the permeability of cations of similar size (copper, nickel, zinc, cobalt, and magnesium) through a multilayered polymer membrane. We observe that metals with higher binding energy to iminodiacetate groups of the polymer, which we determined via density functional theory calculations, selectively pass through the membrane in multi-salt solutions. Weaker binding species are precluded from partitioning into the polymer phase, which reduces their passage in proportion to their binding energy. Second, we report the ion permeability and selectivity of composite membranes comprising a selective thin film and a cation exchange membrane as the base layer. We characterize the separation performance of the composite membrane in electrodialysis showing that the polymer selective layer markedly increased the selectivity of the cation exchange membrane. We conclude with computational studies to further elucidate the roles of (i) pore mouth interactions versus intrapore interactions, (ii) spacing and arrangement of functional groups, and (iii) channel length in controlling ion-ion selectivity.
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CP&Y, Inc. dba STV Infrastructure is a wholly-owned subsidiary of STV Incorporated (STV). STV is an innovative and progressive full-service architectural and engineering firm. STV is an award-winning professional firm consistently ranking among the country’s top companies in transportation infrastructure, including rail, mass transit, highways and bridges; water; and social infrastructure, such as, healthcare, education and justice. This success is the direct result of our employees’ commitment to innovation and quality. With more than 40 offices throughout the United States and Canada, STV’s professional, technical and support personnel are client-focused and quality-driven. We provide a complete range of planning, engineering, architectural, environmental, and construction management services to transportation, infrastructure, design-build, institutional, commercial, energy, industrial, and military clients.
Hartwell Environmental Corporation represents leading manufacturers of water and wastewater treatment equipment used in municipal and industrial treatment facilities. Hartwell Environmental Corporation was founded in 1997. We have expanded from our headquarters in Houston to three branch offices in Austin and Arlington, TX and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Our expansion has allowed us to better serve the municipal and industrial facilities in the states of Texas and Oklahoma.
Environmental Improvements, Inc., established in 1966 is a Manufacturer’s Representative firm specializing in water and wastewater treatment. We represent a complete line of manufacturers capable of treating all variations of municipal water and wastewater applications. Coupled with our product service we have been providing treatment equipment and solutions in Texas for over forty-five years.
For more than 50 years, Kimley-Horn has been providing planning and engineering consulting services to clients nationwide. Kimley-Horn has 1,500 employees across Texas and more than 6,600 employees nationwide that provide water/wastewater engineering, transportation planning and engineering, aviation, community planning services, and site planning and design. Kimley-Horn’s long record of technical achievements is enhanced by our reputation for effective management and personal service. Our engineers, planners, urban designers, and landscape architects develop insightful solutions to deliver practical results that consistently exceed our clients’ expectations.
At Plummer, we truly believe that Water is Precious. As a result, our practice has been focused on the protection and development of water resources for our clients and their customers for 40 years. We are a firm of over 120 engineering and scientific professionals dedicated to planning and design of water infrastructure. Dedicated to water resources and environmental engineering, our firm balances sound engineering principles with innovative technology tailored to our clients’ needs. From initial project kick-off, through stringent QC review, to a completed project, our focus stays on developing cost-effective solutions for our clients. We are involved from project inception to implementation and every step in between. It is what we do every day, as opposed to what we do when we have that type of project. We are proud to be one of the top engineering firms in Texas and Louisiana (ENR TX&LA 2018). Because of our focus on water-related matters, our engineers and scientists have become recognized experts in their fields at the local, state, and national level. Our motto is “quality deliverables on schedule…without exception.”
HDR provides tailored, strategic wastewater solutions that are innovative, cost-effective and sustainable.
Historically, keeping wastewater and potable water separate was the pressing goal when designing water and sewer systems. Today, integrated planning is driving the future of one water.
Our advanced treatment professionals tackle the most complex projects with innovative yet practical applications of technology to collect, treat and renew water to meet the demands of today and tomorrow. We will partner with you to develop customized infrastructure management plans and assist in optimization to help you better manage assets, extend useful life and lower operating costs.
Hazen helps clients address water supply and water quality challenges with solutions tailored to deliver lasting benefits to the communities they serve.
More than anything else, Hazen and Sawyer’s reputation is founded on the superior technical work we provide to help clients meet their water quality and water supply goals.
Our focus on water prepares us to handle the exceptional challenges facing the industry: adapting to new regulations and changes in supply or demand, targeting stretched budgets for optimal ROI, developing resilience to drought, floods, severe storms, and wildfires, charting a course into the digital age, and much, much more.
WEAT CTS Officers
President
Sean Mason 512-646-2238 sean.mason@kimley-horn.com
President-Elect
Will Wehner 512-498-4976 william.wehner@hdrinc.com
Vice-President
Jenni Griesel 512-687-2193 jgriesel@plummer.com
Treasurer
Suparna Mukhopadhyay 512-452-5905 smukhopadhya@plummer.com
Secretary
Michelle Lacks 512-685-9759 mmlacks@garverusa.com
Section Rep
Chris Pasch 512-423-4285 cpasch@plummer.com
Past-President
John Marler 512-912-5188 John.Marler@hdrinc.com
WEAT Membership
Are you a member of WEAT? If not, here are a few reasons why you should
become a member TODAY:
• Great training and networking opportunities with continuing education credit to maintain licenses
• $150 savings on Texas Water registration
• Dependents are eligible for multiple scholarships
• Receive the Texas WET magazine and e-Newsletter
• Become an automatic member of your section
You can join online today at www.weat.org or e-mail julie@weat.org