Five days agenda pure

Hennef. The German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste (DWA) is presenting itself from 5 to 9 May 2014 with a comprehensive programme at the IFAT, the world’s leading trade fair for environmental technology, in Munich. Under the motto “Think Green - Think Future”, for the first time, the DWA is bringing together part of its trade fair range in Hall B 0 near the West Entrance. There, the technical-scientific forum will be offered with two presentation areas at once, along with the Universities’ Marketplace, the IFAT JOB CENTRE, the Young Water Professionals’ Programme and the Young Professionals’ Lounge.

With this spatial concentration of events and activities, the DWA aims to create a new meeting place for research, education and human resources development. As a conceptual sponsor of the IFAT, the DWA will also continue to be represented at other locations on the fairground.

Highlights of the DWA events and activities in Hall B 0 are:

Tag der Kommunen zum Hochwasserschutz (municipalities’ flood protection conference)

The municipalities’ day, which is organised by the DWA in collaboration with the central municipal associations, deals with the theme “flood prevention - a community task”. The event looks at the flood of 2013 and examines the question of which events were unique and which are to be expected in the future. The implementation of the decisions of the Special Conference of Environment Ministers for Flood Protection in the autumn of 2013 from the perspective of the federal and state governments is another issue. What integrated flood protection means for a city, how flood protection and disaster control can be better coordinated and what positions the central municipal associations take on flood prevention in the area are looked at from the point of view of the municipalities.

Innovationsforum Wasserwirtschaft (water management innovation forum)

Under the motto “From research to practice”, at the fifth “Water management innovation forum”, experts from the fields of science, business, public administration and the municipalities discuss current water management research priorities and their implementation in practice. The central themes include the energy-efficient and resource-conserving use of water, the effects of climate change and the consequences for water management, and wastewater treatment process technologies under various climatic conditions. The use of geographic information systems in water management is also to be illuminated. How, with the help of what is known as risk communication, the population can be sensitised to hazards - for example from pollutants and pathogens in water or flood risks - and, ultimately, behavioural change be brought about, is another topic of the innovation forum.

The water management innovation forum is organised by the DWA in cooperation with the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (German federal environmental foundation - DBU) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The aim of the event is to promote the exchange between research and practice.

International symposium

The 17th symposium “WATEnergyResources - water, energy and resources: innovative options and sustainable solutions” of the European Water Association (EWA) deals with the interactions between energy and material resources such as sewage sludge. The issues are “energy and efficiency in the water supply”, “energy and resource management in wastewater treatment”, “bioenergy and by-product recovery in sewage sludge management” and “energy and resource extraction in new sanitary systems”. The EWA symposium is aimed at an international specialist audience from science and water management.

Young Water Professionals’ Programme and Young Professionals’ Lounge

As part of the Young Water Professionals’ Programme, seventy young engineers from Germany and abroad will have the opportunity to attend the fair, to take part in field trips and seminars and to socialise. The week-long programme in English offers the young German and non-German engineers the opportunity to get to know German companies and German knowledge, to network with others and return to their workplace or their home countries with positive experiences.

For young members of the International Water Association (IWA), the EWA and the DWA as well as for former participants of the Young Water Professionals’ Programme, the DWA again offers the opportunity to relax in the “Young Professionals’ Lounge” and process the impressions of the fair. Access to the lounge is free, but only after prior registration under http://en.dwa.de/young-water-pros.html.

UN Water with stand and conference on site

In the UN Water Center, together with members and partners, UN Water - an inter-organisational network for the improvement of the supply of water and sanitary facilities in developing and emerging countries – presents current programmes and focal points. Since water and energy are inextricably linked, the United Nations are this year directing their attention to this issue, which is also the subject of the UN World Water Development Report. On 7 May, the UN-Water session is to be held from 2.00 to 3.00 pm in Hall A 5 with the participation of several UN organisations.

Interested parties can find out there about UN-Water and the interplay between the public and private sectors.

DWA/DBU knowledge exchange project

With the moral and financial support of the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU), the DWA has been able to carry out numerous knowledge exchange projects in South Eastern Europe in recent years. Several of these projects are presented here.

 Other lectures in the technical-scientific forum

Under the auspices of the DWA in Hall B 0 lectures can also be heard on the following topics:

Fee-based special events of the DWA

In the seminar room A 12, on two subsequent days, the DWA offers events on the following themes:

Universities’ Marketplace and IFAT JOBCENTER

At the “Universities’ Marketplace”, universities and colleges from different countries present study places and study areas as well as current research projects. In this way, young engineers can get an overview of the academic training opportunities in a compact form.

In addition to this, numerous companies present themselves at the IFAT JOB CENTER (www.dwa.de/jobcenter), which has now been launched at the initiative of the DWA. Skilled workers, foremen, engineers and scientists here have the opportunity to contact companies, get to know them as employers and explore career opportunities. The “Job Wall” also provides information on job vacancies and can be starting point for a first job interview on the spot.

Professional competition: wastewater and sewage treatment plant professionals at the start

In addition to the theoretical discussion forums, the “Second open German championship in wastewater technology” will be a practically oriented highlight of the DWA events. On four days of the fair, trainees and young professionals under the age of twenty-two as well wastewater and sewage treatment plant professionals with years of experience will demonstrate to the visitors the - sometimes difficult - conditions under which they work and what is expected of them. The best teams will go home at the end of the week with certificates and medals.

The participants from the sewer operations have to compete in the disciplines “entry into a sewer with previous securing of the manhole in the traffic area” and “pump maintenance and repair”. The competitors from the sewage treatment plants have to show that they master the process, measuring and control technology and know how a sewage treatment plant works.

The jury of experts from the DWA technical committees “Health and safety” and “Skilled workers and foremen” rated the speed of the teams, but also the observance of regulations. One goal of the competition is to draw attention to the fact that occupational health and safety should not be neglected in daily operations. In addition, the DWA professional competition aims to promote the profession “wastewater engineering specialist” and inspire young people to train for the profession. Because only well-qualified professionals can guarantee smooth operations in wastewater treatment.

The second open championship in wastewater technology will be held in the outdoor area between Halls A 1 and B 1. The competitions will take place from 5 to 8 May and will start on Monday at 2.00 pm and on each of the other days at 9.00 am.

Supporting programme of the DWA

As part of its supporting programme, the DWA offers several field trips. The participants will visit the sewage treatment plant Großlappen on the northern edge of Munich, but they can also view various sewage construction sites in Munich or the recycling centre Feldmoching in Munich. In addition, an excursion to the renatured Isar is on the agenda.

The trips are to take place from 6 to 8 May between 2.00 and 6.00 pm, each at a cost of 30 Euros, and can be booked through teichmann@dwa.de.

DWA again represented with two booths

In the West Entrance Hall, international associations of the water management sector present themselves under the aegis of the DWA. The DWA member companies present their products and services in Hall A 5. Here, the complete publishing range of the DWA can also be viewed and purchased. It is also possible to arrange individual presentation appointments for the DWA’s own software series “Expert”, which is on the market with two new/further developments.

Both stands provide information on the complete range of services of the DWA, for example, the rules and standards, other publications, as well as training offers.

The DWA’s association stand is stand number 1, the company stand can be found under the number 213/312. An overview of the events is available at www.ifat.dwa.de.