WRF Research at WEFTEC

Don’t miss The Water Research Foundation’s latest work at WEFTEC!

WRF and our team will be showcasing exciting research at workshops and sessions, highlighting the newest innovations in water quality. Be sure to check it out!
 

Saturday, September 27, 2025
 

• W04 – Strategies for Measuring and Mitigating Fugitive Methane Emissions
  McCormick Place, Room S503a – Level 5
  8:30 am – 5:00 pm
  • Establishing Industry-Wide Guidance for Water Utility Life Cycle GHG Inventories (#5188)
  • Developing a GHG Emissions Library for Unit Processes by Water Utilities and Decentralized Systems (#5255)
     
• WEF, WRF, and AWWA: Exploring the Role of Generative AI for the Global Water Sector
  Workshop Facilitator and Speaker: Sydney Samples
  McCormick Place, Room S403 – Level 4
  1:30 pm – 5:00 pm 
   

Sunday, September 28, 2025
 

• W09 – WEF and WRF: Practical Application of Instrumentation and Controls for Aeration and Nutrient Removal
  McCormick Place, Room S503a – Level 5
  8:30 am – 5:00 pm 
   
• W10 – WEF and WRF: Planning Your Data and Analytics Roadmap
  Workshop Facilitator: Sydney Samples
  McCormick Place, Room S404c – Level 4
  8:30 am – 5:00 pm 
   
• W12 – Demystifying Nitrous Oxide (N2O) Measurement and Quantification
  Offsite at Stickney Water Reclamation Plant
  8:15 am – 5:00 pm
  • Advancing the Understanding of Nitrous Oxide Emissions Through Enhanced Whole-Plant Monitoring and Quantification (#5251)
     

Monday, September 29, 2025
 

• Biosolids Planning from WRF to the WRRF
  McCormick Place, Room S505a – Level 5
  1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
  • 1:30 pm – Evaluating Innovative and Sustainable Treatment Options for Biosolids (#5169)
     
• Densified Activated Sludge (DAS) Fundamentals
  McCormick Place, Room S404c – Level 4
  1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
  • 1:30 pm – Determination of the Critical Anaerobic HRT to Maintain Settleability at Low DO (#5083)
     
• Mastering Critical Asset Management for Long-Term Success
  McCormick Place, Room S501c – Level 5
  1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
  • 1:30 pm – Renewing Our Wastewater Assets: Are Utilities Ready for the Challenge? (#5196)
     
• Bringing Bugs into Focus: Microbial and Genetic Tools for Optimizing WRRF Performance
  McCormick Place, Room S402a – Level 4
  3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
  • 3:30 pm – Genetic Analysis in Treatment Process Monitoring (#5291)
     
• Balancing Act: Nutrients, Water Quality, and Ecosystems
  McCormick Place, Room S504a – Level 5
  3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
  • 4:00 pm – Nutrient Reduction Planning: Illinois' Journey and Lessons Learned (#4974)
     
• Innovative Approaches to Design and Optimization
  McCormick Place, Room S405a – Level 4
  3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
  • 4:30 pm –Developing a Digital Protocol to Optimize Biological Nutrient Removal Performance (#4869)
     

Tuesday, September 30, 2025
 

• From Machine Learning to Agentic AI: Exploring the Journey for Utilities and their Workforce
  Lead Facilitator: Jeff Moeller
  McCormick Place, Room S403b – Level 4
  8:30 am – 10:00 am 
   
• Infrastructure Investments and Strategies of Corporate Responsibility
  McCormick Place, Room S403a – Level 4
  8:30 am – 10:00 am
  • 8:30 am – Developing an Environmental, Social, and Governance Framework for Water Utilities (#5206)
     
• Microbial Selection and Performance Under Low DO Conditions
  McCormick Place, Room S405a – Level 4
  8:30 am – 10:00 am
  • 8:30 am – Emissions, Energy, and Performance: Low Energy BNR at Full Scale (#5083)
  • 8:50 am - Denitrification, Hydrolysis and Internal Store Carbon in Low Dissolved Oxygen Biological Nutrient Removal (#5083)
     
• Microplastics in Wastewater Treatment: Insights from Recent Research
  McCormick Place, Room S402a – Level 4
  8:30 am – 10:00 am
  • 9:00 am – Impact of Solid Stream Treatment on Microplastics in Biosolids (#5221)
     
• Executive Interview: 5321 Partnered Project – The Role of Generative AI (GenAI) for the Global Water Sector (#5321)
  Speaker: Peter Grevatt
  McCormick Place, Booth 6706 – North Hall B1
  9:00 am – 9:45 am
   
• Innovation Pavilion: Ethical AI for a Resilient Water Future
  McCormick Place, Booth 5715 – North Hall B1
  9:30 am – 10:00 am
  • 9:30 am – Ethical AI for a Resilient Water Future (#5321)
     
• Circular Water Theater Session – CWE: Navigating One Water Planning
  Co-speaker: Harry Zhang
  McCormick Place, Booth 2665 – South Hall A2
  10:30 am – 11:00 am 
   
• Utility Leaders Afternoon, including the Utility of the Future Today Awards, co-hosted by WEF, NACWA, US Water Alliance, WateReuse, and WRF
  McCormick Place, Room S406a – Level 4
  1:00 pm – 4:00 pm 
   
• Know What’s Coming In: Source-Tracking of PFAS
  McCormick Place, Room S404a – Level 4
  1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
  • 1:30 pm – Exploring Machine Learning Algorithms to Support Municipal Wastewater Treatment PFAS Source Identification and Control Efforts (#5276)
  • 2:30 pm - Seven Habits of Highly Effective PFAS Source Trackers (#5082)
     
• Leveraging DE&I Strategies, Emerging Best Practices, Guides, and Tools for our Water Industry (#5180)
  McCormick Place, Room S405a – Level 4
  1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
  • 1:45 pm – Water Research Foundation Acknowledgement
     
• Upskilling the Water Workforce in the Age of GenAI (#5178 and 5189)
  McCormick Place, 
  2:30 pm – 3:15 pm
   
• Water Reuse: Today’s Landscape and Tomorrow’s Path
  Speaker: Julie Minton
  McCormick Place, Room S405a – Level 4
  3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
  • In partnership with the Water Reuse Association and the Water Research Foundation, this session will offer diverse perspectives from across the water reuse community
     

 Wednesday, October 1, 2025
 

• Thermal Treatment of PFAS in Biosolids
  McCormick Place, Room N426b – Level 4
  10:30 am – 12:00 pm
  • 10:30 am – Rethinking the Impact of PFAS Emissions in Biosolids Thermal Processes through a Holistic Life Cycle Assessment (#5211)
     
• Full-Scale Primary Sludge Fermentation
  McCormick Place, Room S503a – Level 5
  10:30 am – 12:00 pm
  • 11:00 am – Investigating Fermentation of Primary Sludge in Full-Scale Gravity Thickeners (#4975)
     
• Thermal Treatment of PFAS in Biosolids
  McCormick Place, Room N426b – Level 4
  10:30 am – 12:00 pm
  • 11:00 am – Understanding Gasification for PFAS Removal in Residuals: Full-Scale Study Results from WRF Project #5107
     
• Removal, Fate, and Sequestration of PFAS in Biosolids
  McCormick Place, Room S405a – Level 4
  1:30 pm – 3:00 pm
  • 2:30 pm – Opportunities for Managing PFAS Utilizing Existing Processes (#5031)