Carly Kaneko, At-Large Trustee and 2022 Conference Committee Co-Chair

First off, thank you to everyone who attended this year’s conference, all our sponsors and exhibitors, as well as the hardworking conference committee and the board for all their support! This year’s conference was held as a virtual event for the second year in-a-row. The decision to move forward as a virtual event was a difficult one as the delta variant made its emergence just as many of us began to return to some level of normalcy. In an effort to prioritize the safety of all attendees and to mitigate risks associated with planning a fully in-person conference, the chairs ultimately decided to forgo the typical conference event this year.

Despite being unable to see friends and colleagues in-person at the convention center this year, the turnout was still great! We had a little over 600 registered attendees this year, over 70 speakers, 28 generous sponsors, and 14 premium exhibitors. Fortunately for the conference committee and the attendees, we were able to utilize the same conference platform from 2021, helping to reduce the learning curve for all.

The conference opened with keynote speaker, Ka'ēo Duarte, Ph. D., Vice President of Community and 'Aina Resiliency for Kamehameha Schools, who encouraged us to collaborate and work together through the many challenges faced by our industry. The priorities and opportunities highlighted included expanding reuse and recycling of water, the importance of recharge and watershed protection to protect our island’s water quality and quantity, conservation and efficiency, and equity ensuring water and resources are accessible to all. Thank you to Ka'ēo for sharing his insight and thoughts on water resources, it was the perfect kick-off to the conference!

The AWWA Hawaii Section welcomed AWWA’s President-Elect, Chi Ho Sham, to our virtual conference. We were fortunate to have him provide two presentations this year, one opening message to welcome all the conference attendees and another to the YP’s to discuss career paths and provide lessons on navigating and shaping a successful career. He also shared AWWA updates and upcoming events at our general meeting, installed the AWWA officers at the end of conference social event, and announced this year’s Fuller Award winner.

Thank you to Chi Ho for sharing his time and words with all of us, we hope he is able to finally visit us in-person next year!

The AWWA Fresh Ideas Poster Conference is an annual event at the PWC, this year we are proud to announce we have two winners. First place was awarded to Connor Kagamida for his presentation titled, “A Preliminary Study of Staphylococcus aureus in the beach sand and water at Pokai Bay” and second place was awarded to Carl Min Ki Jeon for his presentation titled, “Daily Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Wastewater from Two Wastewater Treatment Plants in Honolulu during a COVID-19 Lockdown”.

The AWWA Hawaii Section was also proud to award one scholarship at this year’s conference. This year’s very deserving scholarship recipient was Jaycie Matsunami. Congratulations to Connor Kagamida, Carl Min Ki Jeon, and Jaycie Matsunami for your outstanding accomplishments!

The virtual conference culminated in an End of Conference Social Event, which included a virtual officer installation ceremony, announcement of section awards, and the announcement of this year’s George Warren Fuller Award recipient. This year’s Fuller Award was given to our very own AWWA-HI Section Director, Juanita Reyher-Colon. Juanita’s contributions to the water industry are significant and diverse and her personal upbringing has instilled in her a commitment to volunteerism and a desire to work for greater female representation in all professions. Congratulations Juanita, we are extremely proud and appreciative of all your contributions to the industry!

Although the conference itself could not be held at the convention center, this year marked the return of our community service and golf tournaments, both as in-person events similar to typical years. With both events being held outdoors and safety protocols and measures being followed, many of us were able to see our colleagues in-person for the first time in years.

The golf tournament was held on Friday, February 4th and marked the 11th and 24th annual tournaments for AWWA and HWEA respectively. It was a beautiful sunny day and we had a turnout of over 150 golfers. Thank you to the golf tournament committee and all of the volunteers and golfers who made this year’s event happen!

The community service event was held at Ho'okua'āina, a community-based organization dedicated to creating a sustainable food source and giving back to the community through educational programs. Over a dozen volunteers worked to clear a lo'i kalo or taro patch of weeds on Saturday morning. As water industry professionals, we strive to care for our environment and resources, something that resonates with the mission of Ho'okua'āina. Thank you to Ho'okua'āina for allowing us to volunteer, to our community service committee for organizing the event, and to all of our volunteers! We’d like to express a huge mahalo to the many attendees and participants of this year’s conference events, the many hardworking volunteers that made this event happen, and of course our generous sponsors and vendors! As we look forward to better times, please save the date for next year’s conference, it will be held at the Hawaii Convention Center on February 7-9, 2023.§

pacificwaterconference.com

The 2022 Pacific Water Conference will be the ninth annual joint conference between the AWWA Hawaii Section and the Hawaii Water Environment Association (HWEA). The conference will be held virtually from February 1-3, 2022.  More details will be distributed as they are made available. Please contact pacificwatercon@gmail.com should you have any questions.

Pending local restrictions in-place as we approach February, the community service event may be held in-person this year. Please see below for the Golf Tournament on February 4, 2022.

Please see below for Sponsorship Opportunities.

Although we are unable to gather in-person for this year’s conference sessions, we are committed finding ways to continue the tradition of bringing together the water and wastewater community. We hope you'll join us at the conference and look forward to hopefully returning to a fully in-person event in 2023!

Brandon Uejo | Carly Kaneko | Troy Ching

pacificwatercon@gmail.com

2022 Pacific Water Conference Co-Chairs

Technical Program

Registration

Registration (link to word registration: https://pheedloop.com/pwc2022/site/register/) is now open for the ninth annual Pacific Water Conference on February 1-3, 2022. This three-day virtual conference will be hosted by the American Water Works Association, Hawaii Section, and the Hawaii Water Environment Association.

This year's registration rates are $50 for WEF and AWWA members and $100 for non-members. Hawaii Government Agency employees are eligible for reduced registration rates, please contact pacificwatercon@gmail.com prior to registering for more information.

Contributions ~ Become A Sponsor

Choose one or more! See the details of each option on the flyer at this link.

• Basic Sponsor Package: $200

• Ala Carte Video Advertisement: $300

• Conference Community Shirt Logo Add-On: $50

If interested in making a donation, please contact Jay Stone at pwchidonations@gmail.com or 808-521-5361. Make checks payable to “Hawaii Water Environment Association,” postmarked by January 7, 2022. Mailing Address: Jay Stone, Belt Collins Hawaii LLC, 2153 North King Street, Suite 200, Honolulu, HI 96819.

Both AWWA-HI Section and HWEA are 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations. Please consult your tax advisor or the IRS to determine whether your donation is tax deductible. If you require a W-9 form, please email your request to pwchidonations@gmail.com.

General Membership Meeting - Tuesday, February 2 Agenda

Exhibitor Registration

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Student Poster Contest

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Photo Contest

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2021 PWC Photo Contest Winners:

Theme 1: The Beauty of Water

Theme 2: The Fury of Water

Community Service Event

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Updated:  04/11/2022_JS