2008 Membership Application

April 2008 Presidents Message

Spring!  It seems like it is always a mixed time of the year between good and bad:  Easter and the income tax deadline; the beauty of the flowers and the havoc of flooding; warming weather and tornados.  This year many of our members don’t have work or little of it.  It sure looks like a tough year.  We all are tightening up our belt for an unknown ride on what looks and smells like a recession.   Maybe it is time to catch up on some of the things you have wanted to do but were just too busy to do over the past several years.  When was the office cleaned up last?  How about that equipment that needs repair?  How about some training you wanted to take?  Let’s try to make as much use of the time we have and get those things done we have been putting off.  VOWRA could use some of that time to pick your brain.  I am sure you have learned a trick of two over the years.  How about sharing one or more with VOWRA?  Take a few minutes and write them down.  Send them to Ben our Executive Director and we will pull them all together to share.

I just returned from the NOWRA Conference in Memphis.  The attendance was down.  There were about 250 attendees and another 150 venders.  There were many presentations from people all over this country and there was even one from Russia and one from Ireland discussing their new process to treat wastewater in homes.  In Russia, it seems like they used to live in cities or farms until about the time the wall came down.  Now they are starting to see more suburban-like living.  Their system purports to have  excellent removals, but I am skeptical.  What we don’t know is how their life styles compare for input.

I also attended a portion of Environment Virginia on April 2.  Alan Knapp discussed the rule making at the Virginia Department of Health.  They expect to have both prescriptive and performance based regulations for design.  However much is expected to be in reference manuals and not in the rule itself.  Operation and maintenance will be all new. Civil penalties, also new, will be a separate rule.  He also indicated that separate guidance would be issued before July 1 to implement the code change effecting engineering design that passed the General Assembly and was signed by the Governor this year.

We held the National Installers Training Course in Richmond on March 17 & 18.  Twenty-seven installers attended from across the U.S. but most were from Virginia.  Everyone had high evaluations of the class.  A couple thought it needed to be divided up over 4 days (level I and Level 2).  One indicated it was the first class that had been on the installer’s level.  Nearly everyone wanted more and varied training.  I want to thank each of attendees for being there and participating in the pilot training. 

I was disappointed to see that we did not have enough interest in the Business Practices course.  It should have been an excellent course as the content looked great and the instructors were professionals in Business. 

Please set aside October 12-15 for the Fall Conference.  Have a great spring and summer and I look forward to seeing you at the Fall Conference.

"Elevating professionalism of the onsite wastewater industry in Virginia"