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It was a pleasant December day to drive to The Lantana in Randolph, MA and we were fortunate to have mild temperatures and no snow. Over 300 people were at this festive meeting and enjoyed meeting old friends, making new ones, and taking part in an excellent technical program. Prior to the technical session there was a New Member Meet & Greet Breakfast hosted by the NEWWA Membership Committee. This past year a record number of new members were recruited and those that recruited the highest number were given prizes. In addition to the breakfast there was a raffle that the new members in attendance participated in for prizes as well.
At the technical session we were welcomed to The Lantana by the Co-Moderators Christina L. Jones, PE., Project Engineer, Tighe & Bond, Inc., Westfield, MA, and Thomas D. LeCourt, P.E., Director of Drinking Water Operations, Springfield Water and Sewer Commission, Springfield, MA. This session featured young professional presenters using the theme "Shaping the Future Water Profession." The first speaker introduced was Sarah H. Bounty, Water Engineer, CH2M HILL, Boston, MA. Her presentation was "Long-range Quantitative PCRfor Determining Inactivation of Adenovirus 2 by Ultraviolet Light. " The extreme resistance to ultraviolet light disinfection displayed by adenovirus has shaped drinking water regulations, including U.S. EPA Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2ESWTR) and the Groundwater Rule. Sarah investigated the response of adenovirus to different types of UV lamps used in drinking water treatment through the use of a novel molecular biology technique. The second presentation of the morning was "Improving Rural Utilities Using USDA Rural Development Grant and Loan Funding" by Douglas M. Martin, P.E., CDM Smith, Providence, RI. The town of Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts is a resort town on...