tap, toilet and beyond KELLY’S CORNER Water: the Tap, Toilet and Beyond Ever had the feeling that you have no words in you? I have been struggling for the past couple weeks on what I wanted to say to you all this first issue of the new year; but I think I finally have it so here we go. March is the month we recognize water a bit more as a world than any other time of year. World Water Day is coming up and it generally means that the population as a whole takes a bit more interest in water even if it is a fleeting moment. For the rest of us water is so much more than what comes out of the tap it means a sense of accomplishment knowing that we are providing the best possible taste out of that tap, to those who deal with the toilet side of things it’s the same kind of goal to provide the best kind of job to our respective communities. It’s the “beyond” part of things I want to talk about. How do we continue to provide the best possible service to our communities? Well, it starts with making sure you are up to date on all your training. The SWWA offers a lot of opportunities to maintain your CEU’s for certification through the spring workshops and the annual conference. I have had a few people ask why only certain locations are being used this year and that is because we like to move around with the hands on classes like Hydrant Operation and for the in class workshops we choose the city we get the most registrations at, which for some reason seems to be Saskatoon that gets the most attendance. Another way is to make sure you know what you are responsible for, understand what the permit to operate says, know what it means to have operators working under you who aren’t certified yet, know where you have responsibility and always be sure to train with safety and best practice standards for all situations that may be encountered. A lot of our communities are getting new Water Plants, lagoon upgrades, new Wastewater Plants, infrastructure changes and so on. Make use of the supplier portion of the SWWA website, simply type in the items you are looking for and the site will give you the options for the suppliers currently listed. This is a great way to support the suppliers who come to the tradeshow every year and it is also a great way to let them know you want them to continue attending so you can see the latest technologies and the systems and services they have to offer. My own community has been doing a lot of things we have run a pilot study and are in the midst of making a decision of what type of plant and system and supplier we will be using. Be sure to stay tuned as I sharpen my pen to tell you all out the adventures in Kipling and changes being done. As always the SWWA website is always the place to look for all the training that is currently being offered. We even opened the conference registration two months early – February 1 it was up and running usually we start offering the registration in April. We also have workshops scheduled for April, May and June so be sure to check out the details in this issue and under the events section of the website. For all you golfers out there registration is open and we have 15 early birds who have already registered for the event. I have a feeling this is going to be a good year for the turn out for golf. Be sure to check out the website for the details on the hotel being used for golf and be sure to use the block code if booking a room. So grab your group and get registered today so you don’t forget, after all we are all getting older and have lots of things on our plates and you will not want to miss out on all the fantastic prizes. I would say mark your calendar but it already is if you are using the SWWA calendar from the conference last year. So until I see you in June in Swift, have a great spring hopefully it will get warmer than the -41 it is today. SWWA SWWA EXECUTIVE___________________ TIM COX ~ PRESIDENT City of Swift Current Work: 306-778-2725 Fax: 306-778-1634 Email: t.cox@swiftcurrent.ca KELLY KISH ~ PAST-PRESIDENT Town of Kipling Work: 306-736-8805 Fax: 306-736-2396 Email: glokel@sasktel.net RYNETTE MOORE-GUILLAUME ~ VICE PRESIDENT SaskWater Work: 306-694-3941 Fax: 306-694-3207 Email: rynette.moore@saskwater.com KARLIS VAN CAESEELE~ TREASURER Town of Langenburg Work: 306-743-2219 Fax: 306-743-2453 Email: karlisvc@sasktel.net CORY MCMAHON ~ SECRETARY Town of Biggar Work: 306-948-5136 Fax: 306-948-5136 Email: corden@sasktel.net DIRECTORS_________________________ SUSAN DOBROWNEY City of Saskatoon Work: 306-975-2534 Fax: 306-975-7906 Email: susan.dobrowney@saskatoon.ca BLAINE CROWLEY Town of Nipawin Work: 306-862-9866 Fax: 306-862-3076 Email: b.crowley@nipawin.com LUKE LOCKHART Town of Outlook Phone: 306-860-7575 email: townofoutlookwater@hotmail.ca REPRESENTATIVES________________ GOVERNMENT KELLY NEUERT Water Security Agency Work: 306-787-7911 Email: kelly.neuert@wsask.ca SUPPLIERS WADE SHUTKO ClearTech Email: wshutko@cleartech.ca SWWA PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE The MORE Things Change… <strong>2018</strong> is well underway and we’re looking to hit the reset switch. After tidying up all of the loose ends 2017 conference, it’s time to reboot and get back into the swing of workshop and event planning for the upcoming year. A list of the April workshops has been uploaded to the website, www.swwa.ca, starting with Emergency Preparedness on the 11th, followed by Hydrant Maintenance at two different locations later in the month, RO in May and Due Diligence the day before the golf tournament. As far as upcoming events go, the annual golf tournament has been booked and the individual ‘hole sponsorships’ are flying off the shelf, in a manner of speaking. As was discussed and approved during the conference planning meetings, the annual SWWA golf tournament will now include a permanent 5 course rotation. Hopefully this will give you, our members, more than enough room to plan attendance. The <strong>2018</strong> event will take place on Saturday, June 2, in none other than my hometown of Swift Current at the Chinook Golf Course. That should give me a decided advantage, although it has been pointed out on many occasion, the ability to golf plays very little role in enjoying this tournament!! A lot of last years’ workshops and seminars focused on the area of succession planning, whether it be for your local department, business, or your municipality itself. The SWWA has taken a page from this, and began the stages of strategic planning to improve the functionality of the board and the membership as a whole. Every community, business, or organization can definitely benefit by stepping back, and reevaluating the direction of its future. We hope to better serve our membership and prepare any new members as to what the SWWA has to offer. Enjoy the last few months of winter, it’ll be gone before you know it. Tim Cox SWWA President we want YOU Get involved We are looking for SWWA members who would like to be involved with various SWWA events from networking events to the annual conference. CONTACT CALLE AT THE SWWA OFFICE, OFFICE@SWWA.CA FOR MORE INFORMATION.