Public Health Conference Calendar

Following is an update of recent and upcoming conferences focusing on drinking water and public health challenges:

Recent Conferences

The International Conference on Freshwater 2001

The International Conference on Freshwater 2001 was held in Bonn, Germany on December 3-7, 2001 to address global, freshwater issues in advance of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. Organized by the German Ministry for Environment and Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the conference united delegates from 118 nations and representatives from 73 international and non-governmental organizations, such as leaders from business, industry and unions. Participants sought to achieve and expand the freshwater goals created by the United Nations Millennium Declaration, which are to develop strategies preventing unsustainable exploitation of water resources, and, by 2015, to halve the proportion of people unable to reach or afford safe drinking water. Participants reached the following agreements: strengthening training and education for service providers as well as for consumers is imperative; technology transfer should be viewed as a process to increase choices for communities; and technologies must be affordable, user friendly and appropriate for local conditions.

http://www.water-2001.de/

Conference for Food Protection

On April 19-24, 2002 in Nashville, Tennessee, the food industry, government, academia and consumer organizations came together to identify and address emerging problems of food safety and formulate recommendations based on conference findings. . Every two years, food safety experts meet to provide a balanced forum to suggest changes in the Food Code, and state and federal regulations and policies for food safety in the retail industry. At this year's event, scientific and technical approaches to food safety were featured, including the latest information about pasteurization, irradiation and high pressure processing. Participants also discussed efforts to enhance collaboration between stakeholders to improve communication between the food safety communities.

http://www.foodprotect.org/

Canadian National Conference/Policy Forum on Drinking Water

From April 27-30, Halifax, Nova Scotia hosted "From Source to Tap - Protecting Drinking Water Quality in Small Systems." Regulators, water utility operators, their suppliers and the research community convened to discuss the latest technical reports and position papers on drinking water issues such as technical innovations, regulations and guidelines, inspection, monitoring and reporting. Session topics included: the Changing Regulatory Framework, Microbiological Water Quality, Treatment Technology and Management, Disinfection, Disinfection Byproducts, Source Protection, Outbreaks and Endemic Illness, Distribution Systems, Small System Issues and Needs, Security and Liability.

http://www.cwwa.ca/tenth.htm

National Drinking Water Advisory Council

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) convened the National Drinking Water Advisory Council as mandated by the Safe Drinking Water Act on May 8-9, 2002, in Washington, DC. At the meeting, the Council heard presentations and discussed topics relevant to the EPA's national drinking water program, including: states' perspectives on drinking water program implementation; EPA plans for developing future contaminant candidate lists; current infrastructure protection activities; updates on key regulatory activities; and the status of the arsenic rule implementation.

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ndwac/council.html

American Water Works Association (AWWA) The AWWA held its Annual Conference and Exhibition from June 16-20 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Several speakers and workshops addressed security issues, leading-edge strategies to meet new requirements, and worldwide resource networking and technologies. Workshops included: Counter Terrorism and Security in the Water Industry; Energy Solutions for Water System Operations; and Arsenic Removal Compliance with Membranes.

http://www.awwa.org/ace2002/

Upcoming Conferences

Water Environment Federation

The Water Environment Federation will hold its annual Plant Operations and Maintenance Conference August 4 - 6, 2002 in Kansas City, Missouri. Geared towards plant operations and maintenance personnel, consulting and design engineers, industrial treatment plant staff, regulatory personnel, community planners and equipment manufacturers, the conference offers a variety of technical sessions and workshops featuring speakers from North and South America. Topics focus mainly on the operational, chemical and managerial issues surrounding wastewater.

http://www.wef.org/conferences/PlantOps2002/opening.jhtml

World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)

Building on the findings and discussions at the International Conference on Freshwater 2001, the United Nations-sponsored WSSD will convene from August 26-September 4 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Bringing together heads of state, national delegates, leaders of businesses and NGOs from across the world, the organizers will seek to adopt a global strategy to effectively utilize limited natural resources as populations expand. As the world's population grows, so does the importance of coordinating trans-border health and environmental programs concerning food, water, shelter and economic security.

http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/

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