WQA Convention: What to Expect
Posted on December 7, 2022
The Water Quality Association’s annual Convention & Exposition is the most comprehensive gathering of industrial water treatment industry professionals in North America. This event alternates every year between Orlando and Las Vegas, bringing together dealers, manufacturers, and suppliers.
What is the Water Quality Association?
The WQA is a not-for-profit trade association based in Illinois that’s now earned a reputation around the world in the residential, commercial, and industrial water treatment field.
Anyone who supplies, deals, distributes and manufactures products and services that improve water quality can become an active member, along with the already 2,500 companies around the world. They hold their annual WQA Convention & Exposition either in Las Vegas or Orlando.
Education Opportunities
The WQA Convention & Exposition in Las Vegas showcases what the association brings to the industry. They do the necessary work of educating and creating professionals, as well as certifying that products meet their rigorous standards. This is done through WQA’s Gold Seal Product Certification Program, which tests and certifies a variety of treatment and filtration products to national safety and performance standards.
Setting the Standards
When you’re dealing with drinking water, consumer confidence is of the utmost importance. In homes and businesses across the country, there are thousands of certified professionals working to keep the nation running on clean water. The integrity of this industry depends on the water quality itself. This is an ongoing concern to the public, and the WQA works to reassure people of the benefits of treated water by dedicating significant resources and conducting independent studies through their scientific research arm, the Water Quality Research Foundation. Many of these studies have even gone on to positively impact change in legislation in the areas of water quality and treatment.
What to Expect at the Convention
There will be a lot to take in during the WQA Convention & Exposition. A person can browse through an expansive range of interactive exhibits on the trade show floor that will showcase the latest water treatment and filtration technology. Along with these will be industry professionals on hand to answer questions.
There will be training, education sessions, networking, and business opportunities all coming together. You’ll also get the latest updates on Lead and PFAS that might affect your business. In these more chaotic times, it can be a lifesaver to learn how to manage unexpected events.
Business Boot Camp
For those who are interested, the day before the WQA Convention & Exposition starts with the WQA Business Boot Camp. This is a one-day workshop primarily for water treatment dealers. This is a chance to engage in discussion, allowing dealers to get a feel for the best practices of running their business. There will also be a half-day workshop on reverse osmosis and the intricacies of RO sizing and installation.
General Session
The opening general session is a chance for industry peers to come together and hear from the incoming WQA president and the outgoing president, as well as the executive director and associate executive director. The WQA will also be presenting its annual leadership awards before turning things over to the keynote speaker.
Another highlight will be the release of the Consumer Opinion Study. This is a nationwide survey of consumer attitudes and understanding of water quality and water treatment technology, conducted every other year.
Opening Day of the WQA Convention & Exposition
The trade show itself provides opportunities to attend educational sessions, with roughly 30 hours of sessions throughout the event.
Along with this are the various committee meetings and task forces will be scattered throughout the week. Those are all the different committees where the members take part in discussions and move the industry forward, in all areas such as water sciences, manufacturing, and communications.
After the day winds down and the showroom closes, a welcome reception begins right afterward, where they provide good food, beverage, and a chance for networking, all in a relaxed outdoor setting.
Closing Day
The closing day offers a few final education sessions and committee meetings. Every year this event has been held, exhibitors and attendees have found it to be highly rewarding, especially when it comes to education. This keeps people coming back and is the reason the WQA Convention is such a well-attended event every year.
Valuable Education Sessions
The subject of the many valuable education sessions you can expect to find at this year’s WQA Convention & Exposition in Las Vegas will be wide ranging. Past topics have included:
- Chloride discharge and brine recovery issue
- Disinfection and sanitation
- Water emergency responses
- Rainwater harvesting and filters
- Emerging contaminants such as PFAS
- Methane or microplastics
- Pool filters, pumps, and pipes
- Advanced oxidation processes
- Water testing issues
- Permitting problems
- Water management essentials
- New standard developments
- Running a profitable dealership
- Challenges in lead removal
- Private well applications
- Commercial contaminant reduction
- Agriculture applications
- Water quality for beverage applications
- Hiring and retaining your optimal workforce
- Knowing when to raise your prices
- Consumer Trends
Exhibitors and Visitor Benefits
The events seek to connect the pros and dealers and manufacturing execs and the visitors with the products on the show floor, and those in related industries like financing, insurance, and consultants. This means you can expect a wide spectrum of potential attendees.
Registration for the WQA Convention Exposition in Las Vegas opens in January. More than 85 percent of the show floor has already been booked, but limited booth space is still available. Learn more at wqa.org/convention.